This week’s blog posts are all by Crystal Neubauer. Last week saw Amanda Jolley and starting us off was Michelle Belto introducing our collaborative series; this week Crystal! Enjoy and savor the uniqueness of each~
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I was absolutely delighted to read Michelle Belto’s post on stealing like an artist the first week of this series.
So I’m not the only one!
Many artists talk about not wanting to look at work online for fear of being too influenced, but I’ve always been of the opposite persuasion. It seems the more I look at the work of others, the more I am able to define my own style.
In the same vein of how I collect the material that I choose to use in my collage work, where I let my eye and my intuitive voice guide me, I skim through the images in my Pinterest feed quickly responding with an internal nod. “I like this” or “I don’t like that”; filing the ones I feel I cannot live without viewing again; categorized by technique or medium, and a few special boards I keep just for me to view.
Here is one of the many inspirational images I’ve pinned, a collection of works by Father Bill Moore.
When I step back and view all the images I’ve collected, I can see a similar thread running throughout and sometimes I’m surprised at what has drawn my attention. The internet is a vast resource and when I’m stuck on a particular work, I often take a break to peruse the possibilities. I see a work with a series of dots and suddenly I’ll realize a circle pattern is just the missing element I’ve been searching for. Or maybe a vivid piece online will cause me to realize I need some sort of contrast to bring my work to life.
This mandate to work with color has me searching my collected images once again. I’m torn between styles and intimidated with the parameters set for the exhibit, 70% of the board must be covered in the selected color. And wax. As a collage artist, the use of wax is usually just one element of my work, not the main medium. But my style has been transitioning over the past year, so I am ready to embrace this challenge.
After sorting through my online inspiration file, I think I have an inspiration piece, a work from my own playtime in the studio. I love the circle windows that give a glimpse of the collage elements behind it and I think I can translate this to wax. I’m not sure this is where I’ll land with my panels, but I now feel confident that I have a direction.
Now how do I begin?