Archive for November, 2017

Three more book covers . . .

Tuesday, November 28th, 2017

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”
— Ellen Parr

“What do I make next?”
— Paula Scher
 

Curiosity is perhaps a common characteristic of all visual artists, but certainly it is a driving feature of what motivates the collage practitioner — curiosity about acquiring and editing discovered remnants, curiosity about choosing a substrate or background context, and curiosity about composing selected ingredients for creative juxtaposition. We are all, in essence, “curators” of what others have cast aside.

Cecil Touchon has written, “The hunt for found materials is crucial to the process of many collage artists, causing them to be consummate collectors of things. Their collecting of material artifacts for their artistic appeal and possibilities rather than for rarity or value often makes them keenly aware of popular culture — present and past — with the subtle eye of an anthropological curator. Collage artists explore the artifacts that have poured out of the cornucopia of modern society, using them as grist for the creative mill, generating new works of art with materials that have already had their useful life and have been retired from their intended purpose. In the hands of collage artists, these materials often achieve poetic stature when their inherent visual qualities are brought to the fore and their former usefulness disregarded.”

Every creative person is interested in what comes next. Those of us who focus our curiosity on the discarded are also interested in what we shall rescue and transform in order to create it.
 

Touché ~ J A Dixon

Touché
collage miniature on book cover by J A Dixon
7 x 10 inches
 
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Mussel Power ~ J A Dixon

Mussel Power
collage miniature on book cover by J A Dixon
7 x 10 inches
 
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Evolucent ~ J A Dixon

Evolucent
collage miniature on book cover by J A Dixon
7 x 10 inches
 
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Happy Birthday to my only Grandson!

Tuesday, November 21st, 2017

 

Rugged Country
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8 x 10 inches
collection of J M Strock, Jr

Miniature vs. Miniature

Monday, November 20th, 2017

“Tie small-scale contrasts together compositionally, but also large-scale contrasts; for instance: confront chaos with order, so that both groups, which are separately coherent, become related when they are placed next to or above each other; they enter into the relation of contrast, whereby the characters of both sides are mutually heightened.”
— Paul Klee, 1915
 

For the most part, I consider any collage artwork that is 8 x 10 inches or smaller to be a “miniature,” but this is not a definition that I expect anyone else to adopt. It is just a personal rule of thumb within my nomenclature, based on a conviction that the small format has been at the heart of the evolving medium from the outset and continues to be the wellspring of innovation.

Cohesive collage artworks at this scale have always been qualified to stand on their own as finished creations, but I am increasingly fascinated by the process of assembling multiples or embedding miniatures into composite designs. It boosts their perceived character as “artifacts,” and offers the practitioner another level of discernment that balances intuitive spontaneity with more considered design judgments.

This is a series that I shall enjoy expanding.
Please let me know what you think.
 

Fresh-Full of Youth ~ J A Dixon

Fresh-Full of Youth
combined collage miniature segments
J A Dixon, 11 x 14 inches
 
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Clarissa’s Beetle ~ J A Dixon

Clarissa’s Beetle
combined collage miniature segments
J A Dixon, 11 x 14 inches
 
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Happy Birthday to my only Godson!

Sunday, November 19th, 2017

 

Small Animation
collage miniature by J A Dixon
7.375 x 10.25 inches
collection of N J Dixon

New note cards featuring ‘Cherry Balm’

Friday, November 17th, 2017

It’s that time of year when I urge you to “take note” of the card sets featuring some of my collage artworks, (now including Cherry Balm). They’ll be available during Danville’s upcoming Holiday Market at the Arts Center, which opens tonight. It is shaping up to be a unique local kick-off for the gift-giving season — live music, cash bar, and an assortment of holiday treats for hungry shoppers. For those nearby: begin your year-end activities in earnest. Perhaps I shall see you this evening!
 

Holiday Market at the Arts Center ~ Community Arts Center, Danville, Kentucky ~ November 17 to December 23, 2017
 

Note cards by J A Dixon featuring details of ‘Cherry Balm,’ collage on canvas

Cherry Balm (details)
assorted vertical-format note cards by J A Dixon
4 blank cards, 1 each of 4 cover images
5.125 x 7.75 inches, folded
available for purchase

Monday, November 13th, 2017

I shall be participating in the first-ever Holiday Market at our local Community Arts Center. The opening reception is this Friday evening, and I’m curious to see how much interest there is in art buying for the year-end season.
 
 

Spool’s Errand

Monday, November 6th, 2017

 
Spool’s Errand ~ an experimental collage miniature by J A Dixon, Danville, Kentucky

Spool’s Errand
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8.5 x 9.75 inches
 
Purchase this artwork!