Goodbye September! Hello Inspiration!

I was absolutely shocked at myself when I realized I haven't blogged for nearly a month. What is it with me and this blog? I feel so busy and racing around and yet when I try to think of something clever to share with you all besides kits I work on, I feel like I am as a dull as watching paint dry. September flew by and I guess I've mundanely passed with it. I hadn't even made any art in almost a month. So I was determined yesterday to take some time to play . . .

Fake It (inspired by the work of Jade Adams . . . Jade's work, and the inspiration I find in it, is featured at the bottom of this post)


copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 9/28/2011. All rights reserved.
Digital Collage. Images used from Tumble Fish Studio Kits at DeviantScrap.com: Celestial, Corrupted paper, Dance A Thon, Greg's Anatomy, and Remedies. Letters from Crowabout Studio B's New Alpha kit at DeviantScrap.com.

Fully Exposed


copyright by Marsha Jorgensen 9/28/2011. All rights reserved.
Digital Collage. Images from Tumble Fish Studio kits at DeviantScrap.com: Greg's Anatomy, Divas, My Picks, Corrupted Papers, and Framed (coming soon!)

I had a big project going in September. I had been following the work of assemblage artist Greg Hanson (roxnorthh on Flickr) for nearly 3 years and loved his irreverently funny mix of vintage imagery with real objects in his Cornell inspired assemblages and collages. I had been slowly collecting antique medical ephemera, which Greg often uses in his work, and finally had enough to finish a full kit. To launch the kit, I asked Greg if I could interview him for the October issue of the The Deviant Muse at DeviantScrap.com and he graciously accepted and allowed me to share some of his work in the issue.

Be sure to get your copy of The Deviant Muse and read the interview this weekend. It's free and this issue promises to be one you will not want to miss. You can find past issues and the new issue when its released this weekend HERE

So here is my kit inspired by Greg Hanson . . .

Greg's Anatomy



Remedies



Corrupted Papers



And here are a couple of other recent kit releases, also on sale . . .

Celestial



Pumpkin Patch (re-released kit from old stock)



Inspiration . . .
I got the itch to blog this morning because someone asked me how I come up with an idea for a piece when I start one. Which comes first the chicken or the egg? Do I get an idea first and hunt for images or do I have an image and hunt for ideas? It's a dance of both situations for me. Often, I am inspired to make something after looking at the work of others - gives me an urge I can't really explain. Then I go back to images in my stash I've wanted to use and it just comes to life in a process that often results in something very different from the original idea.

While I appreciate the art of just about anyone and find inspiration from so many, I have a few favorite artists that I go to over and over for inspiration. It's kinda funny though . . . I don't think you could tell by looking at my work often as it ends up so different from what inspires me to make it. And I can't hand letter to save my soul. Someday I want to grow up to make art like . . .

One of my all time favorite collage artists is Jade Adams. I find her inspiring as a person and as an artist. While I think many would see a little Teesha Moore in Jade's work, I find Jade's pieces to be a little more vulnerable or delicate and I relate to them on that level. I find her work beautiful and fine tuned in a way . . . . a gorgeous mix of whimsy and delicate details precisely placed and each piece lovingly created. Maybe Jade doesn't work with precision on purpose, but if that's the case, her intuition guides her through perfectly placed shading and pen work, image arrangement, and lettering. Her pieces are a little more breezy and inviting, never overpowering. Her journal pages invite your attention like a light invites the moth - never demand your attention with blaring horns. Do you get what I mean? They are alive somehow. I should never be an art critic cuz I have a hard time finding words to describe my attraction to certain artists or work.

So, I'll leave you with some of Jade's work - shared here with her permission and linked to her flickr.

peculiar ambitions by Jade Adams


copyright by Jade Adams. All rights reserved.

Inspiration Logs Booklet by Jade Adams


copyright by Jade Adams. All rights reserved.

be . . . by Jade Adams


copyright by Jade Adams. All rights reserved.

You can find more of Jade's work on her flickr HERE or her blog HERE.