JJ Worden

January 11, 2011

What does being so frittered ...in my art practice... do to my Art? If I limited my materials to only wire and objects, say or paint or a single substrate, how would that manifest? Would my work become more singular (read: boring) or would it become stronger?

Is this jack of all trades approach stopping me from mastering anything? 

The only way of knowing of course is to just focus on ONE thing and see.

And yet... just this morning as I entered the studio tying on my apron, my eyes flicked from wire/metal station to paint table to wax bench. Thinking what shall I do, what do I FEEL like doing today? Is there merit in NOT relearning a task, getting into that mindset and focusing only on the message?

Do I have the wherewithal to find out?

The house is a long recognized icon representing Home, Love, Comfort, Sense of Place. It is an oft used symbol of artworks and one I have use frequently in both, mixed media and assemblage. It seems they run in series for me. A personal symbol, I will likely return to again and again.

When is a collage not a collage? When it's an assemblage!

As soon as I decide to use a cradle board as my substrate for a collage piece, it's a pretty good chance that SOMETHING will get added to the frame. I mean, "Hello! Sturdy wood boards!" just begging to be nailed, drilled, glued.

PROTIP
When the collage is going nowhere, stick some people in there to give a focal point. #protip

I've had this obsession with this photo for a year or two. It's from a collection of found photos by Oliver Wasow that he generously shares on Instagram. I've mentioned him before because they are THAT good!

I've had this idea of doing collage on shapes other than square or rectangular for awhile.