Resurfacing, but not literally

When I moved to Nashville, I didn’t have a space to make personal work anymore. I made due as best I could, but building sculpture in an apartment is tough. 

Instead, I pivoted for a while, working in two-dimensional processes of collage but with a ‘builder’s’ take on it. Layering odd subject matter with unexpected patterns or texture was the basis, but adding in a completely random line of text got me geeked. It was my first interest in words and literature in a visual arts component. 

Suddenly these mashed up elements had an opinion, a meaning, something to say. The best part was that I had nominal control over it. I liked the fact that I never knew what a finished piece would look like. Adding snippets of song lyrics to a floral print soldier traipsing across a field just because I heard it when I was working added such an element of chaos, but somehow they harmonized too. It was great.

While planning a series of sculptural dining experiences today, I stumbled across my old stash of cut silhouettes. Bumblebees of varying sizes, AK-47s and Disney princesses. You know, the usual. 

I’ve got to find a way to use these. It was serendipitous, and got my mind going a thousand different directions. Miniature maquette stages, or life size reinventions, there’s so much I could do with it. 

I love it when something from our past comes back, and suddenly this random offshoot of our story, a once-upon-a-time tangent, is made relevant. 

Anyone else have experiences like this?

Pair of Japanese dancers, hand cut from vintage paisley patterned paper