Comments: 145
  • #145

    Rita (Sunday, 10 March 2024 13:52)

    Hello again:
    I was reviewing Arcturus blog postings, the every day inspiration . The posting on Feb 28/24. "Friends"together in a boat provides such pleasure, feeling of enjoyment moving into Marcha and the spring.
    Thanks everyone as always,
    Rita

  • #144

    Rita (Sunday, 07 January 2024 17:09)

    Hey--Thank you --Just received the collage material in the mail January 5, 2024. Real happy that Arcturus is doing the collage workshops again.

  • #143

    Tanaaz damani (Friday, 17 March 2023 01:11)

    It’s my birthday!

  • #142

    Kiran Parmar (Friday, 17 February 2023 19:09)

    Oops
    By mistake �

  • #141

    Kiran Parmar (Friday, 17 February 2023 19:08)

    Hello
    Hope you’re doing well

    Would love to participate in this collage workshop

    How can I register for it ?

    My email ID is
    Kiranparmar0812@gmail.com

  • #140

    Tonie Norman (Tuesday, 07 February 2023 13:49)

    I received the new interesting images yesterday in a beautiful artistic envelope! Thank you.
    Ed et al

  • #139

    deborah harris (Friday, 03 February 2023 12:44)

    In our recent mail out workshop #19 we have sent out three photocopy images, a Picasso, Chirico and Kenne Gregoire. Picasso died in 1973 and Chirico in 1978, their images are well known and easily available. Kenne Gregoire was born in 195l and is still alive and very active.
    Sae asked the question if it was ok to be using an image of his painting in the workshop. It is a good question and opens up a few more.

    Collage as a medium is largely based on using images(reproductions of images) that have been composed or photographed by another. The creativity in using this medium is in deconstruction and reassembling. If the fragments used are small enough they may loose all reference to the original context.

    In these workshops we are using photocopies of paintings in order to learn from a master and to appreciate and combine paintings from different times and places to recognize how they can in fact speak to each other. In this exercise we each become a facilitator of that communication.

    The other issue is that creativity does not have limitless resources with which to create. In past centuries the pigments they had available were very specific to location. What we have in our place of work is what we have to work with. Limitation forces us to be creative.

    In this workshop we are sending out three images, sometimes four and the challenge is what can you do with these. I can only see so many possibilites but each one of us perceives very differently. Seeing all of the unimagined expressions changes my understanding of limited.

    The other often unacknowledged aspect of the creative process is gratitude. One can begin by saying. ‘If only I had this or that I could do something better.’ Or one could say ‘this is what I have, what can I do with it?’ In the later sentiment there is curiosity to find out something and a gratitude for what is. This doesn’t mean that one shouldn’t collect the materials needed for ones craft but rather that materials are not the only requirement and creativity teaches us to improvise. Collage especially is an improvisational art form having at its core the requirement to search and to find and the surprise of such findings. For this one can be grateful.

    So I would finish by saying that it is important to acknowledge the source of the materials and resources that allow for you to create. In the case of the workshops it is the artists whose work we have made available to you.

  • #138

    Jill (Wednesday, 01 February 2023 18:55)

    Re; #136

    Thank you deborah for your reply. How lovely that a wonderful pet has chosen you and Jim to be its humans. Your pup is clearly very clever! Haha. Looking forward to seeing you soon and to meet the new member of your family. xoxo Jill

  • #137

    deborah (Tuesday, 31 January 2023 15:51)

    We are going through our list of names for online workshop and many of those names haven't sent us collages for the last few workshops. So we are crossing those names off our list. If you still want to be on the list, but notice you haven't received images just email us and let us know that you still want to participate and we will send them.

  • #136

    deborah harris (Tuesday, 31 January 2023 09:25)

    Sorry Jill that I have not responded to your request for in person gallery workshops. On precisely October 27 the day of your post Jim and I adopted a dog. It was something of a miracle gift that we were able to receive. She is a rescue and was requiring treatment for heartworm which we took on to nurse her through. Consequently, our life has been significantly altered and I have been working much more from home. Her rehabilitation has been very successful and perhaps I am getting closer to having a vision of reinstating in person workshops.

