Weekend Update

Airan Kang @ Bruce Wolkowitz Gallery

Wish you could spend some time wandering through the art galleries in NYC? Let me be your guide. I have recently been reviewing a number of the art exhibitions from the new season on NearSay and will continue to do so for the next few weeks. This new website covers the daily happenings in NYC and is written by locals for New Yorkers, visitors, and the just plain curious. Click here to see my posts and to sign up for daily newsletters.

Any time you need a New York fix, just click on the NearSay icon on my sidebar.

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Four new survey questions are now on my sidebar. Head on over to vote.

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DisCo never dies. The Disintegration Collaboration keeps on keeping on.

The May/June 2010 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors included a feature article and an updated readers challenge recreating the original collaborative project. Click here to see the newest additions to the DisCo family.

Kris Henderson's Erosion Bundle Project, also based on DisCo, is in its last stages. You can see the artwork that the participants created with their decayed bundles here.

Janice Zroback and Alexandra Felgate sponsored a DisCo project on redbubble and you can read more about their project here.

Laura Lein-Svencner introduced DisCo to her class at the LaGrange Art League in Illinois and ultimately the class' artwork were exhibited. See the whole project from start to finish here.

Gary Reef's Lovin Mixed Media site on the NING network sponsored an art bundling challenge based on DisCo. I believe that you need to be a member of his site, however, to see the results.

Theresa Martin, a participant in the original collaboration on The Altered Page, just had her DisCo project published in the Autumn 2010  issue of  Somerset Apprentice. You can see Theresa's creation on her blog here.

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Thanks to everybody who shared their thoughts about The Copy Zone. The comments included some fascinating discussion. Leslie Avon Miller went right to the heart of the matter when she said..."Why would anyone try to speak in some else's voice? Nurturing my own unique creative voice is my priority." To that I say...we should all spend the weekend nurturing our own creativity!

See everybody on Sunday for a new edition of StudioScapes.

Bundle Up

As part of my current article on the DisCo project in the May/June issue of Cloth Paper Scissors, the magazine is sponsoring a readers challenge on their website. If you did not participate in the Disintegration Collaboration the first time around (or even if you did), now is your chance. Create your own art bundle, place it in nature, and repurpose the materials to create a new artwork.

CPS has created a dedicated webpage on their site so that you can upload photos of your bundle for all three steps of the project. You can go to their homepage and click on the "DisCo Project" link. Or click here to go directly to the DisCo page. While you are there, you can already see many of the bundles and repurposed art pieces created by the original participants in the project. In order to add your own pictures, you have to register to be a member of their web community.

The images in this post are all taken from the sample bundle that I created for the article. In the magazine, you can find step-by-step instructions to recreate this bundle. Or you can simply use the instructions as a loose guide and create your own bundle in any shape or form you like. You will also find a list of helpful "bundle tips" in the magazine.

I made two identical bundles (approximately 30 1/2" x 7 1/2") for CPS and am offering both to readers of my blog through a giveaway. To have a chance to win, please just leave a comment on this post by the end of Tuesday May 4th. I will randomly select and post the names of the two winners on Wednesday May 5th. Good luck!

Order of the Golden Owl

Early in 2010 two brothers, Doug and Barry Beeglecomb, discovered a locked chest hidden behind the boiler in their basement. Keeping their discovery a secret, they snuck it up to their shared room and placed it deep within the recesses of their closet, under piles of dirty clothes. Curious as they were, they waited one whole week until they were finally alone in their home one night. Using a mallet to break open the already loose lock, they were amazed to find a pile of yellowed papers, underneath which laid a velvet-wrapped book. With eyes wide open and mouths agape, this was the night that they learned of OGO.

The Year: 1891
The Place: Hibou, Delaware
The Secret: The Order of the Golden Owl
The Book...

Artist Book. 2010. Created as the third and final step in the Disintegration Collaboration. Featured in Cloth Paper Scissors May/June 2010.

Available for purchase in The Altered Page on Etsy, where you can find more details about the book.

Sold. Thank you!

reDISCOvery

One of the projects I dedicated most of 2009 to was the Disintegration Collaboration - or DisCo for short! The idea was simple. I invited people to create an artistic bundle made from materials of their own choosing and “hang, bury, submerge, or just place” the bundle in the elements. This collaboration was to be with the ultimate partner…Mother Nature herself!


I have always been fascinated with the impact of time on both nature and man-made objects. For me, there is intrinsic beauty in evolution, in change, and even in decay. In my mind this relates to our own aging, to the value of recycling and repurposing, and to the recognition of the beauty of weathered and distressed objects – be they a rusty fence, a wall with peeling paint, or ourselves!

123 people placed bundles in nature. Four months later, 96 participants revealed the results on their blog. But there was more. As a means of symbolically reflecting the re-creation that often follows dis-integration in nature, more than 70 of the original participants created a new artwork using some or all of the disintegrated materials from their bundles. You can read about the project, see photos of select bundles, and click through the list of participants in this blog post.

