Found Type Tuesday

There's a lot of found type to love on this bottle cap mosaic that I shot in an artist's studio in an old factory building. The mosaic was done on the windowsill with these simple, yet beautiful, discarded bottle caps.

Maybe the artist was trying to improve upon the oh-so-decrepit windowsill with a funky burst of color. Or maybe this project was just a good excuse to crack open a cold one.

Don't forget to leave a comment with a link if you want to share your own Found Type Tuesday image.

Thinking Inside the Box - The Preview

A while back I mentioned the class I'm taking called Thinking Inside the Box. I've been busy learning to use power tools and building a hinged box with a lid and a shadow box with a glass front. My little pine box is now sporting hinges and a couple coats of paint. After this photo was taken I added the mail art collage that I hope will give it a real fluxus vibe.

I find it really difficult to cut up and collage with my favorite paper--like these brain cell posters from mail artist Ryosuke Cohen. But now that it's done, I'm thrilled to see them on the box rather than stored in the drawer where they've been for years. I cut up two of the five posters in my collection and covered both the inside and the outside of the box. I'll post close-ups of some of my favorite parts soon.

Here are a few peaks at my Joseph Cornell inspired shadow box which is just about ready to be assembled. It's a simple design made from found objects--maps, wood, and brass. For now you'll just have to imagine how these parts will go together.

The final class meets this week, and I'm looking forward to seeing all the finished projects...including mine. I'm off to touch up some paint, find some screws, and finish these works of art!

Sometimes You Just Need A Kick In The Pants

Have you ever had an idea that's been rattling around in your brain for so long that you start to think you've already done it? Except, of course, you've only done it in your head? And then you see a piece of art that someone else has created and it jump starts the idea out of your head and propels it into something tangible? Well, that's what happened to me this week.

I've been collecting rejectamenta for years. Random, little bits and pieces of life that end up on the sidewalk, in hallways, stairwells, and parking lots. It's hard for me to pass over a handwritten note, bus ticket, or parking pass that I come across during the course of my day.


My friends and family bring me finds that they think I'll like. I've used rejectamenta in collage, mail art, journals and altered books. I even created an entire journal devoted to rejectamenta.


I've got loads of stuff!

There's just something that fascinates me about using what most people consider trash to create something that can be viewed as art. This concept was the inspiration for the name of my blog and the banner art I created above.

Every piece is fascinating to me in its entirety. For that reason I haven't had the courage to break the stuff down into smaller fragments--although that's the idea that's been in my head for a long time. I've been thinking about creating large collages of rejectamenta and then randomly cutting them up into multiple smaller collages. I've been thinking about it for so long but never convinced myself to actually do it.

Until this week when I opened the latest issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors and saw the stunning "Graffiti Wall" collaboration created by Seth Apter and knew that I had to finally bring this idea to life. Seth did with handmade papers what I wanted to do with rejectamenta. And he did it beautifully! You can read about Seth's project and see the Cloth, Paper, Scissors article here.

I already knew about this particular collaboration because The Altered Page is one of my favorite blogs. I admire Seth's creative use of found objects in his artwork and his amazing generosity in sharing and showcasing the inspirational work of other artists. Although I had already seen the results of the graffiti wall project online, something about seeing it in print caused me to fly (yes, fly!) down to my studio and start slapping glue and paper together.

It was just the kick in the pants that I needed!!!


For an entire week I've been joyfully gluing and cutting up my beloved rejectamenta. The results are exactly what I imagined they would be--only better.


I'm so happy with the totally random compositions and find the fragments of rejectamenta just as intriguing as the whole. Maybe more so. I don't know yet what I'll do with these mini collages. Maybe I'll follow Seth's lead and make my own brick wall. Or maybe I'll come up with another idea, or ten, or a hundred. But for now it just feels good to have made the transition from idea to art.