    Interesting that in the last couple of days we have had 16 requests through e-mail
    from people who want to participate in the online workshops. These seem to be people who might not be able to attend in person since they are from farther a field.
    I feel that all of you in the original group are the real teachers and inspiration for
    others who want to join. Seeing the collected work on the website is a great incentive. I am so grateful for your ongoing participation, I never imagined such
    an outpouring of work was possible.

    I will seriously look at choosing a date for an in person meeting and reunion.

    d

  • #135

    Jill (Thursday, 27 October 2022 20:29)

    Hello deb, Ed, Eron and Sae!
    With the onset of Autumn upon us I was wondering if you had thought about bringing back the Sunday workshops in your magnificent space? As much as I lovelovelove this format i feel my work is not progessing without the spirit and mentorship gleaned from being present with you. :) xo

    .....just thought I'd ask.
    P.S. the stamps on my envelope didn't get cancelled by the post office (what are the chances?) and they are esquisite. Thank you all!

  • #134

    Ed (Tuesday, 18 October 2022 13:21)

    The newest video has been prepared. See it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/X1imYettVCE

    NB: Regarding the slideshow for workshop 16, I like the use of the base/original image you were all working with placed between the responses.

    ~ed

  • #133

    Ed (Saturday, 15 October 2022 16:13)

    New envelopes departed in the post on Friday.

  • #132

    Jill (Saturday, 15 October 2022 06:06)

    Sorry, typo....contrast, not 'constrast'.

  • #131

    Jill (Saturday, 15 October 2022 06:03)

    Hi all,
    Good questions deb! Upon diving into the image when the Chagall arrived I was struck by the freedom to reimagine an alternate scale for the figures so I went with that. I liked the tension it created but also the whimsy. That constrast created the dialogue for me. xoxo J

  • #130

    Ed Drass (Thursday, 13 October 2022 17:39)

    Sybilla, were you able to send a message to deborah, as noted below? Let us know if we should double-check our email.
    -Ed
    Gallery # 416-977-1077

  • #129

    deborah harris (Thursday, 29 September 2022 13:02)

    Hi Sybilla You can send your snail mail address to me, deborah@arcturus.ca
    and we will mail our next set of images to you, probably in the next week, with
    instructions how to proceed. When you have finished collaging with those images
    you can take a photo of your work and send them to us so that we can put them
    on our website online page. Any questions you might have you can e-mail to me
    or post them here and I will respond. Thank you for wanting to participate.

    d

  • #128

    Sybilla Mannsfeldt (Wednesday, 28 September 2022 12:29)

    I am interested to become part of your online COLLAGE WORKSHOPS/EXCHANGE OF IDEAS.
    I have done some Collage sessions previously.
    Please advise how to join your group.
    thank you,
    Sybilla

  • #127

    deborah harris (Wednesday, 28 September 2022 11:36)

    Looking again at all the collages from # 16 and marveling at the extreme differences
    and variety. I am priviledged to have all of your work in your individual files from each of the workshops and I got to thinking that none of that work would exist except for this exchange. Of course we all would be continuing in our own directions but I know for myself that what I do here is different from any of the other collages that I create. Especially the challenge of responding/interpreting/ copying a painting by another artist pushes me to look and see and then to compose in a way that I would not when following my own impulses.
    In this particular workshop I had the question of how each of you proceed. Did you
    interpret the Chagall's painting through creating a narrative for it and then collage
    using that narrative to guide you? or did you seek out the same colours, forms and shapes. I am curious as a see all of the different outcomes.

    What impressed me most I guess was the two characters in profile, right and left, and how they looked at each other, the quality of their relationship and their closeness. I looked at it at different times but when I finally began collaging I did it
    from memory. The second collage I did was a week or so after the first and I hadn't looked at the original for a long time. I wanted to see what stayed with me and if I could simplify it even more. That's my process. If any of you would like to share
    yours I would be grateful.

    thanks

    d

  • #126

    Carole Aida (Saturday, 13 August 2022 22:32)

    Series 16 arrived on August 11. This promises to be another challenging assignment! Thank you so much for continuing these workshops.

