Artists/Collage « The Collage Miniaturist

Archive for the ‘Artists/Collage’ Category

Messages and Memories

Saturday, June 7th, 2014

Microcosmic Message
collage artifact by J A Dixon
14 x 17 inches

• S O L D

Selective Memory
mixed media collage by J A Dixon
20 x 16 inches

• S O L D

Posted in Artifacts, J A Dixon, Landscape, Larger Works | No Comments »

G A B B F

Saturday, May 31st, 2014

“Design is moving an existing condition to a preferred one.”
— Milton Glaser

I attended the first Great American Brass Band Festival in 1990 with my wife and partner, Dana, the same summer that we relocated our home-based design business to Danville, Kentucky. Big portions of the previous year had been spent apart, as I developed business contacts in Central Kentucky while she held the fort at our studio in Dayton, Ohio. That inaugural Festival was an opportunity to spend time together in downtown Danville, and the ambiance of that weekend supported all that we were discovering about our new home community. We have been devoted fans of the Festival ever since, and it is now impossible for us to imagine a June in Danville without world-class brass music within walking distance. After that first Festival, my capabilities as a graphic designer and lettering artist came to the attention of the organizers. I have since worked closely with them on establishing the visual identity of the event and creating designs for nine commemorative posters.

The 25th Great American Brass Band Festival will be held next weekend, and I shall be signing posters at the kick-off Gallery Hop Stop. Coming up with a suitable theme for this year’s poster was a challenge. We recognized that the milestone 25th Festival demanded a visual approach that would pay bold tribute to its heritage. No single aspect would do that, so I built a montage of images to salute the key elements of the Festival: the musicians, the parade, the picnic, the patriotism, the balloons, the fireworks, and the long history of enthusiasm for brass. With a quarter century of photography on file, it was a tough editing task. The result is a colorful, celebratory design intended to bring a smile to the face of every fan of the event.

The visual montage and the traditional collage are close cousins, and both techniques inform the other in my work as a fine and applied artist. The blurred boundary between graphic illustration and fine-art collage — conventional and digital — is an intriguing subject that I shall explore from time to time at this site. Please stop back here again (and do drop in at the Community Arts Center on Thursday evening, 5:30 to 7 pm, if you are in the Danville area).

Celebrating 25 Years
commemorative poster design by J A Dixon
available for purchase

Posted in 1) Available!, D L Dixon, Digital Concepts, Events, Graphic Design, Illustration, J A Dixon, Links, M Glaser, Technique | No Comments »

Divertimento

Saturday, May 24th, 2014

Divertimento
collage miniature by J A Dixon
4 x 5 inches
collection of R W Breidenbach

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Contraindications

Saturday, May 17th, 2014

Contraindications
collage miniature by J A Dixon
4 x 4 inches

Purchase this artwork!

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

An end is perhaps the beginning

Saturday, May 10th, 2014

“What the Color Field painters shared most importantly with the Abstract Expressionists was the conviction that the role of art was not to report on the visible, but to reveal the unknown. They shared too, the belief that paintings that resembled nothing preexisting could have the presence, authority and associative richness of other real things in the world.”
— Karen Wilkin

I began my Bibelot Series by recalling to mind the lost treasures of George Headley. With this 13th miniature, I am wondering if the meditation may have reached its culmination. The primary reason centers on the changes that occurred with my process while creating this most recent composition. Because I find myself thinking less about the precious fabrications that provided the initial inspiration and more about the aesthetic qualities of the artifact manifesting before me, the connection to the Headley works have diminished enough for me to consider whether or not the transition to a new investigation is taking place. The color and abstract relationships inherent in an evolving collage surface seem to exist for their own sake, rather than as an homage to other artistic ideas, and point to a deeper reality. What comes next? As a student of American History, the number 13 has never felt unlucky to me. We shall see what follows.

Spy (Bibelot 848)
collage miniature by J A Dixon
4 x 5.5 inches

Purchase this artwork!

Posted in 1) Available!, Abstract Expressionism, Bibelot Series, Color Field, Influences, J A Dixon, Methodology, Theme/Variation | No Comments »

This artist is not coasting . . .

Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

“To alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.”
— Homer Simpson

Yesterday was my birthday, and I was rocked by the generosity of a fellow practitioner, Ted Tollefson. A veteran collaborator, he is also one of the more versatile individuals currently laboring in the medium. Like many collage artists, Tollefson explores a number of different approaches, but has recently established his mastery of the collage-on-beer-coaster format.

I was not fully aware until today that he has been producing a coaster-based collage for each of his facebook friends. That means hundreds of miniatures in a relatively short time frame, and, from what I can tell, he calibrates the visual method for each intended recipient. Given my expressed fondness for personal miniatures, TT is a kindred spirit indeed. He has crafted a real gem for my gift coaster. Everything about it — scale, colors, composition, textures, choice of ingredients — are simply outstanding. Thank you, sir, for your kindness. Keep up the superb effort. You are a true heir to Kurt Schwitters. Merz lives!

Take a look at just a few examples of his creative output and you might share my high regard for this mushrooming body of intriguing work.

April 29
collage on beer coaster
by T Tollefson for J A Dixon

Personal miniatures on beer coasters by Ted Tollefson.
(Hover over image for more information; click to view larger.)

Posted in Artifacts, Gift Art, K Schwitters, Merz, T Tollefson, Technique, Theme/Variation | No Comments »

A few more from the Haus . . .

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2014

“Excellence is a habit acquired by continuous improvement on the little things you do, with a firm belief that it’s going to be better than before!”
― Israelmore Ayivor

It is true that my output of hand-crafted greeting cards has declined, in contrast to when I averaged nearly one per day, but the small-format activity remains one of my most valued improvisational exercises as a collage artist.