I had some friends up from Chicago over the past few days. Last night we were listening to records and I found this on top of some Nancy Sinatra & Billy Strange records.
This is really old.
I have no clue how it ended up on those records since they have been moved 3 times since I made it, but this is the kind of thing I was doing back in 2005-2006 right after graduating from making snowflakes and accordion paper dolls. This was made using a box cutter, an old red packing slip and a black Sharpie in the basement of my old job at Gethsemane Garden Center in Chicago.
Around this time I had recently bought a bootleg of Johnny Cash, Osborne Brothers, Bob Dylan & Son House at the 63 or 64 Newport Folk Festival. I don’t know why but I was drawn to the stages and I made several drawings that look exactly like this except they featured who I wanted in them. I know I drew one of Stringbean Akeman, Hawkshaw Hawkins & for some reason Grimble Grumble, but as far as I remember, this is my only papercut stage.
Anyway, I just thought I’d show what I was doing 8 or 9 years ago with a box cutter, scrap paper and a Sharpie.
(I was not so hot at staying in the lines)
Monthly Archives: September 2014
Bleeding Hearts: Poison
Snails: Rot
Radishes: Famine
Winged Monkeys: Winged Monkeys
I always make something for the solstices, and I try to for each equinox. This month I have been distracted by many things and I completely forgot that the autumnal equinox was today until Sunday morning. Unfortunately my Sunday was planned already, so I got up with Katurah at 4:30 on Monday and started designing this. I had the design done by 9:00 and had it all cut out by 4:00 pm. I try and knock out a papercut from start to finish on New Years Day, but that is the only time I do something at that pace. For some reason, doing one for today seemed important yesterday morning and here is the result. You should see some of my crazy alternate ideas for this.
I had on Richard & Linda Thompson, Jimmie Rodgers, The Divine Comedy, Galaxie 500 and House of Love most of the morning if you are wondering where my head was. This is not a representation of a real stone circle; I made it up, but it was inspired by the very few ocean side megalithic structures on the coast of France.
The symbol in the corner is the Wheel of the Year symbol for Mabon, which is today, with a bay branch inside of it.
I learned a lot about Mabon yesterday that I did not previously know.
This had several titles. I often have a hard time naming my work. I want it to represent what I was feeling while making it, but I also hate defining it. I infer so much from my inspirations that I wouldn’t want to nail down a specific meaning for anyone viewing it, so…husband/wife, brother/sister, widowed neighbors, orphans, cousins, strangers, someone in custody…your call.
I will tell you the boat is leaving.
This is a partial remainder of a calender I had been working on back in 2012. I was going to do the images for 6 months and the cover. Originally this border of squirrels, rib cages & feathers was going to be the cover and there was a different image in the center. Shortly after I finished the papercuts for the individual months, the project fell through and I parted ways with the partner creating the other 6 months. Over December of 2012 I changed the image in the center and cut this out. Right after I finished it, I was commissioned to create an elaborate tour poster that took me a few months to do and this got filed away and forgotten. I was organizing some paper on my floor last week (does anyone want to give me a flat file?) and I came across the portfolio case I keep several old papercuts in. Going through everything, I decided I should take this one out, frame it and take it down to the Waxwing.
I have dozens of old papercuts, but the second half of 2012 was when I started making them detailed and elaborate enough that people other than friends might want them. The best of the calender cuts are all gone, so this will probably be the oldest piece of work I ever sell. It’s at the Waxwing now, unless someone bought it Saturday or Sunday.
I just got home from a fun night at the Waxwing Fall Art Showcase. I was going save this for Monday, but the tea I drank for the ride home is keeping me awake. I ordered the first 8 images (click for larger image) above as new postcards and I should hopefully have them by next weekend and for sale shortly after.
I ordered second editions of the bottom two as well. The bottom left image was my very first postcard that I sent out in 2012 and the bottom right was a post card created exclusively for an Indiegogo campaign. To keep the originals unique, these will be on a different card stock than the originals and the backs are going to be different. The back of the black and white card originally didn’t have a space for the address and the Indiegogo card was originally in full color on both sides. These re-prints will have the same scheme as the rest my postcards and a ‘B’ will be added to their serial number.
I will never be collectible, but just in case, take care of your ltd. ed. originals!
I am still trying to source just the right kind of postcard box containers to have 3 different collections of 10 available soon.
Hopefully they will be completed by the holidays.
Have a nice weekend.
I dreamed this up a long time ago. I wasn’t happy with my initial design and forgot about it like many, many others. I generally make about 1 out of every 5 things I design. When the doldrums strike and I can’t think of anything, I go back through all of my rejects. I’m not sure what didn’t pass the muster initially with this dreamed still-life heartbreak. I may have been too focused on the color red. That happens. I have a feeling and it needs to be represented in exactly the way that I need it to be, instead of the way that it lends itself. I’m such a dork about symbolism that I sometimes let it get in the way. For this, I’m sure it was the color red. I needed it to be there. I needed someone to be guilty when in fact, no one was. Thank you, time, for letting me kick my symbolical crows. Instead of this being lumped in my group of misdeeds, it will now be slotted in the genre of my “passage of time” pieces.
I love passage of time symbolism…
I took 9 new pieces to the Waxwing today. This photo was everything that was available when I was there a few hours ago. I know one, maybe two, are already sold. The piece with the bunny in a gas mask comes with the 78 that I sprayed the image on. Unfortunately I forgot to bring the record with me, so if you are interested in buying it, I should hopefully have the record there by Sunday. You can see the record here.
I have piles of records and wood scrap that I paint on. I’ve given about four of them away to friends, but I thought I’d include one to go along with the papercut because I liked the way the paint stained it.
I also restocked the shop with most of my postcards. I will have new postcards next month and hopefully postcard box collections before the holidays.
