My Mane Blowing in the Wind: July 2012

"Through the Hoops" mixed media assemblage

I took a class over the past month at the Novato Arts Center. It was called "Rethinking 2-D" and was taught by Suzanne Stroebe. Suzanne has an investigative and experimental view of art. She firmly believes in the value of re-purposing materials and incorporating found items -- sometimes sustainable -- into your artistic endeavors. I would have never thought of using eucalyptus or lavender oil to make transfers from xerox/toner image copies. It smells so good and doesn't destroy your brain cells like xylene, turpentine, and even Citrasolve! I had fun returning to childhood crafts -- and adding them into a canvas or box assemblages.

I created the above little diorama from a shoe box, a discarded bristle brush rabbit, 3 gold hoops, and some junk photos. I wrote this text around the window: "She longed for green grass and a world where bunnies ran free..." I enjoyed creating this assemblage -- it was made from miscellaneous items I had thrown into a paper bag and stuck in my barn.