Collage, Montage, Whatever

I've not been out of the house today except for a morning walk. Back to work in the studio, after a unplanned cleanup of the place. It hasn't been fun to go into the studio lately because the floor was covered with fabrics from work on that chandelier with the red vase at its center. The counter space was piled high with photographs, books and just plain mess. When Catarina was here yesterday working on the database, I decided to straighten things up out there. Strange how a clean-up mode takes over, comes out of nowhere and for me, so infrequently. Finished the job this morning and so spent the afternoon mixing and matching photos and fabrics.
I always think nothing is going to come of the process. It's painful how long it takes me to assemble something that looks like 'something.' It was easy to make the cut out of the gelatin salad and tuck it in behind the smaller one gelatin salad that's been sitting for some time on that square piece of weathered tapestry. It works, but how on earth am I going to affix these gelatin salads to the tapestry fabric? Back the photos with mat board? Cut around them again. Adhere with Velcro? Glue? This is the part where I think that everything should be done with PhotoShop.
Went on to work on another potential piece. Mixed and matched forever. Then all of a sudden, the collage appeared and I think it's OK. So, collages are sitting on the floor assembled and waiting for judgment. It's time to decide just what steps I need to take with each one in order to, tape, glue, sew and otherwise secure it. As I said, this is the part I don't like because I mess up so many times. I am not good at gluing. I can ruin a whole piece very quickly, so I have to think all this through carefully and see what portions of each piece I can take to Art Supply for a dose of their vacuum press.
This new one with the bananas and a portrait of Caroline from long ago is going to take a lot of big stitch sewing and I'll probably use embroidery floss. By the way, it's always a surprise how random images like this shot of Caroline are just right for a piece.
Worked on and another collage appeared and it may be finished. Not totally sure.
So here are all of the pieces, just sitting there on the floor, fermenting or seasoning or whatever. I'll look at them again tomorrow and see what the next steps are. Probably don't need many more. Need to get back to those fabric wall hangings and see how I can mess them up a bit. They are way too tame.
Also finished the first draft of yet another grant application today and will have a friend review it on Monday to see if it's seaworthy. And I'll look forward, yet again to see if I am 'worthy and well qualified,' as my dad used to characterize graduates every year at commencement.
Back to the collages. They all look more than a bit baroque at the moment.
By the way, I am writing on more plates, platters and bowls and was given a light fixture with pieces of foot long rectangles of beveled glass. I've decided to write words on all the glass, bake them and paint the structure. Another baroque piece to add over the table with the patchwork cloth.
Roofer is coming to Irma's on Monday to repair Hurricane Ike damage. Good news. Still need a final bid on the sheet rock panels I want to have installed here and there along the walls of the space. Onward.