Collage studio updates
Busy as a bee preparing for World Collage Day and more.
It can feel like a bad joke: brimming with ideas, but too low on energy to do anything with them. That’s more or less where I am right now, so this dispatch of updates from my collage studio will be short and sweet!
I’m working on resting more, pacing myself—so I’ve built in a month for final prep on two big things I have coming up.
The first is a show of works from my Defaced Women series, featuring new pieces created during Februllage. It’ll be up from May 6 to July 1 in a Southeast Portland business, part of Float On’s gallery program. Like the art, but not in the Northwest? I have some new prints from the series in my Etsy shop—take a look!
The second is a World Collage Day event I’ll be hosting at Slip Gallery in Seattle, part of Collage-o-Rama, a monthlong celebration of collage and the people who love it. I’m lovingly crafting two art piñatas and stuffing them with ephemera; we’ll gather at the gallery, smash them open, and then spend a few hours making art with what we find.
I’m thrilled to be part of the festivities, spearheaded by creative dynamo and Special Agent Collage Collective founder Andrea Lewicki, even if it’s taking a lot out of me to get ready. Building piñatas is surprisingly physical, but when they yield so much joy, it’s worth it.
A few people have asked, Why labor over something that has a useful life of, oh, maybe 10 minutes? Why create something of beauty, only to break it into bits? And I’m going to let you in on a secret: that’s almost the entire point of it, for me. Beautiful things, wonderful things, fall apart all the time. There are those who mourn their loss, and those who let it be and celebrate the potential for transformation, for creation anew.
I’m of the latter camp. Be bold. Be messy. Be confident that, when faced with smithereens, you’ll find a way to pick up the pieces and put them back together—maybe even in a way that works better than what you had in the first place. It’s good for you, and it’s good for the art.
Interested in coming? Grab tickets at Eventbrite for the May 11 event. It runs from 1 to 4 p.m. at Slip Gallery, 2301 1st Avenue, in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. I’d love to see you there! It’s going to be a heck of a time.
I also encourage you to check out Collage-o-Rama’s full lineup of programming, including cool scrap and zine workshops with Hope Amico, postage stamp collage with Andrea Lewicki, and speed collage with Cheryl Chudyk.
Are you planning anything for World Collage Day? Working on another big project? Tell me more in the comments!
Not currently working on anything but you’ve inspired me to brainstorm something fun. I absolutely adore the idea of an ephemera piñata; enjoy!
Sounds like lot of fun. Enjoy! Be creative and also rest up in between.wouldn’t do to exhaust yourself.