Now I want to speak about this new series that I’m working on. I’m still in the early stages, so it might end up being a lot of paintings or it might be just a few. I wish I knew at the beginning which ideas will bear the most fruit, but alas I do not have that skill.
First off, I’m calling this my Social Media Series.
Here are some of the parameters. These may change over time.
- Collage
- Some type of collage element that relates to people. The initial pieces use torn up phone book pages for this element
- Strong black & white element
- Text is used as a graphic element
- Text is also used as a titling element. Seemingly random bits of text will be visible in the completed piece and will help to title the piece and perhaps give it additional meaning
Where did the ideas come from?
Previous work – I’ve been doing some work that involves using newspaper as a collage element. I recently posted a piece that’s been hanging around my studio for a couple of months. I posted it on Facebook in two different orientations and asked the questions – Is it done? Which orientation do you like?
The second question sparked a flurry of discussion over whether the text in the collage element should be readable or not. So the idea of having readable, identifiable text in a piece came from this discussion. In the past, I’ve usually down played the text – sometimes putting lines through it or flipping it.
What’s going on in my head – This may be a bit harder to explain. I’m just starting to really use Facebook, both for my art and to connect with friends and family. The whole social media thing is really interesting, but still confusing to me. In some ways, it’s just great to be able to easily connect with others. On the other hand, it sometimes feels artificial.
This is a different world for me. There are some very short exchanges that are heart-felt. I’ve gotten great advice from friends over problems or questions. I’m “Friends” with people I’ve never met, but I feel like I know them, at least a little bit. It’s confusing.
What’s going on around me – There are several things here which tied into this. I already mentioned Facebook and social media.
I’ve just read Austin Kleon’s book Show Your Work. This book includes some of his Newspaper Blackout pieces, which just fascinate me. I keep wondering how he does them. I’m not sure, but I’m guessing that they’re the result of a different type of seeing than I have. Sort of like my father could just glance at the ground and find the four-leaf clover.
I’ve been making collage pieces from newspaper with lines drawn over and through the words to render at least most of them unreadable. Is that a coincidence?
Resources – I don’t think this is as much of an issue on this series, because I don’t feel like there’s a limitation that’s imposed by my materials or anything like that. However, I did start out with a stash of collage pieces that were already prepared and that worked well with the initial painting. They were newspaper pieces with most of the words obliterated with black lines and squiggles.
Now I wonder if I’ve shed any light on the creative process or if I’ve just muddied the water. I guess one of the things that I need to remember is that creativity does not fit into neat little boxes or nice easy steps. It’s exciting, messy, and confusing.
Here are the next two pieces in the series. I’m still considering these pieces as works-in-progress. They may look very different in a few days.
Ethel Hills – In Process Paintings – Collage – Social Media Series #2
Ethel Hills – In Process Paintings – Collage – Social Media Series #3
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