Category: collage

  • Jessalyn Aaland

    Jessalyn Aaland

    Does anyone else remember thumbing through paper catalogs at Christmastime, circling and dreaming of goodies Santa might bring, or later in life, dreaming of filling your house with all that pretty stuff?  Goodness knows we are a world in love with our stuff.  These collages of California artist Jessalyn Aaland remind me of the mounds of random things we might accumulate if we could.

    Jessalyn Aaland | artsy forager #art #artists #collage #contemporaryart Jessalyn Aaland | artsy forager #art #artists #collage #contemporaryart Jessalyn Aaland | artsy forager #art #artists #collage #contemporaryart Jessalyn Aaland | artsy forager #art #artists #collage #contemporaryart Jessalyn Aaland | artsy forager #art #artists #collage #contemporaryart

     

    I especially love the artist’s use of chair imagery.  I used to have a thing for chairs.. well, I sort of still do, but our traveling has definitely curbed any sort of temptation for collecting!  I’ve always been interested in how chairs, more than any other sort of furniture can be designed for so many different levels of function and comfort.  Chairs for dining, office work, reading, lounging, you name it.  They are the seats we offer our guests, a sign of hospitality and warmth– No one ever says “Pull up a sofa!”, now do they?

    To see more of Jessalyn Aaland‘s work please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • No Place Like Home: Kelda Martensen

    No Place Like Home: Kelda Martensen

    The minute I saw this artist’s work, it resonated deeply with me.  As Mr. F and I continue to travel, we are brought closer to the day when we settle down to make a permanent home.  The idea of home– where that will be and what it looks like for us is a frequent topic of conversation.  Through her collage work, Seattle artist Kelda Martensen is also seeking the meaning of home.

    Kelda Martensen | artsy forager #art #artists #collage #contemporaryart

    prints available in the Artsy Forager Collection for Mantle Art 

    Kelda Martensen | artsy forager #art #artists #collage #contemporaryart Kelda Martensen | artsy forager #art #artists #collage #contemporaryart

    prints available in the Artsy Forager collection for Mantle Art

    Kelda Martensen | artsy forager #art #artists #collage #contemporaryart

    prints available in the Artsy Forager Collection for Mantle Art

    Kelda Martensen | artsy forager #art #artists #collage #contemporaryart

    Of course house like structures and elements figure prominently in Martensen’s work but they are often turned on their head, or inside out, causing us to remember that the buildings we inhabit are merely that– home, in its true definition cannot be held captive in architecture.  Our real home lives and breathes within us and changes with our shifts in relationships and seasons.  We may perhaps be bound to one particular place, but our heart is free to soar and live wherever it finds root.

    To see more of Kelda Martensen‘s work, please visit her website.  And make sure you check out the collection of Kelda’s prints for sale in the Artsy Forager Collection for Mantle Art!

    All images via the artist or her website.

    *This post contains affiliate links.  As curator of the Artsy Forager for Mantle Art Collection, I receive a small commission on each piece sold from the collection.

  • Transformative Illusions: Alexandra Bellissimo

    Transformative Illusions: Alexandra Bellissimo

    I often envy Mr. Forager. When we’re camping or out hiking, he has no problem at all laying down wherever– absolutely no fear of bugs or other creepy crawliest like yours truly. He can really allow himself to be one with nature. The collages of Los Angeles artist Alexandra Bellissimo beautifully simulate what it might really be like for the human body to merge with the natural world.

    Surface by Alexandra Bellissimo
    Surface, photo collage, 7×9.6
    Euphoria 02 by Alexandra Bellissimo
    Euphoria 02, photo collage, 12×15

    Bellissimo photographs her models ( often she is her own model, giving even more emotional depth to her work ), in their own completely natural state.. No clothing, nothing between the skin and the world around it. The nude figure appears vulnerable, easily overtaken by the flora creeping over its form.

    Rupture by Alexandra Bellissimo
    Rupture, photo collage, 6×8.4
    Extension 02 by Alexandra Bellissimo
    Extension 02, photo collage, 7.6×9.8

    While there is some work done in Photoshop ( I.e., the removal of an arm to be replaced by a branch ), the added elements are done through traditional, meticulous cut and paste collage. In doing so, the artist maintains a very real feeling of physical transformation.

    The Observer by Alexandra Bellissimo
    The Observer, photo collage, 12×16

    To see more of Alexandra Bellissimo’s work, please visit her website.  And if you’d like to read about and see some insight into her process, be sure to check out her blog!

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Artsy on Escape Into Life: Pascaline Dargant

    Collage seems to be the “it” medium these days.  And why not?  It takes a gifted eye for composition, color, and visual texture to make a collage that stands out amid the throng.  French artist Pascaline Dargant’s collages are beautifully simple yet remarkably memorable.  My new collage crush!  I’m sharing her work today in my Artist Watch over on Escape Into Life.  Check out the post here!

    Pascaline Dargant

    Pascaline Dargant on Escape Into Life

    Image via the artist’s website.