    The collages from Series 15 are outstanding!!!

  • #125

    Tonie Norman (Friday, 12 August 2022 19:22)

    The images for Collage #16 arrived yesterday. Once again the envelope was beautifully decorated. Ed you have an amazing variety of stamps. Thank you.

  • #124

    Jill (Friday, 12 August 2022 13:33)

    #16 arrived just now and I'm in love! Looking forward to diving right in; great colours, great mood, great depth and variety of inspo! Thank you so much for sending. xo Jill

  • #123

    Jill (part 2) (Wednesday, 27 July 2022 10:46)

    To your point, deb, I did struggle deeply with the images from the last workshop.... the darkness hit too close to home...
    As such, it was a wonderful challenge to work with images I could appreciate but didn't enjoy. I agree that the results from our group were outstanding.
    Who'd 've thunk it?
    Love always, Jill

  • #122

    Jill Lawrence (Wednesday, 27 July 2022 10:38)

    Hello Friends. Thank you for asking. My process always begins with the setting. Collage is a reflective space that I tuck myself into for the quiet. Once the music plays and the mood is right I get lost in the task of mining for the images that speak to me. Once the pieces are all there I can now begin. The end result is always a surprise. xo Jill

  • #121

    Keith wdowczyk (Wednesday, 27 July 2022 08:26)

    My process begins well before I start with a collage. I have a great deal of resistance to approaching the task which builds up to the moment I begin. A constant nagging plays out for what seems like forever, that I need to begin this burdensome task. This despite my knowing that I actually enjoy making a collage.

    I never have an idea of what I want to create. As some of you have mentioned, this work seems to come out of nowhere. I seem to pick out certain shapes not based on any actual image most of the time, but the fluidity I find within them, movement I can somehow sense and am attracted too. Much like a puzzle I begin to play with the direction of the shapes, how they fit together in balance, direction, and colour. Slight movements of direction can change the sensation of the collage as it comes into existence. The pieces must flow together, and I work on it until I feel in my body that they are complete and whole. Sometimes I will move a single piece of the collage in minute movements dozens of times, before I feel it is in the right place. The end result is a complete surprise, and I am in awe that something has been created by me, feeling no responsibility for making this somehow. I often am drawn to looking at the piece repetitively afterwards, perplexed, yet trying to understand how this can be. Perhaps this is the miracle Deborah is speaking about, and a recognition that my rational mind cannot make sense of an experience that is really Other.

  • #120

    deborah harris (Tuesday, 19 July 2022 13:37)

    It seems to me that creativity is being able to use what is at hand. If I try to control the process too much, for instance buying this material or that it looses something. That is why I love collage because it is always unpredictable, I never know what I will find.
    You could say that in this workshop process I have some control in choosing what paintings to copy but as Eron said the images are limitations, that is why it works we are all sharing limitations. Creativity requires limitation. There is always a moment, or more that one, when I feel that it is impossible to create a collage. It's almost an absurdity to imagine that some sort of satisfaction or completion can evolve from this process so when the impossible shifts it seems to be a miracle. I observe that this same description can be applied to everything that I do, collage merely makes it more visible and allows me to know how I do what I do.

    The obligation to contribute to the workshop to be seen by the other participants
    creates a motivation that compels me more that simply doing what I want on my own time.

  • #119

    Eron Boyd (Tuesday, 19 July 2022 13:15)

    In this process, my default point is always hell no, I do not want to work that way! The images provided are limitations and are blocking my making abilities. This resistance is broadcasted for a few minutes until I look upon the pieces provided and absorb the colors, the texture, and the gestures. I accept the invitation, and the dance of making has begun.

  • #118

    Vivian Felsen (Tuesday, 19 July 2022 12:37)

    Usually when I begin a collage, the materials at hand may suggest the approach I may take. I may begin by finding a shape, or colour, or image that inspires me. It may take seconds or sometimes almost an hour.

