an imageteller captures image celebrations.
sharing image tales broadens an artistic expression.
doing so, brings this particular creative indescribable joy.
what is your image story? perhaps I can help you tell it!
Christmas In July 2021
I love holiday cards. Do you? ( perhaps I love holiday mail. actually I love mail anytime ha!! ) I love gifting a holiday greeting to others. When I first moved west I had to give up that gesture. I hated that. I feel like sending holiday cards is a lost tradition. I have always kept about 3 years or so of cards received, and I often separate a special card or two and use them as decor in my home, but I've had to streamline things that I store. So, I decided to cut apart the cards I had, keeping only the prior year with the intent of collaging with them in July. Thus, my Christmas in July project.
Last year I dabbled with this holiday theme a bit.
This piece became my greeting for 2020. I liked that it celebrated winter
This one I used as an image file to have cards printed as thank you notes.
These crazy Santa ones from one of my photographs are all gone. Each was one of a kind. Sold out.
This year so far I've made a batch of 4x6 stitched crazy quilt style tops. These are upcycled from the cut up Christmas cards I mentioned above. I've not clipped the threads or bound them. The top can be added to a notecard, or finished to become a stand alone bit of holiday art. each is one of a kind and takes about 90 minutes each to make. note the tighter zig zag.
Lets Collage About Retro Travel In Japan
I was gifted a super great stack of books to tear apart, many of them retro. gotta love how my amber gets in on the action.
I began working with this particular "Let's Travel in Japan" book from 1960
I made eight 8x8 stitched collage pieces.
I pulled items of interest for center focal points, and then made strips from the many pages of muted browns and greens, I then pulled some color pop from a seed catalog. All 8 are made this way, which makes them very complimentary to each other.
All but one have a strip of ribbon.
a bit ago I decided to stop completing collages.
what that means is the collage is unfinished
in quilting terms these would be called quilt tops.
A finished collage has a card stock layer and is bound. Binding makes it appear as if it is framed and gives each piece a finished back side that isn't just stitching.
Portraiture Within A Boundary
Portraiture Within a Boundary
or at least that is what I will call these for now.
12 8x8 stitched collages within the theme of portraiture.
I've left these unfinished or without a binding.
I could keep going with this theme
they are really fun to make, some were actually rather challenging
It's really nice to see them all in a row!!
Essence Of Bellingham 2021
These two were given 2021 honorable mention.
my portfolio of local images from this last year was definitely suffering from things pandemic. I usually have more to choose from.
errands/outs and about in 2020 were truly few and essential.
these were the ten I submitted to this years essence of bellingham:
I enjoy the process of deciding which 10 to submit.
I will know in June if any were acknowledged in prize
here is the rest of the images that I deemed valid to enter:
there were 4 curbside couches this year.
and lots and lots of graffiti.
this one is by Matt French.
These three were selected last year for honorable mention.
Because of things covid there was no display of them in city hall.
Kids Art Walk 2021 - Machines at MakeShift Gallery
This years annual kids art walk will be virtual.
I was paired with a Montessori student named Sophie
The group exhibition is hosted by Make.Shift Gallery in May.
The theme is MACHINES.
Sophie wrote this prompt:
Plastic, shiny, glossy and smooth, the Spitoilink drone deck is rootbeer brown and wonderful. It has the polished look of a Lego. The wand and wand holder are gnarled like a real tree branch. At the end of the wand there is a luminous red button The hologram is the color of the hologram you bought. It is held up by a wand holder which connects to the giant drone which will fly when you say, “alexaflyfly”. It is as big as a tiny room.
The Spitoilink produces a realistic hologram. You click a button at the end of the wand to make the hologram appear. It will fly when you say, “alexaflyfly”. It will fly because it has a built in Alexa that controls the drone. It smells like latex and is silent. You can buy a different type which is based off of which hologram it makes. There are lots of holograms including penguins, Voldomort, cake, a hawk, and more.
and painted this:
I made this collage:
Artist name/Pronouns: Karen Hanrahan SHE
Title: Holographic Rays
Materials: Stitched Collage
Dimensions: 8x8
This is my third time participating.
Photography = a never ending opportunity to capture visual celebrations.
