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News from the Kentucky Crafted Program

Tuesday, December 5th, 2017

“Proper, untainted pride is not a bad thing. It can even make you try harder sometimes.”
— B L Cummings

I must confess that I am elated and gratified to learn from the Kentucky Arts Council that I have been designated as a “newly adjudicated” participant in the Kentucky Crafted Program.

It is not my nature to feel entitled, and so I approach any initiative supported by taxpayers with a respectful awareness of their essential role. It pleases me to know that I submitted for evaluation some of the best work I have done, and look ahead with anticipation to fulfilling the purpose of the program and returning a dividend on any public investment made in my artistic goals. I am also keenly attuned to the unmet economic potential that the so-called “creative class” can contribute to my adopted commonwealth. But make no mistake, I would never assume that those of you who are kind enough to visit a site devoted to “all things collage” would have an overwhelming interest in my personal goings-on. Take it as a mere news flash. The proof is in the proverbial pudding, of course.

Noelia Brim Falcon
collage miniature by J A Dixon
7.8125 x 8.375 inches

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Caroline Knot Cornelius
collage miniature by J A Dixon
7.8125 x 8.375 inches

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Posted in 1) Available!, B Cummings, Crafted Series, J A Dixon, Nautical Series, Priorities | No Comments »

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
collage miniature on book cover by J A Dixon
7 x 10 inches

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

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

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Posted in C Touchon, Collage, Experiments, Ingredients, J A Dixon, Methodology | No Comments »

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
combined collage miniature segments
J A Dixon, 11 x 14 inches

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Clarissa’s Beetle
combined collage miniature segments
J A Dixon, 11 x 14 inches

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Posted in 1) Available!, Collage, Embedded Miniatures, Ingredients, J A Dixon, Larger Works, Methodology, Multiple Miniatures, P Klee | No Comments »

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!

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

Posted in 1) Available!, J A Dixon, Note Cards | No Comments »

Spool’s Errand

Monday, November 6th, 2017

Spool’s Errand
collage miniature by J A Dixon
8.5 x 9.75 inches

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Posted in 1) Available!, J A Dixon, Nostalgia | No Comments »

More from the Crafted Series

Monday, October 23rd, 2017

“It’s very rare that writing music is easy. But you should ask my wife: she suffers more in these cases than I do.”
— Arvo Pärt

The new Crafted Series has come fully into focus, although it has been necessary to keep my concentration fiddle-string tight to keep from slipping into more established instincts and to avoid over-working the compositions. The selection of ingredients and the design development had to be as intuitive as possible, even as I consciously pushed outside my comfort zone — a tricky balance. More than ever, it was my goal to have the artisanship be at the highest level, but I did not want these pieces to look like they were difficult to make. Rather, they should look like they were just meant to be. In all honesty, refining the titles was almost as challenging as creating the artwork. The five examples below have been submitted to the Kentucky Arts Council for review by a panel of independent jurors.

Lutetia Night Crystal
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5.75 x 7.75 inches

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Humble Ruby Fillmore
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5.75 x 7.75 inches

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Roberta Bloom Orbit
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5.75 x 7.75 inches

• S O L D

Foxy Gold Hubbard
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5.75 x 7.75 inches

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Karimata Core Cygnus
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5.75 x 7.75 inches

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Posted in Collage, Crafted Series, Ingredients, J A Dixon, Methodology, Titles | No Comments »

The Crafted Series

Monday, October 16th, 2017

“Music, to me, is a matter of growth, development and rejuvenation.”
— Lalo Schifrin

Every so often, it is good to shove the status quo through the stern window into one’s wake. For me, that does not mean abandoning anything more than “business as usual.” Far from it. It becomes a matter of using everything that I have learned, showcasing all of my acquired skills, and tapping the full resource of internalized discernments to find a different level of creation. To whatever extent I am successful at doing that, there is hope for a renewed sense of discovery and joy.

As many of you know, I have considered collage to be an interactive medium. As a deeper back-and-forth, intuitive relationship with materials and compositional ingredients continues to develop, a corresponding interaction with those who respond to the work must also evolve. Art can indeed be a solitary, insular pursuit for some, but I consider collage to be more like music. How can the listener not be vitally important to the process?

In an interview, the late David Bowie said, “I think it’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people’s expectations. I think they generally produce their worst work when they do that. And, if you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the border than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”

There is powerful insight in that observation, but holding the expectations of others at arm’s length does not exclude a goal of preserving their interest and involvement in the experiment. Not at all. Certainly not for me. I invite and value the feedback. Constructive criticism, too. There is no fulfillment in failing to elicit a sense of pleasurable intrigue and wonder in those who value the hundred-year story of collage artwork. For me, it will never be a private affair.

Hedra Cinq Sahara
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5.75 x 7.75 inches

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Azulenco King Jetties
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5.75 x 7.75 inches

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Magna Finch Bombus
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5.75 x 7.75 inches

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Posted in 1) Available!, Collage, Crafted Series, Criticism, Ingredients, J A Dixon, Methodology, Priorities | No Comments »

Horse Tail Reasons

Monday, October 9th, 2017

“Que no haya novedad.”
— ancient Catalan saying

With my new “Crafted Series,” I am paying particular attention to capturing a dominant mood of mystery, surprise, and joy, while keeping the process as spontaneous as possible. These are not calculated artworks, even as I make an effort to hold dark undertones at bay. As with most of my compositions, there is an ordered structure, although not preconceived or based on a “preliminary layout.” The feelings to be evoked will arise as much from color choices (intuitively selected, rather than consciously built), as they will from the subjects of the assembled ingredients themselves. The example featured today was created with an individual recipient in mind, as with That Red Boot. From here I shall proceed with enthusiasm to a fuller series of slightly larger pieces. They will be made available to people interested in adding collage artwork to their collections. Stay tuned!

Horse Tail Reasons
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5.375 x 7.125 inches
collection of J M Menke

Posted in Collage, Crafted Series, Gift Art, J A Dixon, Methodology | 2 Comments »

Sunday: Nevada

Monday, October 2nd, 2017

Sunday: Nevada
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6 x 7.75 inches

Las Vegas Victims’ Fund

Posted in Catharsis, Current Events, J A Dixon | No Comments »

That Red Boot

Monday, September 11th, 2017

“As a husband, you have to remember the crucial importance of three little words — ‘I was wrong.’ That will take you a lot further than ‘I love you.’”
— Charlton Heston

After pondering what to do with my stash of birds for far too long, I decided to start a new series that I describe as “Crafted.” Here is an example — a 35th Anniversary present to my indispensable partner and dearest friend.