Interview With Collage Artist of Living Feral

Here's my interview with Tracy, the fantastic Vancouver, BC artist behind Living Feral:, the etsy shop where she sells her work.

1) Your images look like they come from old magazines. Do you have a favorite source? Where do you find them?

Yes, I use pieces I cut from vintage magazines, and occasionally books. I prefer material from the 60s and 70s (nothing more recent) because I like the imagery and colors and print quality from that period. I usually find them scouting around thrift stores (one of my favorite activities). I use pretty much anything I can get my hands on, as it’s getting harder to find older materials - particularly magazines, since so many people throw them out.


2) Your titles are fantastic! How do you come up with them?

Thanks! I wish I had a magic formula, because it sometimes takes me longer to come up with the title than the collage (and I work pretty slowly anyway). Then I sit with the piece and play with word combinations until I find the one that makes the most sense to me. Other times though, I start with a word or phrase – a thought I’m having about something, or a fragment of text that’s stuck with me for years – and that will inform the title. Often I’ll work without any set ideas, and the title will come in a flash. My collage “alice and the rabbit – the later years” was like that. I really wanted to use the image of the woman, and the rabbit worked its way into the composition, and then the title just popped.

3)How long have you been making collages? Do you create in other mediums or styles?

I started making the collages again this past spring, though I’ve made them on and off over the years. For a while I was making little books of collages, and I’d like to do that again. I also currently work with photography and drawing, I really like to sew, and I occasionally paint. In the past I’ve enjoyed etching, and I often incorporated collage techniques into that work.

4) I'm really drawn to your collages, especially the following images: "Farewells are Difficult", "She Addressed Herself to the Dark Hearts...", "For Many Years She Fished..." and "Alice and the Rabbit". My grandmom, Alice looked alot like the woman in "Alice"!

I think it’s a lovely bit of serendipity about your grandmom and the woman in “Alice.” I hope she retained a sense of adventure in her later years!


5)Your work recollects retro sci fi book covers (to me). Are you a fan of sci fi or the art covers?

That’s so interesting! Now that you say it I can really see the connection - especially with the sense of the human in the familiar/yet unfamiliar landscape. I’ve always been interested in science, and my dad’s always been a big science fiction fan, so that’s probably where it comes from.

OMG It Is Snowing So Much!

I went our last night in the snow to join some coworkers in Rittenhouse Square to build snowmen at 10 pm and I shot a couple of pictures before my camera battery died. Here's my block.
Here's Rose Tatoo:
It was amazing to walk and run in the powder, though it made building the snowmen pretty difficult.


Daytime:

UCAL SALE FINAL WEEK

Watch the Slide Show of the Opening Night here.



Some of my cards and matted art have sold, and one woman found her sister's house among the photos, so she's ordering a custom print as a gift for the holidays.

Stop by any day this week 3 - 9pm or Saturday or Sunday, 12-6pm, I'll be adding new work to the sale items.

So Here is the Result!

I picked up my first print from Silicon Gallery and I was really happy. Here's the Blue and Black Branches painting on the Hahnemühle Photo Rag Luster 308 (a mistake they gave me). The regular paper print, more matte and smooth, went out to the client who purchased it.

I stopped by the art supply store at 2nd and Market, Artist and Craftsman Supply and picked up this simple white snap frame a couple of days later and it is perfect. If you haven't been downstairs in the shop, you've missed out on the treasury of wood panels to paint on and frames for all sizes of artwork. This is where I get my wood panels because they have every size under the sun, multiple profile depths to choose from and the prices are cheaper than anywhere else in town.

Mill Creek Farm Fundraiser Tonight!

Mill Creek's Fundraiser is taking place tonight at the First Unitarian Church at 20th and Chestnut Streets in Philly. If you can't make it, still consider donating to their Urban Farm to keep them growing food with neighbors and for neighbors!

I'm selling the photo below to benefit Mill Creek, It's the sign on their gate that explains their philosophy. Click on the photo to go to my etsy site to purchase it. All of the proceeds go to Mill Creek!

