Cyborg Santa
John’s Haus of Cards!
collection of J M Strock, Jr
Archive for the ‘Haus of Cards’ Category
Merry Merry!
Tuesday, December 19th, 2017the Haus at reduced output . . .
Wednesday, June 14th, 2017“Stressing output is the key to improving productivity, while looking to increase activity can result in just the opposite.”
— Paul Gauguin
My card-making activity continues at a much lower rate, compared to my peak years, and they still tend to fall into one of three categories:
• Series Alpha — combines scrap letters, often with traditional hand lettering arts.
• Series Omega — features my conventional collage technique, applied directly to the folded card.
• Series Pi — attaches an ultra-miniature dimensional collage to the card, like a little square-cut slice of “Pizza Pi.”
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
series Omega, collection of K Miller
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
series Alpha, collection of V E Dixon
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
series Omega, private collection
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
series Alpha, collection of R W Breidenbach
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
series Alpha, collection of J M Dixon
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
series Omega, collection of D Wells
Brendan’s Birthday Comic Strip Artifact
Sunday, April 30th, 2017
Brendan’s Birthday Comic Strip Artifact
collage artifact by J A Dixon
12 x 7.375 inches
collection of B C Adkins
Continuing a series . . .
Friday, December 23rd, 2016“It is by logic that we prove, but by intuition that we discover.”
— Henri Poincaré
December is the time of year for making hand-crafted holiday cards. By and by, I return to variations on the theme of a Christmas tree. Perhaps some of the collage miniatures are more “successful” than others, but the point of this ritual (other than sharing joy with dear ones, of course) is granting free rein to an intuitive response. Exercising this capacity is at the heart of collage as a medium. How important it is to give the imagination a blank check and invest no concern in the lack of a preconceived approach! Choosing a simple pictorial theme conveniently jump-starts an experimental process. What follows is pure discovery.
29 collage greeting
cards by J A Dixon
variations on a
Christmas theme
2001 – 2016
John’s Haus of Cards ~ three series
Friday, July 22nd, 2016“When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to go to pieces like this but we all have to do it.”
— Mark Twain
My card-making activity stretches back before intact memories. How early? Press me too hard and you might hear me claim that I started before learning to write my name.
Currently, my crafted greetings tend to fall into one of three categories:
• Series Alpha — combines scrap letters, often with traditional hand lettering arts.
• Series Omega — features my conventional collage technique, applied directly to the folded card.
• Series Pi — attaches an ultra-miniature dimensional collage to the card, like a little square-cut slice of “Pizza Pi.”
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
series Pi, collection of E E Smith
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
series Omega, collection of G Zeitz
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
series Pi, collection of J D A Wood
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
series Alpha, collection of T Strock
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
series Omega, collection of R W Breidenbach
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
series Pi, collection of W W Bates
many years . . . many cards
Sunday, July 3rd, 2016I cannot remember when I started mailing out my collage miniatures, but it was an awfully long time ago!
You are welcome to browse my Haus of Cards archive.
Two California-Bound Greetings
collage miniature cards by J A Dixon
(click each to view larger)
Monday, February 15th, 2016
The customary Valentine’s Day division of labor: I make a card and my sweetheart bakes a cherry pie. Don’t you agree that I get the better side of this deal?
Hearts for Dana, 2016
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
7.875 x 5.25 inches
Happy 33!
Friday, September 11th, 2015Dana and I are observing 33 years of marriage, apart from each other. I have made an anniversary collage for her with the scraps of rubbish at hand. Is there not beauty and the potential for redemption in nearly everything, if you remember to look for it?
Les Cheneaux Sails
collage miniature by J A Dixon
5 x 7 inches
collection of D L Dixon
Haus of Cards!
Monday, July 6th, 2015“Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”
— Franz Kafka
How can one ever exhaust the potential of combining creative spontaneity with affection for another on a special occasion? Wishing another well is a powerful catalyst for plucking a bit of beauty from material that would otherwise be trashed or recycled. Why not re-purpose it? One less store-bought greeting card is no tragedy.
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
collection of L E Dixon
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
collection of F Breidenbach
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
collection of C Dixon
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
collection of K Sluga
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
collection of J L Dixon
Happy happy . . .
Saturday, April 11th, 2015My fondest birthday greetings to a “partner in all things.”
For Dana
collage miniature by J A Dixon
6.3125 x 3.875 inches
collection of D L Dixon
Still More Haus of Cards
Sunday, March 8th, 2015“I allow total spontaneity to overwhelm the process. Ingredients that allude to the world of the recipient merge with conspicuous or camouflaged non-sequitur elements.”
— 2/2/13
Journal studies and collage greeting cards are my proving ground for the qualities that lead to fruitful miniatures, and I am finding that self-contained miniatures themselves are increasingly serving as ingredients in larger works. This could get interesting.
Two Heart to Handle
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
Adventures to Last
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
February Hearts
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
For The Bobs
collage greeting card by J A Dixon
Sweet Time Puffin
collage greeting card by J A Dixon