Day 288 - 365/2014

Day Two Hundred Eighty-Eight

This morning I had a delightful time with Jan and Leann over coffee (sadly, Joan was not able to join us).  Afterwards I ran a few errands.  This afternoon I went back out for a few more errands and tonight these histamine (over)reactions are just laying me out.  BUT -- I am matching up some heads with bodies to make replacement collages for my Animal People series for Art-o-mat.  There is also a mountain of laundry (and another one of dishes/pots+pans) to do before I go to bed.  Road trip with Jan tomorrow -- and although I really don't like road trips very much -- I am looking forward to spending the time with Jan AND seeing my friend Val in Ohio...more tomorrow (late).

Oh -- and one of my errands was a stop at Parmenter's Cider Mill -- man! -- the cider is really delicious this year!

Day 174 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Seventy-Four

Today I cut images and assembled the collage around the banjo guy for Terri.  I was a bit stuck  because I couldn't shake the initial ideas that I had around the banjo guy so I asked Terri to give me a few words to describe her friend (the real-life banjo player).  Among what she told me were:  the colors of rust and weeds, cabbages, vintage advertising, and kittens.  It was funny because I had imagined cats around this Animal People guy from the beginning.

For the life of me I could not come up with cabbage pictures in any of my magazines or flower catalogs.  When I was out the other day picking up hardware for the frame, the thought occurred to me that I might be able to find some packets of cabbage seeds at the hardware store -- I had to go to a couple of different places but I finally found some and they worked very well.  The neon sign "guests" just jumped out of my from my stash and I liked that it gives the overall scene a little bit of dimension. 

Anyway -- I showed Terri a photo of the collage today in an email and she was pleased with it -- yay!

scan of the collage's surface

I still need to finish the back of the plaque and sign/date it and add the hardware...but I am happy with the way it turned out  -- AND -- I am very glad that Terri likes it, too.  I gave the collage the title "Of Cabbages + Kittens".

Day 130 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Thirty

Today I have been assembling the last twelve (I thought it was thirteen, but it is twelve) Animal People collages of the second fifty (of one hundred).  After I post this entry to the blog I will go back and add the phrases to the collages. 

This afternoon I was cutting flower images.

Getting started tonight.

Assembling the first two collages.

A little over halfway done.

Whew!

Done -- now for a short break.

I will add the phrases before I go to bed.

After adding the phrases, next up is to move on to the clean up process, then printing and adhering the labels to the blocks, and then wrapping them in cellophane/acetate and then packing them up and shipping them to AIC.  I would love to get this in the mail by the end of next week -- we will see.

Day 123 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Twenty-Three

Well...things did go a bit better today...yay.  I had to do a lot of cutting of more images, I think that was part of the problem...I've just been digging through the same pictures for too long.

I assembled thirteen collages today/this evening...I am very done for the night.  I collected all of them that are done to this stage and I only have twelve more to go to get to one hundred!  Wa-hoooo!

I know these snapshots are a bit dark (they are pretty back lit, and towards the end it was starting to get darker inside...that not-quite-dark-enough-to-turn-on-more-lights-but-dim-enough-to-need-one time of day) but I am just not motivated enough to edit them...I rarely do anyway.

Bringing the boxes out...getting ready.

CUTTING!!!

DONE for the day!

After the mess was cleared away, these are the collages I assembled today.

Only 12 more to go to get to 100 (to this stage)!

Day 122 - 365/2014

Day One Hundred Twenty-Two

Most of my day was spent with trying to figure out why a particular file would no longer attach to emails -- it worked just fine the other day -- but today it would not.  I was in online chat with the cable company for over an hour and we never did get it resolved...it has been given a "priority ticket" and sent to the "engineers" to see if they can figure it out.  In the meantime, I had sixty-one emails to send.  I ended up typing out a very plain-looking email with no logo and just did it that way.  I am not nearly as happy with it, but at least they were all sent out.

That sucked a lot of enthusiasm out of me for a while...then I started to want to work on the Animal People collages...I only have about 26 more to go (out of 100) that are in this stage of the process.  After this comes the wording and clean up, then labels, then wrapping in cellophane, and packaging/shipping off to AIC.

But this is as far as I could get.  I got all set up, put the music on, I was feeling good -- but nothing was coming.  Everything felt really forced.  I think I might simply be a bit preoccupied with the tasks that still remain for next week.  Oh well...at least I got a teensy bit accomplished -- I am sure tomorrow will be better.

Day 69 - 365/2014

Day Sixty-Nine

Man.  Sometimes the collages almost make themselves and sometimes I just can. not. get. ANY. thing. to. work.  Tonight was the latter.  

First, things were just not coming together...then things felt "off"... faces weren't looking right...and then I decided not to struggle against it anymore for tonight.  

Ready to get started.

The more I looked at this guy, the more he didn't look right...that white on his neck just looks like a big smudge in person.

Nope...it was just the white on the dog's neck...but it wasn't working with the body...maybe too much white on white at that exact spot.

I had this cat girl in mind when I cut out this cocktail.  But damn...they just won't fit on the block no matter how I turn them or angle them.  The lemon peel needs to be there...and it looks great on the green background...but then I can't get enough of her to...GAH!

None of the coffee cups were working with the coffee beans...and none were working with the Animal People.

NO ideas...too many tiny pictures...I give up for tonight!

At least I got these two assembled...they don't look like much yet, I know.  When phrases get added later on everything will come together.  It appears that these two make a total of eleven (of the second 50 of 100) so far...I thought I was farther along.

It hasn't been a totally wasted day.  I got quite a bit of housework done, ran a few errands...talked to my sister on the phone tonight.  Maybe it is the air quality or something today...the temps were in the low fifties and everything is melting.  More snow back in the forecast in a few days. Things will improve eventually.