Here’s my first attempt at doing a close-up portrait of a giraffe. I’ve always thought that giraffes are strange-looking animals. They definitely don’t look like they belong on planet Earth, but some other place in outer space. From their long necks to their unusual ossicones that looks like horns, everything about them seems like it came from another planet. Hence the title of this piece – which I definitely enjoyed coming up with.
I have a tendency of tackling dog collages all of the time, so I thought it was time to change things up a bit and make a cat collage. When I completed this piece, I realized the cat definitely looked like he had a bit of attitude – hence the title.
Last month I had a chance to stop by the WONDER exhibit at Renwick Gallery. I was really impressed by what I saw there, and decided to revisit the exhibit the other day with a friend. WONDER is definitely one of the more inspiring exhibits I’ve seen in the DC area, simply because the artwork was so marvelous. Each piece made a loud statement, and I liked each piece for its own complexity and beauty.
Patrick Dougherty’s willow saplings looked like magical swirls of nature.
One of my favorite pieces of the entire show was Gabriel Dawe’s Plexus. I absolutely loved how he used thread to create a beautiful rainbow.
Tara Donovan’s installation included mounds of index cards that were stacked in such a way that they were reminiscent of rock formations.
Another one of my favorite pieces was Janet Echelman’s knotted and braided fiber with programmable lighting and wind movement from above. I loved how the installation was constantly changing colors. I felt like I was visiting another world when I looked up at the braided colors.
John Grade’s Middle Fork was a beautifully made sculpture from reclaimed red cedar. I thought it was poetic that he created a new tree from the remains of a former tree.
Maya Lin’s Folding the Chesapeake was composed of marbles that formed organic shapes the sprawled across the floor and along the walls of the exhibit space.
Overall I thought WONDER was a gorgeous show, and I’m really glad I went to see it a couple of times. I feel really lucky to live in the DC area, where the Smithsonian provides free admission for these shows. This was definitely one of my favorites exhibits to date.
If you’re someone who has been following my work for years, you’re probably wondering why you started seeing photographs of handwritten cards popping up on all my social media channels. What gives with these images?
Well, this artist is exploring something from her past. I studied creative writing alongside painting back in college, and I haven’t really done much writing since graduating, although recently I started writing a novel and have completed a handful of poems here and there. And that’s what sparked this series, The Write Art.
I started jotting down random thoughts that popped into my head throughout the day, and thought it would be fun to merge my previous life as a writer with my current work as an artist. The plan is to write down my thoughts on art, life, or something related to my sometimes absurd sense of humor, and then photograph my hand holding a handwritten card up in front of different backgrounds. It’s sort of like producing a collage in a different way, where I’m overlapping a handwritten card in front of different environments.
So far this new series has helped revamp my creativity, and I’m looking forward to continuing to share snippets of my thoughts on art, pop culture, and life in general. I’ve been making “painting with paper” collages since I was about sixteen, and every now and then it’s nice to change things up a bit. This new project is allowing me to do just that.
Here are a few images from this new series:
You can follow the series as I post new images on my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.
I’m excited to announce that I will be hosting a workshop at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum on January 14th – Wild for Collage; A night with the National Zoo and Megan Coyle.
The event will begin with a talk on the issue of Wildlife Trafficking by volunteers from the National Zoo. Then I’ll give a presentation on the collage process while running a workshop where attendees can make their own animal collages. I’m very excited that the Smithsonian has given me this opportunity, and I’m looking forward to it. Hope to see you there!
Here’s my first attempt at a puffin collage. This guy is definitely a little cartoonish looking, but it was a lot of fun to make. Looking forward to seeing how the next puffin collage turns out…
Yesterday I created a time lapse video that shows the making of a parrot collage, and above is the finished piece – a photo in better lighting! I’m realizing that I’ll need to play around with lighting for future videos. In general, I’ve decided that I need to make more videos of my process and I’m thinking of perhaps coming out with a series where I answer frequently asked questions. So stay tuned – brand new content has yet to come!
Sometimes a work of art can be a bit of a struggle – which is exactly what this one was. It was my first time tackling a snake portrait, and it was also my first time tackling a reptile at such an odd angle. Overall I think it turned out alright, but I wouldn’t say I’m terribly proud of this one. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been staring at it for too long for too many hours…
So why share it? Because it’s part of the artistic process. Instead of sharing all my masterpieces, I like to share all the artwork I’m working on in the studio. I think that every work of art I complete, the failures and successes, all help me move towards becoming a better artist. And I love sharing that process with everyone, where I can share how I learn and grow along the way.
Every year around this time of year, I start to hear from students from a class in Venezuela. A teacher at the British School Caracas there teaches a unit on my work, and it’s always wonderful to hear from her students. It’s even better when I get a chance to see their painting with paper collages.
Earlier this week I heard from one of the British School Caracas students, Maia Troconis, who sent along a few images of her work. As always, I’m impressed by what the students come up with on their own. It’s always fantastic to see the work of growing artists.
This guy turned out a little more serious than I expected, hence the title, “Oh Wise Seagull.” He looks rather wise, doesn’t he? I enjoyed working some interesting textures into this piece. I also liked using more of a contrast – using pale colors with dark outlines. It created an effect that I wasn’t quite expecting. I suppose that’s the beauty of art, isn’t it? You never really know what you’ll wind up with. Sometimes the surprise is pleasant, sometimes it’s frustrating, but overall, it’s always worthwhile.