Mixed Media

CREATION: BREATH OF GOD

I have always been interested in how various cultures, including my own, seek to explain creation and our existence. For example, the phrase “breath of God” appears 58 times in the Bible, Old and New Testament, always in the context of creation. My CREATION: THE BREATH OF GOD, a paper collage using recycled heavy paper and light cardboard, draws upon one of these references, Psalm 33, line 6 : “by the breath of his mouth all their host” for its particular inspiration. Matted and framed to 16” x 20”.

SANDS OF TIME – PORTRAIT OF A MENTOR

SANDS OF TIME – PORTRAIT OF A MENTOR is a mixed media sculptural piece combining a hand-built, raku-fired ceramic head with a glass tile base. This piece, for me, evokes the image of an artifact emerging from the sands outside Luxor. The rest of the title comes from my mentor (and friend) Carol Stirton-Broad, who happened to wear an outfit on the day I was finalizing the design that reflected the pattern, the color and the tone of the tiles I was planning to use for the base. 18″x5.5″x7.5″,

NIGHT WATCH

NIGHT WATCH, a mixed media sculpture and off-shoot of the “Hooded Figure” series, pulls back the hood and adds a helmet, a shield, chain mail, and a torch, thereby moving away from the abstract form of the original pieces in the series to a more detailed and representational expression. Hand built and raku fired paper clay with steel wire, forsythia and Epoxy Sculpt on gneiss and set on an MDF base plate. 7 ½” x 8 ¾” x 3”

SANTA MUERTE #5

SANTA MUERTE #5, the fifth, and probably last, piece in the Santa Muerte: Patron Saint of Wall Builders series is my comment on the perceived relation of a religious cult in Mexico to the idea of building a “great” wall on the border. Hand built of paper clay, glazed and fired to Cone 05, w/colored resin, lacquer, and a plastic vulture (it seemed appropriate) added.

COLLABORATING WITH POLISTES

COLLABORATING WITH POLISTES is all about integrating different forms of paper into a sculptural piece. The top portion is a paper wasp nest (genus Polistes) which I found in a Koosa Dogwood tree when the leaves came down last October. The wasps made the paper by mixing plant material and saliva. The base portion is hand built and Raku fired paper clay. I made the paper clay by mixing rehydrated scrap clay and recycled newspapers. Both the wasps and I shaped our portions to meet our particular needs. No wasps were harmed in the making of COLLABORATING WITH POLISTES. 30” x 18” x 10”

ERUPTION (AT THE HOT GLASS SHOW)

I am very pleased to announce that juror Nancy Weisser, invited my stained glass/ceramic piece, ERUPTION, into the Allegany Arts Council’s HOT GLASS EXHIBITION & COMPETITION. ERUPTION will be on view at their Saville Gallery, 9 N. Centre St, Cumberland, MD from August 12^th until September 2^nd 2017. Cumberland MD is a delightful town and the Show reception on Saturday, August 19^th was a lot of fun. In addition to juror Nancy Weisser, I had the chance to meet and talk with a number of very talented “hot glass” artists from around the country. After seeing the show I was even happier to be a part of it.

ON SUBWAY WALLS

Like …AND TENEMENT HALLS, ON SUBWAY WALLS is a colored paper collage which draws from the Simon and Garfunkel song The Sounds of Silence. While the materials and palette in both pieces are essentially the same (heavy paper/ thin cardboard – cut from advertising and packaging materials), changing the background from white to black and eliminating internal “negative space” darkens the tone and sets the piece underground. In the song, the phrase “on the subway walls” precedes “and tenement halls”, but for me, in doing the collages, the initial working image was of a cityscape and the subway developed as a companion piece. Matted and framed to 12” x 16”.

…AND TENEMENT HALLS

The title for my colored paper collage, …AND TENEMENT HALLS, comes from part of an iconic line in the Simon and Garfunkel song The Sounds of Silence; although my choice of palette is probably a more colorful and upbeat presentation than an accurate one. There is little point in having artistic license if you can’t abuse it now and then. Matted and framed to 12” x 16”.

LINEAR THOUGHTS: TRYING TO FOCUS

(C) 2017 JPHN FANSMITH
LINEAR THOUGHTS: TRYING TO FOCUS is a paper collage created by weaving together two of my hand inked, hand pulled collographic monoprints from the LINEAR THOUGHTS Series. Like REDEYE TO THE COAST and NAVIGATING THE ROUNDABOUTS it is part of my effort to explore the possibility of using my prints in broader ways such as in mixed media and collage pieces. Image: 7” x 9 ½”, Matted and framed to 11” x 14”

TROPHY: THE LAST RED-CRESTED WATCHAMACALLIT

I’ve never really understood the “sport” of trophy hunting, particularly when the “trophy” is not something capable of hunting you back. For food or fur, okay, but just for a head to hang on a wall? Having said that, TROPHY: THE LAST RED-CRESTED WATCHAMACALLIT represents my first, and probably last, venture into the art of trophy gathering of endangered species. TROPHY: THE LAST RED-CRESTED WATCHAMACALLIT is a mosaic/mixed media wall hanging composed of glass, hand built paper clay, marbles and MDF. 12”H x 7 ½”W x 10”D

John Fansmith

Artist