    Sometimes I begin by gluing two pieces torn from magazines together when they seem to relate because of colour, subject matter, shapes, angles, etc. Sometimes that is all I need to do. Just two pieces! Sometimes I continue to build on those two pieces.

    Sometimes I begin by gluing things down on a magazine cover or other image with colours or shapes or images already there. The process can then involve covering up the initial image.

    Other times I carefully cut (I'm not very good at cutting carefully!!) images or parts of images out of magazines only to find that the back of what I’d cut out is more interesting than the front.

    Sometimes I tear off pieces I’ve already glued down. Sometimes I tear up the whole collage itself and begin with that.

    These are only a few of the many ways I’ve approached collage.

    The greatest joy in making a collage is always the unexpected.

  • #117

    Tonie Norman (Monday, 18 July 2022 20:45)

    Not sure what happened to my message below. I lost half of it when I pressed send? I'll try again.

    First I cut shapes from the pictures. Once I have all the pieces cut I rarely change the shape. Next I get to know the pieces, spend time with each image. I look for shapes, shadows, colour, images within images and get a feel for how they fit together. This is the part that takes the longest and I enjoy the most. After I submit I often continue to
    change the pieces and can end up with an entirely different picture that I like more. At some point I glue everything.

    Once I've submitted I look forward to seeing what others have created. Several times I have been amazed and moved to tears seeing how others have placed these familar images.

  • #116

    Tonie Norman (Monday, 18 July 2022 10:39)

    end up with an entirely different picture that I like more. Once I've submitted I look forward to seeing what others have created. Several times I have been amazed and move to tears seeing how others have placed these familar images.

  • #115

    Sae (Friday, 15 July 2022 11:19)

    I found legs I like
    then a plant
    and then a body with a face.
    The posture was there.
    added shapes to complete the figure.

    I usually see things in small scale first.
    like legs ... not entire forest.
    Then things are grow from there. Small to big. "Add" is my default gesture and get rid of something is harder for me. So collage is difficult because I have to start from take things out. But maybe that's why I have to do it for balancing my life..!

  • #114

    Wendy Weaver (Thursday, 14 July 2022 09:30)

    The three source paintings you sent seemed to flummox me. For a long time they just lay on my floor. They seemed similar in their bold colours and strokes.

    Finally they awakened a feeling in me to be wild, bold, careless, unfocused and following no rules. Just plain messy. What the hell! (And I wasn’t going to tell you that.)



    At that point I walked by a bulletin board with a photo of a painting by Jennifer Hornyak, in an exhibition of her work at the Galerie de Bellefeuille. Bold colours, a use of space that appealed to me just at that moment. Hurray!

  • #113

    Rita Rasmussen (Tuesday, 12 July 2022 20:57)

    Comments on process for #15.
    -Anticipation to receiving image material at my rural mail box.
    Let them be for a couple of days. Phew, what to do with 3 source pieces. All by male artists hmm?
    -Observe with fresh mind, eyes, in the mornings.
    -First-cut up-too much, confused, rearrange pieces, palette. Should there be a background?
    Experiment- shifting. The pieces/images want to rearrange themselves into something that has MOVEMENT and FORM.
    -Then #1 comes together. I like it. Resonates with a message, building a narrative. #2 Simplify. Find a tiny word to use. #3 Ready to try some background. Overlay evolving random shapes from cut-outs and negative space. Feel the flow.
    -I like them. I laugh. Put on some music and start gluing them down. Leave for a day, review.
    -Then off to the library in town for scanning. Explain to helpful library staff the group process of the Arcturus collage workshop.
    -I really enjoy seeing all the participant's interpretations using the material provided. Also viewing the groupings in the animation you put together online with the music.
    So thank you Arcturus and everyone who participates.
    Looking forward to the viewing online and the next mail delivery of source images...

  • #112

    Jason Ford (Tuesday, 12 July 2022 15:51)

    I take the images and place them in my dwelling space where I will encounter them repeatedly throughout the day. I wait for a time when Im naturally drawn into cutting apart the images and seeing what falls out.

