When artists share their creativity, and make their work a gift, the act of giving is set in motion and comes back as a new gift.
The image above is one of 3 collage paintings I gifted my son when he started his new business Journey Spark Consulting. Two works are 12×12 inches, collage with painted papers on panel; one work is 12×16 inches, also collage with painted papers on panel.
I asked my son for a gift in return – I wanted to receive his advice for a way to jumpstart writing my book about collage (it’s still a work in progress). He immediately suggested I create a 7-letter acronym that would inspire chapter organization and content, and he’s suggested additional ideas since. What an awesome suggestion!
He gave the 3 works a new title: “Emotion Motion.” Link here to see the 3 images and read the words he used to describe and interpret the works I gifted.
C.O.L.L.A.G.E. is the acronym I selected for my book.
I say my life is about glue. I’ve been a collage artist for more than 30 years, so it was inevitable that the book acronym I selected is C.O.L.L.A.G.E.
“C” is the first letter in the acronym and stands for the chapter titled CONNECT. When we create collage, we connect ideas, media and meaning. The second letter “O” stands for the chapter ORGANIZE. I teach how to build and organize an inventory of personal collage media so it’s ready to inspire each new project. There are two letters “L” in the acronym. The first letter “L” stands for the chapter LOOK and the second letter “L” stands for the chapter LAYER. Every class project I design includes steps that help students develop the skill to look, the most important skill an artist (in every genre) can have. I’m a Layerist and had to include a chapter titled LAYER. I believe the best hand-made analog collages have a minimum of 3 layers and know artists who create digital collages that can have 14 layers or more. The letters “A” for ADD, “G” for GIFT and “E” for ELABORATE complete the last three letters in the acronym. I tell my students you can always add another piece or layer that build the images and show connections and relationships. I believe art is a gift we all need to share. I believe learning to elaborate is a way to connect and understand the personal meaning in the collages we create.
A Book by Lewis Hyde About the Gift of Art
Lewis Hyde wrote The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World, first published in 1979 and updated 4 times to 2007.
I found a wonderful review for Lewis Hyde’s book by Ben Yeoh at his blog ThenDoBetter, dated July 31, 2017 (“Giving a Work of Art is a Gift”). He says Hyde’s book is a “brilliantly argued defense of the importance of creativity in our increasingly money-oriented society.” Alert: A lot of the book content includes anthropological studies about gift cultures. Link here to order the book on Amazon.
MAKE A GIFT FOR SOMEONE YOU ADMIRE
The image above is by Jack Whitten (American 1939-2018), acrylic on canvas (81 ¼ x 48 ¼ x 2 ½ inches) dated 2017. It’s titled “Quantum Wall, VII (For Arshile Gorky, My First Love in Painting).
Jack Whitten is known for his painting and also sculpture. His Estate is represented by Hauser & Wirth Gallery and the gallery website includes links to installation views of Whitten’s sculpture at the Met Breuer, NY (2018), a Drawing Survey at Hauser & Wirth Gallery (2020), Paintings at Dia Beacon, and installation views of his exhibitions at Hauser & Wirth Gallery in NY and Zurich (2020, 2022).
In 2016 he was awarded a National Medal of Arts.
Last year, as a member of the NY Artists Circle book group, I read Jack Whitten’s book titled Notes from the Woodshed, a diary with passages about his struggle for recognition, money, and his search for new media. He sometimes mentioned honors, but a lot of the book was about struggles.
He also wrote about the gifts he made for the artists he admired. Awesome!
A Gift and a Tribute to Arshille Gorky
Link here to a Hauser & Wirth online exhibition that includes Jack Whitten’s image (above) and works by Arshile Gorky. Whitten said looking at Gorky’s work was “witnessing something that comes from the deep soul of an artist.”
I found a link to a short film at New ART21 that documents Jack Whitten in the studio working on his last painting. You hear the artist talk and watch him add acrylic paint chips that make the 81 ¼ x 48 ¼ work 2 ½ inches high.
A NEW GOAL TO KEEP A SKETCHBOOK
I am reading artist biographies and see how it’s important to keep a diary, sketchbook or both. I have a new goal to fill a sketchbook with collage that will inspire new larger works.
The image above is a double-page spread (only 7×10 inches) in an INDIGO accordian-fold sketchbook that has heavy watercolor pages. I learned about the INDIGO sketchbook (tips and resources we share) at a Tuesday Zoom SLMM meeting.
I joined a SLMM meet-up on Saturdays where we create work while we chat. I plan to fill all the pages in a sketchbook with cut and pasted paper collage every Saturday. I ordered and just received a new INDIGO 8×8 sketchbook to fill as soon as the accordion-fold sketchbook is complete .
Find INDIGO sketchbooks on Amazon. Link to SLMM and read about the “Premise” for membership.
The image above is another double-page spread in an INDIGO sketchbook (7×10 inches), with painted paper collage, envelope inserts with patterns and other assorted papers I cut and pasted during the 2-hour Saturday SLMM session. I was inspired by the Jack Whitten image (his gift painting above), and the idea of a creating a work as a gift for an artist who inspires me.
A class project inspired by Jack Whitten GIFTS
I will design a class project about the gifts Jack Whitten created for artists he admired and encourage students to think about the artist or artists who inspire them. Discussion will include how the gift you make will depend on who you make the gift for and the occasion your gift honors. Typically, a gift (or card) is given for an anniversary, holiday, birthday, wedding, birth, baby shower and/or graduation. I want students to think how a work of art can also be a gift in friendship and in honor of a person – like the gifts Jack Whitten made.
Order Whitten’s book Notes from the Woodshed at Amazon. Read: “Whitten probed the expressive and material possibilities of painting, constantly changed styles, developed new methods, and took up new subject matter…this volume offers an intimate look at the artist in his element – in the studio.”
Two Additional Books to Read
At the beginning of this post, I included 2 book recommendations, one written by Lewis Hyde and one, a diary, by Jack Whitten. I want to recommend 2 more books to add to your reading list:
1: Twyla Tharp is the author of “The Creative Habit – Learn It and Use it for Life. Link here to Amazon to order the book and read: “All it takes to make creativity a part of your life is the willingness to make it a habit. It is the product of preparation and effort and is within reach of everyone. Whether you are a painter, musician, businessperson, or simply an individual yearning to put your creativity to use, The Creative Habit provides you with thirty-two practical exercises based on the lessons Twyla Tharp has learned in her remarkable thirty-five-year career. Twyla Tharp says “Find the Right Materials. Learn to enhance possibilities. Tolerate ambiguity…Challenge the status quo, be different and do it your way.”
2: Austin Kleon is the author of SHOW YOUR WORK: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered. Almost every page gives pithy advice about how to get noticed. His advice includes “Hang out online and answer questions. Ask for reading recommendations. Chat with fans about the stuff they love.” Link here to order his books and see an image of his black-out line drawing.
Thank you for reading. Please share your comments. I’d love to chat about the impact of gifts you’ve given and received.
Art of Collage 