Tag Archives: creativity

28 DAYS OF COLLAGE: WHAT DID I LEARN?

On July 24, 2023 I embarked on a QUEST to do a collage a day for 28 straight days. I started out knowing each collage would be based by an individual song, as is all my art. After all, depending on who you listen to, there are estimated to be between 82 and 200+ million songs on the planet at any given time.   That’s a bigger number than there are rivers and mountains in the world (in case you are wondering, rivers and mountains on the planet adding up to about 1.3 million). Can you think of a better way to find inspiration?

What did I learn?  I learned how to maintain consistency, to choose quality over quantity, and to express myself without using words.  It wasn’t just about cutting and pasting paper, it was a lesson in planning, and finding inspiration within a song that told a story. 

I'll Fly Away 5x7 collage matted 8x10

I’ll Fly Away, collage 5×7

WEEKS 1 and 2:  In the first two weeks I began with a list of songs I put together that told a story. Each morning I picked a song then took a walk after reading the lyrics of the song. I thought about how to translate the lyrics and the back story of the song into visual cues. I learned to embrace quirkiness and I suddenly realized I was having FUN! It ruled my creativity and I found new ways of using images. BUT – after 14 days I realized I needed more structure.

 

 

 

Rainy Days and Mondays 5×7 collage

 

WEEK 3: I was on the verge of  hitting the proverbial creative block. I needed more structure in choosing the songs I was using. So – what should I do? I decided to use the days of the weeks as the springboard for choosing a different song each day. 

 

 

 

Beethoven’s 9th

 

WEEK 4: I chose songs that were about a specific color. BUT – I ended the entire quest with what I feel is the most magnificent piece of music ever written – Beethoven’s 9th. My research expanded to studying synesthesia – which is the fancy name for when you experience one of your senses through another. Some examples include tasting words or linking colors to music. My research had begun to expand. I was becoming more resourceful – viewing every day images differently than before. There was a feeling of playfulness, spontaneity and curiosity that was not as apparent to me before.

 

What other things did I learn or do?

  • I bought better scissors
  • I began using an exacto knife for more intricate cutting
  • I totally reorganized my studio
  • I gave away a lot of old collage material – they no longer served my needs

Here are a few more images from the month of collage.

I have decided to repeat this exercise once a quarter for one week instead of four. The next week will be the week of September 23 – the first day of fall!   Want to join me?  Do you have any requests for a song, preferable about fall or the colors of fall? Let me know!

 

 

D IS FOR DREAM – THE A TO Z’S OF ART

How important do you think dreams are to creativity?  Do you have any your favorite quotes about dreams and creativity?  Here are some of mine.

“Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than the imagination when awake?” Da Vinci

“Only that day dawns to which we are awake.”  Henry David Thoreau  (I embroidered this in highschool and it has been on my wall ever since.)

“Man is a genius when he is dreaming.” Kurasawa

“From now on I hope always to stay alert, to educate myself as best I can. But lacking this, in Future I will relaxedly turn back to my secret mind to see what it has observed when I thought I was sitting this one out.  We never sit anything out. We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled.  The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” Ray Bradbury

“Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.”  Emerson

“Dreams are like the stars…you may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny.” Unknown

“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he see the dawn before the rest of the world.”   Oscar Wilde

“I dream of paint and then I paint my dream.”  Vincent Van Gogh

“If I sit and daydream, the images rush by like a succession of colored slides.” Francis Bacon

“Objects seen in dreams should be manufactured and put up for sale.” Andre Breton

“When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream.” Paulo Coelho

“If you can dream it, you can do it.” Walt Disney

“You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.” John Lennon (and I bet you sang the line!

And – the one I’m going to put in my studio for the rest of the month:

“All dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”  Walt Disney

What are your favorite quotes, saying regarding dreams?   What words do you find inspiring?

Tomorrow – a post for a word starting with “E”!

 

 

B IS FOR BYRNE, THE A TO Z’s OF ART

David Byrne with St. Vincent

Yes, Byrne, as in David Byrne.  This type of post is a departure for me, but I am excited to see him tonight with St. Vincent (AKA Annie Clark). I saw David Bryne for the first time in 1978 with The Talking Heads,the band he was the founder of that was together from 1975 through 1991.  (Okay, I snuck into the concert somehow and sat behind Elvis Costello, who played there the next night!)

I am adding this paragraph late on Tuesday after seeing the show.  He didn’t perform much from the Talking Headss, but I saw a total collaboration between him and St. Vincent.  Using eight horns, from a tuba to a trumpet, and i swear I saw a flute at one time.   The show was totally coreographed, with the horn players marching around.  I enjoyed it, but still found it lacking.  I guess because I missed the Talking Head songs.  The highlight – her and David playing the THEREMIN!!!!!!  I’d never seen one played – the only instrument that is played without touching it!

David is a true renaissance man, working in various media such as film, photography, opera and non-fiction.  He has received a Grammy, Oscar and a Golden Globe Award and has been inducted into the Rock Roll Hall of Fame.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT DAVID

  • born in Scotland and apparently is not a U.S. Citizen
  • could play the guitar, accordion and violin before high school
  • is left handed but plays the guitar right handed
  • studied at The Rhode Island School of Design for a year
  • has collaborated as a solo artist with Brian Eno more than once
  • has an interest in world music
  • collaborated with Twyla Tharp for The Catherine Wheel
  • won an oscar for the score from Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor
  • Wrote, directed and starred in True Stories
  • collaborated with Fatboy Slim on Here Lies Love, a disco opera based on Imelda Marcos
  • a visual artist, he is represented by Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York
  • creates public installations, often anonymously
  • was in a relationship with photographer Cindy Sherman for five years
  • writes a regular cycling column for the New York Times

There is so much more to know about David Bryne.  I think my favorite project he ever did was “Playing The Building” installation done in the Battery Maritime Building.  He basically took the building and somehow hooked the entire building (pipes, heaters, vents, etc) to an old pipe organ which made a playable musical instrument.

David is on tour with St. Vincent, accompanied by an eight piece horn section.  St. Vincent has said her stage name is based on Saint Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center where poet Dylan Thomas died.  “It’s the place where poetry comes to die, that’s me.” she has said.  She has also said it was her grandmother’s middle name. The most interesting thing I found, she plays multiple instruments, including the theremin.

I’m looking forward to this show, she has been compared to Kate Bush and to David Bowie.   Her music features violins, cellos, flutes, trumpet and clarinets.

I feel this is a good collaboration, even though she is half his age (she is 30, he is 60).  But, David Bryne had a xylophone player for one tour, I’ll never forget the first pounding notes on that instrument for Psycho Killer!