Thank you Seth, for giving me the kick in the pants that I needed to finally bring an idea to fruition. And thank you to all the blog artists who generously share the ideas, projects, and finished results that inspire the rest of us to roll up our sleeves, get our hand dirty or sticky, and just make stuff. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

IF - Modify

For the Illustration Friday challenge this week I decided to post a watercolor sketch that I did a few years back of a darling little plant affectionately known as "my buddy spuddy." Spuddy started off as an ordinary, garden variety sweet potato that was MODIFIED into the happy-go-lucky character seen here. First he was placed in a pot of water until he sprouted greenery and one tiny hair on the top of his head. Then he just cried out for a pair of googly eyes to really develop his humorous persona. Additional modifications included an oh-so-sweet pair of sunglasses and a bright yellow hand which were both found objects that fit him perfectly. Spuddy was the ideal office mate until we were forced to part ways when he got old, shriveled, and started to stink.

Luckily I captured his spirit in a couple of photos and the sketch above before his unfortunate demise. I've included a photo here just to prove I'm not making this stuff up.

Does anyone else out there besides me feel the need to modify inanimate objects with googly eyes or other accoutrements?

Photos of Class Projects

These are the photos that Terry took on the last day of class.

This is my project inspired by the wood sculptures of Louise Nevelson. I'm slightly obsessed with circles and they appear often in my artwork.

A closer view.

This is my version of a Robert Rauschenberg "combine" painting. I was happy to be able to use a few of my favorite street finds in this piece. The metal signs with numbers were used to mark outdoor parking spaces downtown--until they rusted and blew off the wires where they were suspended. I found the big hunk 'o rust in a rest area parking lot during my fall trip to West Virginia.



Finally, my project inspired by the work of Joseph Cornell. I bought the frame at my neighbor's garage sale about 10 years ago. I love the weathered wood and the metal pieces that join the sides together. I originally intended to use the paper tags to label the keys that were going to be the basis of the piece. Instead, the tags became the focus and the keys are now a future project.

Last Class

Yesterday was our last class for Found Object Art. We brought in all three of our finished projects, critiqued the last two projects, and Terry photographed everything for us. I’ll post the pictures as soon as I receive them.

In the meantime, I can say that I’m pretty impressed with what we created and with how different and individual all the projects turned out. It was amazing to see the final results and talk about how the projects evolved from our initial ideas. I had planned to use my large collection of keys in my Joseph Cornell project—and ended up not using a single one. I guess that’s part of the excitement and fun of creating art; you’re never really sure just where it’s going to take you.

For me, the structure of a class definitely keeps me more focused and productive than I am on my own. And Terry’s input was invaluable in helping me to think on a higher artistic level. I also have a brand new appreciation for Nevelson, Rauschenberg, Cornell and all artists who create with found objects. The class was well worth the investment of time, money, and effort and I hope to take more classes in the future.

I really wanted to share more of the class and the artistic process in this blog, but it was difficult balancing that with the rest of my life. Blogging hasn’t become an integral part of my life just yet. I’ll have to keep working at that.

Thanks Cathy for taking the class with me! Everything is more fun with a friend by your side.

Found Object Art

We had our first class, and it turns out there are three of us in the class. We spent the first half of class discussing the artists whose work we will attempt to mimic: Louise Nevelson, Robert Rauschenberg, and Joseph Cornell. Our instructor, Terry, brought books about the artists and explained how each used found objects in their work. For the Nevelson project, we will create a shallow relief sculpture within a box that involves pattern, repetition, uniformity, and a monochromatic color scheme. We spread out the found objects that we brought and started to figure out which ones to use. As Terry went around and looked at the found objects, he had a lot of ideas and suggestions about what could be used for each of the projects.

By the next class we should have the box and all of the objects painted with 2-3 coats of paint. Then we'll arrange the pieces and glue them in place with liquid nails. Cathy took the white paint home and gave me a container over the weekend. I have the box and about 75% of my objects painted. Today I played around with how to put it all together and it's not as easy as it seems. I thought I had it pretty well figured out until everything toppled over. I think it's time to start gluing.