Archive for the ‘Thematic Series’ Category

March Ex(plosion)  |  Thirteenth Collage

Saturday, March 13th, 2021

 

Intensify (Bibelot 3626)
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6.5 x 8.75 inches
available for purchase

March Ex(plosion)  |  Eleventh Collage

Thursday, March 11th, 2021

 

Silk Road Seductions
collage miniature by J A Dixon
7.75 x 9.125 inches
available for purchase

March Ex(plosion)  |  Eighth Collage

Monday, March 8th, 2021

 

Had Her Day
collage miniature by J A Dixon
y.25 x 10.1875 inches
from my Series of Rock
available for purchase

This go round: an ex(plosion) of collage

Monday, March 1st, 2021

“When I think how I am not following orders to do what people think I should do, I am scared, but then I think that it is my own work, if anything, that will be remembered. I can’t work for other people. I don’t do good work with their ideas. So I’ll go on with my own.”
– John Steinbeck

The March Exercise is back and fully upon me — another opportunity to harness myself to an all-consuming discipline, with a month-long ritual of collage that has nothing to do with anything but my own way of making it. This whole winter thing began as a 2006 marathon experiment in time management, when I woke up one morning dedicated to the idea of transforming everything to do with how Dana and I positioned our active graphic design practice. Here at TCM, I’ve periodically showcased an extended collage-a-day regimen, most recently with an intense summer flurry of diptychs. I’m back at it again. There won’t be many words in this space for awhile, just traditional, cut-and-glue collage, until I surface for air in April. Until then, I hope you enjoy the Ex(plosion).
 

Really Done Me
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5.25 x 6.125 inches
from my Series of Rock
available for purchase

{th ink} OBJECTEXTION

Sunday, March 8th, 2020

“I intentionally left body parts out of the composition, because as collage artists we are so prone to use them on a regular basis. This call was to have you step out of your comfort zone and try something different.”
— Aaron Beebe
 

The past century of collage history has been a steady influence on my art practice, but I find additional inspiration from a body of contemporary practitioners. Aaron Beebe is among them. I was fortunate enough to have a piece reproduced as part of his first {th ink} publication. With my heart set on getting into issue #2, I confronted the unique submission guidelines: “Must be an analog collage that contains at least one object, NO faces or body parts, and must have some kind of text within the composition.” As I prepared four separate entries, I found myself in no small part attuned to Beebe’s recognizable approach. Paul Klee said, “We do not analyze works of art because we want to imitate them or because we distrust them.” Emulation for the sake of favor? I would surely hope not. L T Holmes articulated it best during her outstanding Under the Influence series of 2013. Lalo Schifrin, while shaping his individual voice as a musician and composer, absorbed the jazz vocabulary of Dizzy Gillespie (who had been influenced by Roy Eldridge). We can all learn much from our peers. Did you see something created this week that stimulated your desire to evolve as an artist? I did.
 

     

 

     
 

Four Submissions, 2020
collage miniatures by J A Dixon
6 x 9 inches each
submitted for possible inclusion
as part of {th ink} issue #2

Ding-ding-ding. The market is open!

Thursday, November 14th, 2019

The Holiday Market sponsored by the Art Center of the Bluegrass is open — a great way for everyone in our community to support ART LOCAL with their gift giving. I have collage miniatures, wood engravings, and note cards available (They can also be purchased online by those who aren’t anywhere near Central Kentucky!). I also made a couple of new Merz Pictures just for the season, continuing my “Market Shard” series. The opening reception is tomorrow, from 5:30 to 7:30pm. I suspect there will be a crowd, so perhaps you might bump an elbow with me.
 
 

Something Given
collage artwork by J A Dixon
9 x 11.625 inches
 
Purchase this artwork!

 

With Mind Serene
collage artwork by J A Dixon
8.375 x 11.375 inches
 
Purchase this artwork!

Simia Egg Macao

Saturday, October 19th, 2019

 

Simia Egg Macao
collage on book cover by J A Dixon
6 x 8 inches
 
Purchase this artwork!

Peachy Cloaked Amydon

Saturday, September 28th, 2019

 

Peachy Cloaked Amydon
collage on book cover by J A Dixon
8 x 11.5 inches
 
Purchase this artwork!

Descending Node ChaCha

Saturday, September 21st, 2019

 

Descending Node ChaCha
collage on book cover by J A Dixon
8 x 11.5 inches
 
Purchase this artwork!

Go on, get entangled!

Saturday, May 18th, 2019

“Quantum entanglement is damn hard to explain in layman’s terms. Not because entanglement is complicated — it isn’t — but because entanglement is so dangerously close to some concepts we are familiar with in the classical world, like communication and common-cause correlation. And because it’s so close to these familiar concepts, it’s horribly easy to jump to the conclusion that entanglement is “like” one of these. But the whole point — the whole thing that makes entanglement uniquely quantum and interesting — is that entanglement isn’t like either of these things.”
— Paul Mainwood
 

I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such delight in a person wanting to own and live with one of my collage artworks, and that’s what made the live auction last night so memorable for me.

I brought a lot of pent-up energy to the piece, not having produced anything in my collage studio since the end of February. It was perhaps the longest layoff I’ve had in that line for a dozen years or so. It was an ideal opportunity to face a blank canvas without a preconceived vision and no abundance of available time. I’m nearly as pleased as my new friend, Sarah, who made the winning bid!

Surely there are quantum mechanics at play in this kind of collage process (the quantum state of each particle cannot be described independently of the state of the other). Please take a look at a few of my contrasting crops, and share your observations with me.
 

   

 

 
 
 
 
 

Quantum Entanglement (three details)
collage on canvas by J A Dixon
28 x 22 inches
collection of Sarah Hamlin Kuchenbrod

Quantum Entanglement

Thursday, May 16th, 2019

“Einstein had no difficulty accepting that affairs in different places could be correlated. What he could not accept was that an intervention at one place could influence, immediately, affairs at the other.”
— John Bell
 

After a long dry spell, I’m pleased to be back tearing and gluing. The result is my contribution to the Art-full Affair, sponsored by the Arts Commission of Danville/Boyle County, to raise financial support for local arts scholarships. Quantum Entanglement has been selected for the live auction tomorrow evening.

Stay tuned for a look at what has kept me out of the collage studio since the end of February.
 

Quantum Entanglement
collage on canvas by J A Dixon
28 x 22 inches

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