Saturday Night, Dec. 5th Opening of Two Week Art Sale at UCAL 5 - 9 pm

This Saturday, Dec 5th with be the opening night of the 2009 craft sale at University City Arts League at 4226 Spruce St. from 5 to 9 pm. The sale continues until Sunday, Dec. 20th, M-F, 3 - 9 pm, Sat-Sun, 12 - 6 pm. Over thirty artists will be selling ceramics, photography, paintings, prints, jewlery, pottery, cards, clothing, textiles, handbags at very affordable prices. Drinks and snacks will be provided and it's a great time to see this beautiful building and the fantastic classes they offer. I just finished taking a clay handbuilding class which was a great break from the usual work week grind. I'm going to start a new class in January, depending on how much you buy at the sale! I'm selling photographs and cards of Philly.

http://www.ucartsleague.org/

Square Peg Artery & Salvage Holiday Shop In Liberty Place at 17th Street

Suare Peg Artery & Salvage has a second shop open for the holidays

in Liberty Place! The entrance is on 17th street between Market and Chestnut streets

next to the Westin Hotel entrance (or you can walk through the mall toward the 17th street exit).

They have lots of cute clothes (I think I spotted a cute screenprinted button up for a guy friend), jewlery, cards (like mine above!), candles, soaps and wall art including some cool square paintings/thread collages and my photos!

See, that's the Westin drive through in the background of my Love Park photo.
Stop by and buy local! I went here today, then strolled up to 13th street between Walnut and Pine where there are some awesome little shops with many cute gifts, flowers, cards, wrapping paper, housewares, ornaments, furniture and you pass Blick art supply and West Elm on the way! I had no money, but I'm window shopping for the future.

Black and Blue Branches Print in the Works!

I'm headed to Silicon Gallery on Tuesday to check out the first proof of one of my paintings, the Black and Blue Branches painting in my etsy shop, http://www.allisonspaintings.etsy.com/.

I'm so excited! I had a customer purchase the print and another painting last week and I get to go pick out the finish and paper. I know it's going to be beautiful. Silicon does the scanning and burns cd's and then prints the image. The scans are really high resolution and you can see every fiber of the original.

West Philly and Black Friday thru Cyber Monday Sales

BIG SALE!

Buy Two Get One FREE
on Any items in my shop:

Card Sets, Photos, Matted Images

Here are some of the new photos I took in West Philly last weekend that are included in the sale. I wandered far and wide through the neighborhoods and found lots of colorful signs, homes, graffiti, shops, though I couldn't find the sign on Lancaster Ave. that says "The Hollywood Blvd. of Philadelphia" or was it Wilshire Blvd?

My Lovley Clusters Cluster!

Recent Etsy Favorites

Fairmount Park Home: Woodford House

Miniature china painting

Portrait

Kitchen Table

English pottery

Front Parlor

I was walking down the drive today to East Falls and back through Fairmount park when I noticed the Woodford House had an open flag hanging out front. I don't think I've ever saw the house before, even though I worked down the street at the recreation center one summer.

Second Story Addition Model

They charge $5 for a tour of the 11 rooms, but even though I had no cash, Bill, the guide was nice enough to give me a tour anyway (I'll send them a check). I've toured houses in Charleston, but this was my first Fairmount Park house tour.

I was particularly interested in the furniture and woodwork in the house. There's Georgian and Federal styles, depending on which wing of the house you are walking in. All of the furniture is period, non-reproduction.

The yellow pine floors had dowels inserted laterally to keep the wood in place, and the wood has worn away in heavily trafficed places to show the dowel.

Bench that converts into a Table

Miniature Boxes

Period Fake Mahogony Finish Applied to Woodwork

Sweetie's Pie Diner

I can't explain how excited I was to see the words "pie diner" decorating the door of a building being renovated at 19th and Spring Garden streets and they finally opened a couple of weeks ago. The place lives up to the name, they not only are a diner that specializes in pie, but local sourced gourmet pie with the most unusual and delightful combinations. I got a day old sample of an apple cake that was fabulous, then came back later that day with coworkers to taste a lemon pie. They also had plum, chocolate, pumpkin, more kinds of pie than I could remember. It was a memorable experience.

What I also love is that they have items like beet salad, savory pies for lunch, weekend brunch and get their supplies from local farms. It's a pie diner done right and the morning crew is really sweet. I stopped in again last week for coffee and tried a ginger scone. I think this might become a regular stop for me.

Oh, and the prices are so reasonable in comparison to other neighborhood coffee places! $2.25 for a slice of pie!