Mixed Media

The past two months I have been working on Mixed Media as well as pottery. This past year I joined the Palouse Women Artists Organization. It is a supportive and energetic group. I've enjoyed it a lot. Among other activities they give "assignments" of themes to work on and arrange shows following these themes. Some of these shows are for two dimensional art because they all have to go on a wall rather than on sculpture stands. The potters and sculptors have a choice of making a hanging work, which I've done too, or try some flat art.
I have been frustrated with the reception my pottery has recieved over the past year and was ready to try something new. No plans for a permanent switch, but getting the brain cells shaken up by doing something different seemed like a good idea.
I have always drawn, but for my own enjoyment and not intended for show, they stay firmly in a sketch book. I've also worked on and off on altered books for a few years, but I've never been totally satisfied with them. For these collage-mixed media works I used some of my most successful altered book techniques.

Title: "Softly Winged the Raven"

This mixed media piece was for the PWA show "The Road Less Traveled". There are so many layers of materials I don't think I could recount the process. The title comes from one of the found poems that are included in the collage.


"Untitled"

Hoping to decide on a title, it just hasn't occured to me quite yet. This Collage is for the PWA show titled "Joy". I was very reluctant to try anything with a "joy" theme. I haven't felt joyful and forced joy would not come out well. Anything I didn't feel would end up sappy and I was determined to have a real content. I felt this was successful, it is a positive, energetic design. My thoughts were how much I enjoy the looks of the horses in cave paintings and the shapes of dancers leaping. The PWA show will be hung in January.