Assemblage of Thoughts On Bricolage Art

Bricolage [bree-coal-ahj] is a visual arts term used to describe art that is created from an assemblage of everyday objects and/or items that happen to be at hand during the artists need for creative expression. Personally, bricolage and assemblage arts haven't turned me into a pack-rat though it may encourage the habit to hoard... I only save the good stuff. What makes stuff good or garbage? It's hard to say just what it is that attracts an artist to a particular object. I think that the heart of bricolage is that creative impulse though... the need to create or express overpowering the need to wait for more traditional art materials to become available. Rather than create a sketch with a shopping list the bricoleur must look, wait, and jump when the moment is right in order to get that perfect object or flash of inspiration.

 Assemblage art and bricolage are siblings but not quite twins. An assemblage artist often works with the same methods, techniques, and/or materials in each art work with a fairly good concept of how those items will come together before the project begins. This also creates a recognisable "style", often with layers of encaustic wax, thick paint, industrial or architectural elements, old keys and vintage toys as favorite materials of many assemblage artists today (and rightly so because they are cool). The art of a bricoleur however will be unlikely to resemble other pieces created by the same artist to any high degree because the same materials may not be available, and things have to be assembled with different methods for nearly every project. The bricoleur is saying, "I need to make something... now! What do I have?" Perhaps assemblage art stems from a desire to take unwanted objects to make them into something wanted and attractive, whereas bricolage stems from a simple desire to make; It doesn't necessarily care if it's attractive because it just "is" or the artist felt that it simply needed to happen.

"Restrictions" by Tree Pruitt



In my opinion pure bricolage allows a viewer to see the components as they are, but put together or used differently from the original purpose... like using masonry blocks and plywood as a bookcase. Assemblage art often, but not always, embeds or disguises objects by using them as parts of a whole. My own piece titled "Restrictions" is one of my favorite examples of bricolage expression, though the final results were closer to assemblage than bricolage. I'd found myself with an overwhelming emotional need to express creatively while low on art supplies. With just a couple of tubes of paint and some glue in hand I rummaged through the house until I found a thing to use as a base, a thing to use as the actual thing, and then stuff to go over the thing. Only then did I have an understanding of what thing I was going to make -- a confined human figure. I wrapped heavy duty fishing line around a (clean) bed pillow and metal pipe then placed a vintage foam wig form on top as a ready made skull. Upholstery fabric was then wrapped over that and drip painted to resemble a dirty old thing dug out of the ground because at that point I'd taken to the concept of archaeology's mummy bundles, which are often tied and bound in order to hold the body in place. The concept was perfect for my expression though it wasn't present at the start of the project where only the emotional need to express was there. The everyday-ness of the components is hidden inside something that looks totally different from the things that I started with, so that is why I'd consider Restrictions as not being pure bricolage.

"It's Only Natural", Tree Pruitt



A more purist example of bricolage within my own art work is the assemblage sculpture "It's Only Natural", which is composed of objects I found while walking around an old timber mill lot. Here there was no emotional drive to create, but the piece was inspired by what the objects seemed to naturally resemble... or imply. On the reverse side a metal clamp and two rusty bolts hold the parts together while also acting as representations of internal female reproductive organs, once the mind has entered the realm of sex; A special stone that naturally resembles a penis helps the mind wander that way. It could be a statement about sexism, about the timber industry, environmentalism, textures, or just the way things sometimes come together. A viewer can think whatever they like when looking at the piece, but the facts are that the materials are natural (even metal being an element) and unhidden.

Musician Frank Zappa said, “Art is making something from nothing and selling it.” An artist uses many tools, but to an assemblage artist or bricoleur anything can become a tool of the trade, and even the tools themselves can become the art. "Portrait of the Artist" (shown above, digital photograph by Tree Pruitt 2012), is a self portrait created from a combination of tools, materials, and even the art studio environment. In this tech based world of art the camera indeed has become the artists other eye with which to see and show things to the world, and so it is here reflected in an old mirror as the all-seeing-eye. For a portrait of an artist to be true it should show the "hand" of the artist within the work and indeed this image does. In the background there is a thin material that screens away the reality of the studio floor in separation from the "higher" plane of the art work. Are you buying that?? It's really just a picture of a plastic thing and a window screen on the floor, but I think it "sells" as an appropriate portrait of this artist.

