What I'm working on . . .

A friend of mine is under the weather, so I made her a postcard collage as well as an envelope in which to send it. Made with lots of glue, ink, and torn papers, things laying around on studio counters and tables and in boxes.

Papers of all sizes and types fill the studio right now, and below is a stack of some of them. Not only do I like how they look, but they sound great! So crinkly and crackly. Combine their sounds with their textures and it's a very sensory experience.

I should do a quickie video so you can see and hear how they look and how they sound. Some things are just made to be touched. And heard.

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh.

Collage work . . .

I make a lot of envelopes. Not sure why, other than they're relatively small (this one's maybe 6"x6"), seemingly useful, and I create collages on them, turning them into little works of art. I also make collage postcards, which I will post here from time to time.

What I particularly like about these envelopes is how tactile they are. They're thick, yet soft. They've got lots of texture, lots of heft, and just feel old. I layer the papers both front and back and often the flap has more weight to it than the rest of the envelope. They're meant to be handled. If not fondled.

This is the front of one I made a few months ago. Old Japanese papers, torn bits of brown paper, and a little hint of red were all I needed.

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh.

Recent works . . .

A bit of graffiti found in downtown Portland years ago, combined with a nearby blue wall. And then a photo of a collage I made on an envelope a couple of weeks ago.

Would you believe leaves are beginning to fall here on Whidbey? They began in earnest about 10 days ago. Looking forward to fall.

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh.

Latest work: "Summer Sunshine"

Acrylic on paper. I make a lot of monoprints and occasionally turn them into envelopes, and that's what you see here: the front of an envelope. I'm particularly fond of the bright, summer-like colors, how there are mysterious circles and numbers hidden below the surface, and then the two "sticks" angling off on the left.

©Carol Leigh
 All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

What I'm Working On . . . Envelopes

Today I finished a handmade envelope/collage and it was fun! Here's what the original looks like and then, for Fine Art America, I also converted it to a square. I have two versions of the same image to offer there.

This image is now in the computer and so I just might go back to it and make it a photomontage, adding more and more things until I declare it finished. But as a standalone collage, I like it. I especially like how the bit of paper in the upper right (which is a piece of paper from a ledger book that I dipped in calligraphy ink just to see what it would look like) is echoed in the lower left, and how both of them sort of imply a postage stamp.

The bit of bluish paper is yet another snippet of ledger paper that I painted a bluish-indigo color, again, just to see what it would look like.

And that's what I'm currently working on -- collaged envelopes. Some people are working on a cure for cancer, I'm tearing paper and gluing it down...

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!

Thank you to Kathleen Amt (Part 1)

Kathleen Amt, over the past couple of years, has sent me some very cool papers from her INCREDIBLE stash.

Well, this morning, as I continue to clean up my art studio, I came across a paper she'd sent that was obviously from an old Japanese book. It had been cut in some manner and I couldn't figure out what she had had in mind for it. Maybe she didn't know either and so just stuck it into an envelope for me.

But then AHA! I realized what she had done. This paper was going to be an envelope, so I started folding it this way and that and yes, this was an envelope that just hadn't been folded yet. So I traced the paper onto a manila file folder to make a sturdier template for myself. Ooh, the anticipation builds . . .

I then took out a "painting" I had done in the style of Jane Davies (who is a major force in the art and art workshop field and you should take a look at her website and her tutorials). I flipped the paper over and traced Kathleen's template onto it.

I cut the painting, following the template guidelines, and then folded it. Naturally, because I'm HORRIBLE at spatial concepts, Chris had to change my folding a bit, and voila! I have this envelope that is SO COOL. It's about 5.25" high and 7.25" wide. All of a sudden my clunky painting has become a little piece of art that I can mail out to someone. It's ridiculous how stoked I am. I MADE something! I can USE this! I am WONDERFUL!

So let me share this wonderfulness by referring you to Kathleen Amt's collages and photomontages at her Flickr site and also referring you to Jane Davies' website.

Me? I'm gonna go back into the studio and make more envelopes!

©Carol Leigh
All text, photographs, and other media are ©Copyright Carol Leigh (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Carol Leigh. Thank you!