So why am I talking about this project now? Because DisCo has been reDISCOvered! I am thrilled to be able to tell you that this project is currently featured in a 7-page spread in the May/June issue of Cloth Paper Scissors.

The article includes the full story behind DisCo, photos of many of the participating artists' bundles at all stages of the project, the reveal of the final artwork I made from my bundle (yep - I had never posted that on my blog), and step-by-step instructions for this project so you to can try this at home!

Stay tuned for several upcoming posts highlighting a readers' challenge that you can join as well as my own DisCo creation...

And thank you to all the amazing artists who have been part of this project and to Jenn Mason at CPS who has been in my corner since the beginning of DisCo.

A Little Bird Told Me...

Lawendula at Woven Letters has recently begun to sponsor a monthly paper exchange. When you sign up, she pairs you with a partner and you each exchange paper based on a monthly theme. The first month was simply paper. The second month was tags. The next exchange will be after the holidays in January. I participated in the first swap and was happily matched with Robert Stockton, whose wonderful collages can be seen on Absolute Arts. He and I have similar likes and the package I received from him, as you can see below, was full of paper treasures!




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Who says DisCo is dead???





Those of you who were following my blog over the course of this past year will remember DisCo -- my Disintegration Collaboration. Kris Henderson has set up a project based on DisCo which she is calling the Erosion Bundle Project. So if you missed participating through my blog this past year or you want to have another go, head over to her blog. You have until January 1 to sign up.

For more DisCo news, head over to these posts on Laura Lein-Svencner's blog Lonecrow Art and Collage. Beginning in October, Laura organized a Paper Bundle collaboration through the LaGrange Art League in Illinois. As you will see, she even got some great press!
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Thanks to everybody who has recently bought my Pulse Zine that I had made from the
3rd edition of The Pulse. I just wanted to let you all know that there are currently three copies from the second printing left in my Etsy shop. I will be printing another set of copies but given time limitations, these are not likely to be available until early 2010. So if you have been thinking about getting a copy for yourself or as a gift...strike while the iron is hot!

12/2 update: 2nd printing sold out. Thank you! Email for info on 2010 availability.
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The newest issue of Pasticcio Quartz has just been released. I sing the praises of this zine every time it is published because it is a spectacularly creative publication that is filled with unending information and inspiration. Angela Cartwright and Sarah Fishburn must work overtime for each issue. You can get more information about Pasticcio Quartz here!


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Do you know about the Inspiration Station icon on the sidebar of my blog?


When I come across a blog post, an artist, a video, a book, an artwork, or anything else that inspires me, I update the Station with the new link. The date of the update is also listed so you can keep track of when they change.
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Thanks to everybody for the positive feedback on my first Secret Sunday post. Remember, that was just the first of many. Visit The Altered Page every Sunday for a new post. This Sunday November 29, keep your eyes and ears open for secrets about products. And who doesn't need more of those???

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DisCo DisCovery

In January of this year I put a call out on my blog to other artists to join an online project called the Disintegration Collaboration (DisCo). The idea was simple: create an artistic bundle made from materials of their own choosing and “hang, bury, submerge, or just place” the bundle in the elements. This collaboration was to be with the ultimate partner…Mother Nature herself!

A little background for you. The impact of time on both nature (think the budding and blooming of a plant) and man-made objects (think the rusting of a metal washer dropped in the street) has always been fascinating for me. In my mind, there is intrinsic beauty in evolution, in change, and even in decay. I am far from the first person to do something like this, but I thought it would be interesting to apply this natural process to art.

Symbolically, I feel that aging, disintegration, and decay are natural parts of evolution which create something of value and are not necessarily endings, or things to be discarded or dismissed. To me this relates to our own aging, to the value of recycling and repurposing, and to the recognition of the beauty of weathered and distressed objects – be they a rusty fence, a wall with peeling paint, or ourselves!

PART ONE
123 artists answered the original call and posted photographs of their bundles on their blogs. You can click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here to be taken to previous posts on my blog that showcase many of the bundles.

Here are just a few examples:




PART TWO
Bundles of every imaginable material, shape, and color were hung, tied, buried, and submerged all around the world. Nature worked her magic with snow, rain, hail, sun, wind, earth, fire, and water - interacting with and disintegrating bundles of bundles. We all watched and waited. On May 1, participating artists began to retrieve their bundles to see the impact of nature. For some it was subtle. For some it was dramatic. And for some, their bundle was gone, either through nature's hands of human hands. In the end, 96 artists posted their "after" pictures. The links to each one can be found on the sidebar of my blog under the Disintegration icon.

Here are just a few examples:




PART THREE
But there was more. As a means of symbolically reflecting the re-creation that often follows dis-integration in nature, all artists were asked to create a new artwork using some or all of the disintegrated materials from their bundles. And today is the start of the reveal! Their ultimate creations are as varied and exciting as their original bundles.

As artists post their artwork, I will add links below. Click on each link to be taken to their post and feel free to leave a comment so they know you visited. If you are a blogger who has posted their artwork and you do not find your name on the list, please email me so I can add your link. Please note that soon these links will be transferred to the sidebar of my blog and will always be easily accessible!

