It is such a pleasure in artmaking when there’s a good fit between what is interesting to you and the methods you use to create.

I rediscovered some of that today.

I was doing some digital housecleaning, going through my files of artwork and organizing. (The nerdy half of my brain sometimes enjoys this almost as much as the original creating.)

I spent some time looking at a collage I had created about a year ago, “Beneath the Ice.” 

My small matted collages are the most intuitive pieces I create. That’s why they are such good in-between projects from my work on larger quilts. When I create a large quilt, I am always following a plan. I’ve done some sketching and some thinking, and I have in mind a specific effect or mood I want to create. Yes, serendipitous things happen along the way and I remain open to surprises. But it’s never just an intuitive evolution.

The process for the collages is exactly opposite. I get in the groove of printmaking monotypes and let them go where they go. I mix up fabric and rice paper. I discover a mix of deep colors and light textures. The method suits this loose way of printing. Acrylics dry very fast and can also create very intense, lush colors.

Then, when I’ve created a bunch, going through the stack to discover pieces to collage together is like a treasure hunt. It’s at this point I think the process most matches my interests.

I enjoy wondering about hidden worlds and inner realities. As a kid, I was drawn to stories about little people or little animals who built their homes under a log. Now, when I listen to NPR in the studio as I work, I am drawn to science stories about going deep in the ocean to previously unexplored depths and discovering new life forms.

I resonate to questions. What’s under there? I wonder what’s inside of this? How does it feel in this place?

Picking through the hand-printed pieces is, then, an act of discovery.  As I pull together paper pieces to collage, I almost always rip (as opposed to scissor-cutting.) It’s one more way to have tactile involvement with the pieces. For me the process is more challenging, because I am creating compositions that are mostly abstract, not representational. But I find myself thinking of deep hues as shadows. Light and textured pieces are outcroppings. Pieces placed on a diagonal connote change.

This one gave me a lot to look at and experience today. It’s always my hope, in the small works and also in my larger quilts, to create layers and textures that will continue to pose questions, to give the viewer something new to see even after frequent visits.

(If you’d like to see more about this collage or others in the series, please visit my website HERE)

My wish to you today… Stay safe and well. And, while you are at home find joy in creativity.

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

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