...assemblage art rocks

Assemblage art is often incongruous in its components. It can be unsettling in its perfectly, imperfect matches of texture and form. I find myself in love with certain pieces...you know the ones laden with nostalgia, a bit chippy, their assembled bits the worse for wear but fresh in their new form. Provocative, maybe a bit bedraggled, utterly charming and sometimes just plain silly...these are the ones!

What do you think? Do you love the mix and match of it, the collaged feel, the retro elements...

I often look at the hutches around my home. Their displays are constantly changing, morphing in the direction of one holiday and then back again. Every once in a while we yell, "Don't touch the hutch!" This means somehow, through some magic, a wonderful 3-d collage has emerged on the shelves.

The collected elements have combined in a marvelous soup of a display. This too is what assemblage art is like to me. I love the way it holds it own, heralding it's bright diffidence to conformity and beckoning a reaction.

Kitty B is the mistress of assemblage, carefully curating her odd boxes of whimsy by freezing bits of everyday life for inspection. In her art, Kitty elevates castoff tools, misfit toys and leftover tidbits in her celebration of whimsy, selecting and then surrounding them in their own little world of paper and glitter, whimsy and mirth. Calico & Buttons are her two very favorite things, so she’s named these assemblage pieces and framed collages in their celebration. They hang everywhere in my home.

New friends, artists Bill & Marcia Finks concoct funky and fun wall dolls from a bevy of metal findings, castoff doll parts, and forgotten bits of yesterday’s everyday. Their assemblages convey movement despite the rusty oddness of their dashingly askew component parts. These two transform broken rhinestone pins, rusty metal bits, remnants of ribbon and curling wire into delights. The new story, told deftly by their assembled parts, creates an appeal that is charming, nostalgic and just a bit sassy. We are thrilled to be working with them and have just posted their creations to our site!

Lisa Kaus delves into the depths of assemblage with her tinnies and houses. Wood and metal, findings and paint blend seamlessly in her work. In an earlier blog, I showed a detail of one of her assemblage houses sporting the #7 of my home address....I love her and her work too! I cannot wait for her to visit us in May for the 6th annual Spring Soiree...and Lisa, can I have permission to share some images of you in your studio for a future post...I would love to highlight you and your work!

So assemblage art is there for the making. Favorite things collaged, a story to tell in 3-d, memories to hold or create anew, assemblage art makes it possible. And yes I DO WEAR IT! (see prior post!!!) Jill Schwartz's Elements jewelry is assemblage art at its best....just miniature in form. My favorites are the Ovaline Chirp Chain and the Square Beaded Tweet necklaces .

Do tell...do you like it, have you made it, do you think it rocks?
ciao for now!

xxoo Jen

Earth Angels Toys