  • #111

    Sara (Tuesday, 12 July 2022 13:07)

    Allow me to share the process/es that unfold every time a new series it's received:
    1- excitement to receive the envelope ... and opening it!
    2- bewilderment ; what to do - create - express - with these images? ( 2 to 4 days)
    3- something starts to rise up in my imagination as possible combinations (2 to 4 days)
    5- what the images/colors/shapes are telling me? what do I see?
    6- overflow and (by trial and error) seeing one after the other creations appearing
    7 - discarding and sorting and choosing from 5 to 8 images and taking pictures
    8 - selecting again what will be the final group to send
    9- wandering about ....

  • #110

    Victoria (Tuesday, 12 July 2022 12:33)

    If I am slower to get to the collage I make a point of not looking at anyone else's completed work from the series until I am finished mine. I usually spend a bit of time just studying the work. Looking for colours, shapes, lines or faces that draw me in. I then cut out my top 1 or 2 favourite little pieces. I move them around the page and imagine the shapes I need to cut to add to the work. Once I know what shape I need I usually turn the page over so I can only see white. I cut out the shape I want somewhat at random (but having already studied the page I kind of know where I am roughly). I then assemble my "puzzle pieces" into the shape of what I planned. I always challenge myself to use a little of each artwork, even if it is a small section.

  • #109

    deborah harris (Friday, 08 July 2022 13:47)

    Having invited you to share your process I think that I should begin by accepting my own challenge!!

    Choosing the images is usually a big challenge. Sae and I look through dozens of books and many more images. This time was quicker. Sae had one book and I had another. She chose two images and I chose one and we didn't fret over them or attempt to find others. It was surprising that they shared the same
    colour palette. After they were sent out and I actually sat with them to begin collaging they seemed impossible. I have noted before that I usually begin by finding a face, or hands and there was not any here, at least not obviously. Eventually, because I was not wearing my glasses I did find what I believed to be a face and then I engaged. Doing collage without glasses can be very helpful in seeing the images differently. to be continued...

  • #108

    deborah harris (Friday, 08 July 2022 13:42)

    This online collage workshop has been more successful than I could have every imagined. So many of you have stayed with it and new members continue
    to emerge and surprise. What has been less evolving is this comment page. I would like to make another attempt to activate this exchange by asking each of you participating if you could describe your working process. That would begin by your reaction to receiving the images. Perhaps you don't like them, or they seem unusually difficult. Do you jump in or wait, look at them for days or put them out of sight. There are many more possibilities than the ones I am suggesting. I love looking at the finished pieces but process is what really interests. Using the same materials makes it more possible to imagine something of the process, I recognize the fragments and am amazed by how differently each of us composes with them but I think that makes me even more curious about how they come together. Isn't that what the finished work is, a record of our creative process. In observing that process we come to know ourselves. I think articulating is a way of knowing it.

    Perhaps we can try another way of using this experience.

  • #107

    Sae (Friday, 18 February 2022 12:15)

    Hello! The works of #13 is now on the website. Also previous works are up as video in Screening Room. https://arcturus.ca/screeningroom/

    I'm still struggling to make my Chagall but it is very inspiring to see everyone's work. Thank you :)

  • #106

    Jill (Sunday, 13 February 2022 10:08)

    Hi everyone,
    I did struggle a bit with keeping to the original concept. Thank you for your encouraging words deb. I do love the challenge and this one was a real riddle. xo Jill

  • #105

    deborah harris (Tuesday, 01 February 2022 10:46)

    Hello to Everyone,
    We have just sent out the image for #13. This time it is just one image that I am asking if you can be inspired to copy with magazine images that you have in your
    collection. We did this same exercise with 'the Cellist' by Chagall in the 9th online.
    I know that it was difficult at first to figure out but since we have done it once
    maybe it will be easier this time. We have included in the envelope a page with a
    photo copy of the original 'Cellist' and a few examples of participants responses.
    This may give those of you who were not yet part of the online workshops an idea
    of how to proceed with this #13. It seems a good time to change things up a bit.

