Archive for the ‘1) Available!’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Governor’s Derby Exhibit, 2018

Thursday, May 17th, 2018

My 3D collage from last summer, Star of Commonwealth, is currently on display as part of the Governor’s Derby Exhibit titled Reflections of the Commonwealth. It is an honor to have my artwork chosen and, reportedly, positioned near the door to the Governor’s offices. Yes, it’s a cool thing, if I do say so myself. The Kentucky-themed piece was created as part of the 225th birthday celebration for our Bluegrass State. I have yet to replenish my stash (hint, hint, wink, wink) that would enable me to do another similar artwork. The annual initiative coordinated by the Kentucky Arts Council is on view in Frankfort at the Capitol Rotunda through June 4th.
 
detail from ‘Star of Commonwealth’ ~ collage construction by John Andrew Dixon, Danville, Kentucky

Star of Commonwealth (detail)
mixed-media collage construction by J A Dixon
22 x 21 x 6 inches
available for purchase

Posted in 1) Available!, Artifacts, Assemblage, Collage, Exhibitions, J A Dixon, Larger Works, Nostalgia | No Comments »

Silk Road Guardians

Sunday, May 13th, 2018

“We have had 6,000 years of history with the horse and only 100 with the automobile.”
— Gloria Austin
 

In the spirit of my preparations for the Derby Celebration, I finished the next miniature in the Silk Road Series. It, too, carries an equine theme and provided me a perfect opportunity to hone my technique for an “apparently seamless” impression when combining a rich tangle of ingredients. There are times when one wants to convey that each element is a distinct part of the composition, and at other times to disguise their individual identity, working with larger visual quantities and textures formed by a composite of scrap.
 
Silk Road Guardians ~ collage miniature by John Andrew Dixon ~ Danville, Kentucky ~ Kentucky Crafted Mixed Media Artist

Silk Road Guardians
collage miniature by J A Dixon
7 x 9.375 inches
on consignment
 
Purchase this artwork.

Posted in 1) Available!, J A Dixon, Silk Road Series, Technique | No Comments »

The Governor’s Derby Celebration, 2018

Sunday, May 6th, 2018

“The Kentucky Derby is a time-honored tradition, and so, too, is our celebration of work by Kentucky artists.”
— Kentucky First Lady Glenna Bevin
 

It was a privilege to be among sixteen Kentucky artists selected to exhibit and sell their work during the Governor’s Derby Celebration yesterday on the lawn of the Old State Capitol in Frankfort. It was my first opportunity to participate in something limited to adjudicated members of the Kentucky Arts Council’s Kentucky Crafted program. The day started with such miserable weather that I wondered if anyone would show up, but I was surprised at how many came and enjoyed themselves at the rain-or-shine event. Kentuckians really do support everything with a connection to the Derby! In the spirit of all things horse, I created four collage improvisations with equine scrap. Please let me know what you think!
 



 

(clockwise from top)
Horseplay with Photo Finish – (buy now)
Horseplay with Pink Silks – (buy now)
Horseplay with Palomino Stare – (buy now)
Horseplay with Hunter Seat – (buy now)

four collage miniatures by J A Dixon
5.5 x 7.75 inches each

(below) the artist at the Old Capitol grounds
in Frankfort with his Kentucky Crafted display

 
JAD with a visitor to his Derby Celebration display at the Old Capitol grounds in Frankfort, Kentucky

 

Posted in 1) Available!, Collage, Events, Horse Series, J A Dixon | No Comments »

Mouse in the House

Saturday, March 31st, 2018

“You can’t really make ideas, create ideas. You know, all ideas are the same. They just wander by. If your house has mice, you never know when they’re going to show up, or how, or in which room. and great ideas are the same. They’re like mice. Just a mouse. A mouse in the house. And you step on its tail and you go, ‘Hold it, buddy.’”
— Jerry Seinfeld
 

Ideas will suggest ingredients, but, as often as not, ingredients will spark ideas. Actually, I prefer the latter. In discussing the groundbreaking Merz pictures of Schwitters, curator Isabel Schulz asserts that his materials “surrender their original function … but not all semantic meaning.” Those meanings can generate layers of additional meaning when ingredients combine in synergy. Before long, if the exterminator is not on site, the house is happily full of mice.
 
