Mixed media

How Do I start Making Assemblage Art

| JP Dawes Artist

You might wonder how to get started making artsy assemblages. Where do you get all the bits and bobs you might need? Are there books and instructions for construction?

My first recommendation is that you realize this is an art form and not a craft form. Yes, there is a fine line between the two and this post isn’t to debate the point. Your finished piece must follow the principles of design and or have intent. It is lots more than just glueing, nailing, screwing, welding, sewing a bunch of stuff onto a substrate. So if you are unfamiliar with this concept, do some research so that the principles of design become second nature to you.

I find most of my junk at thrift shops and yard sales. If you know someone with kids, ask them to give you broken toys that might spur your imagination. If you are buying online search for junk drawers, Vintage misc. lot. , broken toy lot, doll lot, cabinet hardware lot. I hope that gives you some ideas.

The next thing to do is decide what kind of assemblage you like. Do you like wall art? Sculptures? Do you like the ones that use items as is or the ones that are painted or changed? I collected a ton of things when I started this journey. I am ready to start destashing some of the things I know I am not going to use. Its really easy to become a hoarder!

Just a Girl and Her Parrot

| JP Dawes Artist

I struggled with the birth of this Steam punk girl. She changed a few times and lived on my work table for a few weeks. I was to the point of shit canning her. Really. But boy I hate to be bested by a pile of throw away junk. I sat down one final time to try to make her behave. Ta-Da! I give you just a girl and her parrot.

Shake Rattle and Roll

| JP Dawes Artist

The as yet to be named newest Steampunk in the family was very misbehaved! They simply would not do what I wanted them to do. So Ron stepped in and in his best dad voice read them the riot act. Success! Here are some closeups showing their northern light, iceberg collar, equator belt buckle and ocean of fish. In addition, They are a rattler, another Steampunk rolls and the shake is on the worktable.

the Blue Flower

| JP Dawes Artist

The temperatures have been brutally hot. My studio is cool with it’s own air conditioner. There is a north window so lots of light without turning on overheads. So today in the studio it seemed that working with the cool color of blue was a good plan.

I had an old clock case that was begging to become. I backed it with an antique ceiling tile. After a blue tinted white wash on the wood I started to build the composition. I included the spine from an antique book, a tiny metal birdhouse and stars, a hand carved bird on a stump, a real bird nest with a wooden egg in it. I painted brass flowers in shades of blue. the finished piece is 14 1/2 inches tall and 9 inches wide.

Synchronicity in Art

| JP Dawes Artist

Sometimes in your creative life you need to STOP and take a breath. Regroup. Take the time to explore and read some of those wonderful art books you have collected. You might discover why you were drawn to purchase the book.

That is the journey I am on in this place in time. I have a need to rediscover why I am an artist. Is it for myself and my need to create or is it just to please others and sell?

In Seth Apter’s book, The Mixed Media Artist, on page 94 he asks if synchronicity plays a role in your art. I confess I needed to search meanings to answer the question. This is what I found online: “Synchronicity is a concept, first explained by psychiatrist Carl Jung, which holds that events are “meaningful coincidences” if they occur with no causal relationship, yet seem to be meaningfully related.”

So my answer would be; ABSOLUTELY! What would your answer be?

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