Sun Soul Art Thoughts 08/01/09
LaWendeltreppe 08/01/09
Debrina's Diary 08/01/09
opening connecting 08/01/09
Lani Puppetmaker's Blog Spot 08/01/09
Jazzgoil Ink 08/01/09
Memories of Mine to Thine 08/01/09
Second Nature 08/01/09
Art Propelled 08/01/09
Ink Haven 08/01/09
Just a Note 08/01/09
Cinnamon Studio 08/01/09
Altered Book Lover - Part 1 08/01/09
Altered Book Lover - Part 2 08/01/09
Marianne's Art Blog 08/01/09
Lucky Dip 08/01/09
4 Rooms and the Moon 08/01/09
Truly Spacious 08/01/09
Caroline at Coastcard 08/01/09
theresa mARTin 08/01/09
BT - The Crafty Gardener 08/01/09
Fran Meneley 08/01/09
Christine Marie Art 08/01/09
Found Memories Art 08/01/09
Papieren Avonturen 08/01/09
n2theblue 08/01/09
Expression Studio 08/01/09
Pentamento 08/01/09
Fully Flummoxed - Part 1 08/01/09
The Land of Lost Luggage 08/01/09
The Weaver of Grass 08/01/09
Where I talk about Art 08/01/09
Gillian McMurray 08/01/09
Art in Redwagons 08/01/09
POGA Art 08/01/09
Mick Mathers Art Blog 08/01/09
Beelieve 08/01/09
Lynn - Getting my Feet Wet 08/01/09
Corrine's Altered Art 08/01/09
Magpie's Nest 08/01/09
Primfixins 08/01/09
One Day at a Time 08/01/09
JazWorks 08/01/09
Creative Rebel Gal 08/01/09
Rodrigvitz Style 08/01/09
Hermine's Place 08/01/09
This I Didn't Know 08/01/09

Be...Dream...Play... 08/02/09
Ruth Rae/Judy Wilkenfeld 08/02/09
River Garden Studio 08/02/09
Rosa & Josie's 08/02/09

Artisticaneum 08/03/09
Altered Bits 08/03/09
Creatively Anew 08/03/09
Fully Flummoxed - Part 2 08/03/09

Dryadart's Weblog 08/05/09

In the Name of Art 08/06/09

Two Dresses Studio 08/07/09
Art-ticulation 08/07/09

Artfully Ooglebloops 08/10/09

World of Joy 08/14/09

Stamping Rika 08/15/09

The Artful Eye 08/17/09

Bohemian Caravan 08/24/09

Artsortments 08/26/09

Writing from Life 08/27/09

Ro Bruhn 09/01/09

Mixed Media 09/08/09

While the initial plan was to have all artists post on August 1, many of the participants (including myself)will be posting later in the month instead. Please check back often to see the updated list. As you can see, I have included the date I added each link to the list so that it is easier to track which blogs you still need to visit.

Enjoy! And thank you to everybody involved!

Destination Disintegration

****************The Reveal - 08-01-09****************

Q and A on Everyday

Are you familiar with Everyday Artist Studio? Today they are featuring an interview with me about DisCo - the Disintegration Collaboration.

Jenn Mason is the mastermind behind this site and has created an amazing, one-stop hub of creativity. She features video interviews and tutorials, art book reviews, classes, a list of artist retreats, a blog, descriptions of and tutorials for art tools, a list and review of must-visit art shops across the country, and so much more.

Stop by today and visit often.



Thank you Jenn for this opportunity and for introducing DisCo to a whole new audience.

DisCo Inferno

Many thanks to everybody involved in DisCo - the DISintegration COllaboration. I am sending a big shout out to all the artists who joined this collaboration, all the people who have been following the project, and to everybody who has emailed me and/or left comments about the posts.


So far 84 participants have posted their "after" images. You can find them all on the sidebar of my blog under the "disintegration collaboration - after" icon. As more artists post, I will add a link to their site at the bottom of the list. So stay tuned for 39 more bundles!

And there is more. Stay tuned for the next part of the project. All artists have been asked to create an artwork using some or all of the disintegrated material from their bundles. Disintegration becomes integration. Destruction becomes renewal. On August 1 each participant will reveal their work of art on their blog. I cannot wait to see what each of these talented artists come up with!

I have decided to take a brief blogging break in the upcoming days. A time out to finish up this part of DisCo and to focus on actually creating some new art. I will be back soon...with highlights from the project, new posts, new art and photography, a restocked Etsy, and info about my next project...The Pulse IV. But, as I always say on these breaks, don't be surprised if posts pop up sooner rather than later.


A reminder to visit my Inspiration Station. Click the icon on my sidebar to be taken to the post, video, website, artwork, etc. that is inspiring me in the moment. So you know when it is updated, I will add the date next to the icon whenever I change the link. And I will be linking to different sources of inspiration during this brief blogging break. So continue to visit and try it out today to see some amazing and quite inspiring photographs.

I leave you with an image safari...scenes from the streets of New York. Click the images to enlarge.









See you soon!