    Thank you to all for staying with us in this ongoing experiment. I think it just keeps getting better, having the continuity, recognizing people through their work and watching the evolution is very exciting.

    Oh I would also like to add that if any of you have a favorite painting that you would like to share with us to add to our collection of collage possibilities please
    send them to us.

    d


  • #104

    Ed (Saturday, 29 January 2022 17:56)

    Next set was posted Friday evening. Sightings appreciated.
    ~ed.

  • #103

    Carole Aida (Friday, 21 January 2022 19:32)

    As always, such a pleasure to see what everyone has created with the latest set of prints (#12). Some are so unexpected and surprising- wonderfully creative!!

    Thank you so much for continuing this online workshop. I'm looking forward to the challenges that Series #13 will bring.

    Carole

  • #102

    Jill (Friday, 19 November 2021 15:09)

    Oh me oh my....
    I arrived back home from Nova Scotia today to find the latest collage exchange images. I can't wait to sit down with these lovelies in the coming days and see what may come from within. Thank you DearOnes!

  • #101

    Ed (Tuesday, 21 September 2021 12:35)

    The most recent set was posted on Thursday night ... from the postal outlet at Yonge and Dundas.
    In case you missed the notice via the blog: https://www.dailyartblog.ca/2021/09/16/sending-out-the-surprise-packets/

  • #100

    Keith (Tuesday, 14 September 2021 12:05)

    I never realized that I actually have some sense of freedom when doing a collage until presented with this most recent challenge. Having said that, I wish to work beyond my habits, so I should endeavor the next time around to sit more with my feelings of resistance, and see what happens. Thanks again for the opportunity to work Deborah.

  • #99

    deborah harris (Thursday, 09 September 2021 14:53)

    I just wanted to add, in part to respond to Keith but also in general with what we are
    doing here. It is true that the suggestions for each series comes from me but that does not mean that I am less challenged by the request. I also had resistance to recreate the Chagall and seemed to have a limited collection of magazines and none seemingly related to the pallet or forms found in the painting.

    What I have observed over the years is that resistance begins every creative and mundane action that I take and that against all odds something is still possible.

  • #98

    deborah harris (Wednesday, 08 September 2021 11:31)

    Thank you Keith for your honest feedback. In this time of rules and expectations and no choices it is perhaps not strange that you would have resistance where it is possible.
    A yoga teacher of mine said that it was important for teachers to be in the position of student in some capacity in order to have empathy and understanding for those they teach..

  • #97

    Keith Wdowczyk (Tuesday, 07 September 2021 12:27)

    I immediately rejected recreating the Chagall painting in favour of my usual slice and dice method of placing the cut up shapes into position together first. In my first collage I glued the pieces together before waiting for the feeling of completion I usually wait for to appear. Consequently, I am left with a nagging desire to adjust one piece to where I feel it should be. I am left wondering what the nature of this feeling is. Am I not able to accept what is, or is there something wanting for the shapes to be in unison beyond this? As for the first part of the exercise, I was never able to complete it. My resistance seemed childish, since I didn't want to do something with any 'rules' despite my intention to do it. I was also left dealing with a host of feelings around not meeting the 'expectations'.

    I enjoy very much viewing all the works after I have finished my own. The endless possibilities created with the same images leaves me with a feeling of amazement. Although I can recognize most of the original images in each piece, the combinations created by you still leaves me wondering how they could possibly come to be.

  • #96

    Paul Foster (Monday, 30 August 2021 11:56)

    Series #9
    Chagall homage series brought out my inner perfectionist. Finally viewing what others did I now think what was I doing! I was working when I could of been playing! Lost opportunity. I was trying to hard. But I was now realize it was paralleling something I was going through in my personal life. I try to hard sometimes. So thanks to all the collage artists whose work reminded me to play more work less. Life is not or should not be a math exam.

    Reminds me of a quote: "Art is the cultivation of play." Not sure who the author is. Thanks Paul