Mouse in the House ~ collage miniature by John Andrew Dixon ~ Danville, Kentucky ~ Kentucky Crafted Mixed Media Artist

Mouse in the House
collage miniature by J A Dixon
4.75 x 5.5 inches
 
Purchase this artwork.

Posted in 1) Available!, Collage, Ingredients, J A Dixon, K Schwitters, Merz | No Comments »

Scrutiny of the Leper

Saturday, March 3rd, 2018

 
Scrutiny of the Leper ~ collage miniature by John Andrew Dixon ~ Danville, Kentucky ~ Kentucky Crafted Mixed Media Artist

Scrutiny of the Leper
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5 x 6.875 inches
available for purchase

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

a light of meaning . . .

Wednesday, February 28th, 2018

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being.”
— Carl Gustav Jung
 

I come from a family heritage of people who have sought meaning in devotional activity. Whether or not I carry on their particular practice, a subconscious inheritance often bubbles to the surface through my creative rituals. I’ll leave it to others to suggest if any spark of light has been kindled. It would be gratifying to think so.
 
Uncle Art’s Homilies ~ J A Dixon

Uncle Art’s Homilies
collage miniature by J A Dixon
4 x 5 inches
 
Purchase this artwork.

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

Coordinates Askew

Monday, February 12th, 2018

 
Coordinates Askew ~ collage miniature by John Andrew Dixon ~ Danville, Kentucky ~ Kentucky Crafted Mixed Media Artist

Coordinates Askew
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6.125 x 7.0625 inches
 
Purchase this artwork.

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

Suspend this series?

Sunday, January 28th, 2018

“When I begin a new work, I have to start from scratch again, from nothing. I have to be cleared of everything: Tabula rasa.”
— Arvo Pärt
 

Suspend the Bibelot Series? It doesn’t look like it. I begin a collage artwork with no preconceived notions and before long it appears to be a “bibelot.” Spontaneity apparently works that way, revealing some unmet creative urge that is removed from conscious awareness. Shall I ever purposely end a particular series? More likely than not, I’ll just come to the conclusion that there are no more variations on that theme with a need to emerge — until I am proven wrong.
 
Suspend (Bibelot 013) ~ a collage miniature by John Andrew Dixon ~ part of his Bibelot Series

Suspend (Bibelot 013)
collage miniature by J A Dixon
4.625 x 4.625 inches
 
Purchase this artwork.

Posted in 1) Available!, Bibelot Series, J A Dixon, Theme/Variation | No Comments »

Something worth thinking about

Monday, January 8th, 2018

“Whatever comes to mind is a good thing. Don’t think before you work, work before you think.”
— George Condo

As collage artists, we respond to the visual ingredients. Twyla Tharp calls it “scratching.” It has been described by various artists over the decades: Don’t wait for an idea. Don’t spin a mental wheel. If you are a storyteller, write some words. If you are painter, work the brush. If you are a dancer, let movement happen. At any rate, just go to the studio and do what you do. React to what takes place. Before long, there will be something worth thinking about.
 
That Red Boot ~ J A Dixon

Fairy Ring Flux
collage miniature by J A Dixon
4.6875 x 4.6875 inches
 
Purchase this artwork!

Posted in 1) Available!, Ingredients, J A Dixon, Methodology, T Tharp | No Comments »

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.J A Dixon ~ participant in the Kentucky Crafted Program 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 ~ J A Dixon

Noelia Brim Falcon
collage miniature by J A Dixon
7.8125 x 8.375 inches
 
Purchase this artwork!

Caroline Knot Cornelius ~ J A Dixon

Caroline Knot Cornelius
collage miniature by J A Dixon
7.8125 x 8.375 inches
 
Purchase this artwork!

Posted in 1) Available!, B Cummings, Crafted Series, J A Dixon, Nautical Series, Priorities | 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 ~ J A Dixon

Fresh-Full of Youth
combined collage miniature segments
J A Dixon, 11 x 14 inches
 
Purchase this artwork!

Clarissa’s Beetle ~ J A Dixon

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

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

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »