National Collage Society 2011 Exhibit

PRESS RELEASE FOR 2011 SIGNATURE MEMBERS

Lynn Bland, Gatlinburg, TN, has been granted Signature Membership in the National Collage Society.  This is the highest distinction awarded to collage artists who have been selected by juries for the Annual Juried Exhibit.

The National Collage Society, Inc. (NCS, Inc) is a non-profit art education foundation with headquarters in Hudson, Ohio.  The purpose of this organization is to educate the public about the only new fine art medium of the 20^th Century, collage.  Collage is defined as a work of art with another layer glued on the surface.  It was found in many craft forms until 1912 when George Braque glued a piece of wallpaper on the surface of one of his paintings and created fine art.  He was sharing a studio with Pablo Picasso in southern France and they both pursued this new medium extensively.  Their collages can now be found in museums around the world.

NCS, Inc was founded by Gretchen Bierbaum in 1982, then incorporated in Ohio and obtained the IRS classification 501 C 3.  Membership has spread around the world with web presence www.nationalcollage.com.

Each year a new three-person jury selects the Annual Exhibit from hundreds of entries.  A museum curator, art history professor and professional collage artist provide a balance of opinions to maintain a high standard of collage and assemblage.

Assemblage is 3-dimensional collage.

Literacy Series: Book I

This assemblage is a combination of collage and pen and ink drawing with encaustic. I have used the beeswax to coat the altered book and the background surface. The twigs and mica are adhered with the wax and found objects such as an old key, a small carved wooden cross, stones and an acorn are added for dimension. Check out this link to view the exhibit:
http://www.nationalcollage.com/2011_exhibit/2011.html

Photograph by Jill Greene

Photographer, Cara Barer

Look at these amazing book sculptures by photographer, Cara Barer. Unfortunately the photos are not very clear and these deserve a closer look. Please go to her website  http://www.carabarer.com/ Select the last category, Sculpture, to see how lovely these are on her site.
After reading her story I learned her inspiration came from a public phone book. These book pages are stiffened and shaped with melted beeswax, so again, another unique way to use encaustic. Without speaking to her I don't know her process, but I can see the use of beeswax in many of her sculptures.  I was so impressed with the soft forms and flowing nature of these book pages.

On the Way to Brooklyn

I actually sent my book off this week ahead of schedule....so unlike me. For a last minute, fly by the seat of my pants person, this was quite a feat. They have even extended the deadline because of all the extreme winter weather. So I'm really actually very punctual. But not so at posting the photos, so there will be a few more to come in future posts.

Post card

Bold and Bright

Testing some colors
. 

Tranquility

These Asian inspired boxes are really fun to make and are the first assemblages I started making in the

 early years. Although  "Tranquility" is a fairly recent one. I used vintage milk paint on this box, I had painted usually paint them with acrylics or spray enamel. The boxes come from a variety of places. This one is just a simple, shallow cigar box. I am always on the lookout for an unusual wooden box to alter. One of my favorite finds was a 1950's children's wooden tool box from ebay. It had so many neat holes, pullouts and drawers, I really had fun with that one and will be posting it in the future. One of the things I enjoy about doing these is the process of making them look ancient.  I was thrilled with the crackle medium I used on the top, it made so many fine little cracks. I then rubbed brown shoe polish into the cracks. The resulting patina was amazing and looked very old.

I have painted all of the inside of the box with 4 or 5 layers milk paint. The milk paint is mixed very thick ( like buttermilk) and sanded well between each coat. Then the collage papers are added. More paint and more collage, drawing and distressing. The final objects are added and colored beeswax is dripped in selected spots.

An old coin I aged placed on a hand made clay disc.

This detail shows a paper wrapped candle on the interior.