New Year, New Layers

Jan.2, 2018

Jan. 3, 2018
mixed media collage on paper
5x8"

Using more color.
Deepening the sense of space and layers.
Good start for the New Year!

www.claremurrayadams.com
http://instagram.com/claremurrayadams

Before the Ball Drops

Dec. 26, 2017 collage
mixed media on paper
5x8"

I did manage to get one small collage done between Christmas and New Year's Day,
when I always think I have lots of time to create but in reality have very little.
I still have today and tomorrow, so let's see if I can make it happen once more in 2017.
Fingers crossed, but no promises.

I did go out to my studio yesterday to put something away and retrieve a mug of tea that had been out there
for several days.  Although I had another appointment that would keep me from working in the studio
I did linger a few minutes.
...fingering through the tray of collage materials I keep by my work station.
....tidying up the brushes, pencils, and pens.
...eyeing possible materials to use as the first layer in the next collage.

I sincerely hope I can make it into the studio for one more small collage before the ball drops on Times Square
moving us all into 2108.

www.claremurrayadams.com
http://instagram.com/claremurrayadams

The Challenges of Time

Mining the Sketchbook no 2: Time
mixed media collage with found clocks
36x16x8"

Finally I was able to amass the kind and various sizes of clocks to complete this piece.
The issue of time has been constant throughout my journal writings and art work over the years.
It is still my biggest challenge...
having enough time to make work,
the amount of time it takes to do certain processes,
managing art time in conjunction with what I like to call life maintenance, all the glamourless
and thankless jobs that we do day in and day out, over and over again.

Some of the time references above are pretty straightforward and universally understood...
Big Ben, clock gears, wrist/pocket watches, the marking of time on a wall.
Others are more personal time references.
The element that is missing from this work is sound - the repetitive ticking of those clocks.
I am working on that.

www.claremurrayadams.com
http://instagram.com/claremurrayadams

End of the Year Thoughts

Dec. 16, 2017
mixed media almost daily collage
5x8"

Sometimes I find it difficult to make work during the holiday.
To paraphrase something my friend Faye said the other day,
"It's as if we have to push everyone we know and all of the celebrating into a an 8 day period
between Christmas and New Year."
So with all of the cooking and shopping, the visiting and good-cheering there is little time for the studio.
I also have to add in the fact that my studio is cold on days when it is below freezing,
even though I have heat in there.

That being said, I do try to make something on a regular basis.
That makes these small collages perfect for this hectic holiday season.
This one is from before Christmas and I hope to post a few more (okay, one for sure!) before 2018.
Happy Holidays!

www.claremurrayadams.com
http://instagram.com/claremurrayadams

Merry! Merry!

Wishing you a wonderful holiday with a new year

full of promise and creativity!

Clare

www.claremurrayadams.com 

http://instagram.com/claremurrayadams

Third Time's the Charm

Dec. 6, 2017 Collage

Dec. 7, 2017 Collage

Dec. 8, 2017 Collage
mixed media collage
5x8" each

These three collages were made from an older collage that I deemed unsuccessful.

As I cut the older piece into the 5x8" pieces I am using for my "almost daily collages" I realized that there was another older work on the back of this piece as well.

So now I am reworking this piece of paper for a third time!

What I had to work with after I cut the old collage into the 5x8" rectangles was a rich dark brown painted background with some strong black circular shapes.

The apple shapes came from a paper I found in my stash of possible collage papers. Also incorporated are bits of rusted papers,  an eco printed paper in the the Dec. 7th collage, and in the bottom piece a section of silk screened fabric.

I had so much fun with these and they seemed to take on a life of their own.

I liked the way the oil crayons responded to the dark brown acrylic paint layer.

I enjoyed incorporating the fragments of the black circles that remained after I adhered the apple collage elements.

The marks on the deconstructed silk screen fabric found their way from the 

fabric into the fruit.

Loving this color palette!  

I just put these pieces on my website.

And I am now selling my artwork directly from my website.

These 3 pieces would make a wonderful grouping matted, framed and hung together in a 

small intimate space.

They are $15 each and you can find them in the Mixed Media Gallery under 

Small Paper Collages.

Until January 20, 2018 I am offering 10% off any work on my site and free shipping!

I hope you will take a look at my newly reorganized website.

Follow me on Instagram!

Mining the Sketchbook

"Mining the Sketchbook no. 1:  Balance"
25 x 16"
mixed media collage on paper

The other day I was looking for something in the cupboard where I keep my sketchbooks.
I don't remember what I was looking for, but before I knew it I was lost in going through my sketchbooks and thinking about ideas that never came to fruition, ideas that shouldn't ever be realized and noticing common themes in the drawings, ideas, and notes over the years.

This brought me to reviewing works that I did make from either the drawings or notes,
still recognizing common themes.
From that I began this work about aspects of balance.
There are some new additions to what I found in the sketchbook but the theme was definitely in the dress drawing on the top left and the dress and scales on the bottom of the work. The elephant and the man balancing on the high wire are new more concrete references to balance.

I was thinking about these two separate pages as if they were sketchbook pages but with a little more finesse.
While the writing or quotes weren't in my sketchbook,
I feel they reflect more directly the ideas surrounding balance, both in my work and my thought process.
Even the way the two pages are composed, one in its proper orientation and one on its side, are about balance.

www.claremurrayadams.com
http://instagram.com/claremurrayadams