Some relevant links...

• What is Bricolage? www.wisegeek.com/what-is-bricolage.htm
• Bricolage Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bricolage
• About.com http://www.bricolageart.com/about.html
• Uncanny Artist Specialty Art Supplies Store http://www.uncannyartist.com
• Art of Bricolage, blog http://artofbricolage.blogspot.com/
• Briant Matheson, artist www.bricolageart.com/
• The Vintage Bricoleur http://thevintagebricoleur.blogspot.com/
• My original art at... http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/ArtistTree

*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use.

Share

Finished Nature Goddess Sculpture

 In each of the places I've lived in North America I've encountered nature spirits. Inside the mysterious trees and brush one thing can often look like another at first glance. Have you ever walked in the woods and mistaken a log for an animal or caught unexplained movement out the corner of your eye? Some say that the cautious creatures of magic in the woods disguise themselves to avoid capture. Who can say if they are really there or not? I wanted this recent sculpture to have that ephemeral feeling of both natural and supernatural that makes one take a second look in curiosity. If it has a meaning greater than that then we'll ponder on it together.

close-up of "Hamadryad" by Tree Pruitt

In a previous blog entry I shared an assemblage statue I'd begun titled at the time as, Nature Goddess Sculpture, well she's finished now and enjoying a spot on a curio shelf. From the base of the marble stone to the painted tip of the highest feather she stands thirteen inches tall. Click the link to see pictures in the old post of how this piece began. She has become a North American hamadryad, with her head-dress of native bird feathers; red cardinal, yellow finch, and black raven are represented in her crown.

Wikipedia informs us that hamadryads, "are Greek mythological beings that live in trees. They are a particular type of dryad, which in turn are a particular type of nymph. Hamadryads are born bonded to a particular tree. Some believe that hamadryads are the actual tree, while normal dryads are simply the entities, or spirits, of the trees. If the tree died, the hamadryad associated with it died as well. For that reason, dryads and the gods punished any mortals who harmed trees."



"Hamadryad", sculpture by Tree Pruitt



My Hamadryad statue could be understood by some to be an unhealthy tree because of the plethora of bracket tree fungus she wears up her trunk, but I don't think of this fungus as a death symbol. Also known as Artist's Conk, this particular species is Ganoderma lucidum, which is a type of fungus I've personally observed on living trees. This species is a hard textured annual with a shiny red -brown top surface when dormant. The underside of this "Artist's Conk" yields a mat surface like a dusting that darkens when touched or scrapped. Marks will become permanent, allowing artists to express creative images on the surface. I've enjoyed watching this species shape itself to the contours of tree trunks over the years, as if poured into place, until it becomes a very firm part of the tree; attempting to remove them is quite difficult and harmful to a living tree. Overall, it may be harming the ash and locust trees I've observed it growing upon, but they've thrived for well over forty years so far, with the fungus growing only in the low shadows.

 
This sculpture is considered by myself as an "assemblage". An assemblage is simply taking parts already made and putting them together to make something else. It certainly has been an assemblage of inspirations! Here, though the surface is carved and formed similar to a traditional sculpture, the body is made of different parts. A pine wood dowel rod runs upwards, and this isn't just a support structure because I've left a portion visible as torso. The foundation is a base of marble chunk. The clay is attached to this base making it a permanent part of the piece.

I was nearly sad when this assemblage sculpture was finished. I had great fun working on this piece. Paperclay as a medium has proven to be very versatile when mixing into my 3-D artwork. I enjoy the final results of this project, and I hope you've enjoyed it too!

Browse my studio store to see available artwork






http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamadryad
http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/march99.html
*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use.

Share

Purple Poppies Painting Method

Purple Poppies is an original small floral painting from acrylic paint and watercolor pencil. Loosely rendered purple poppy flowers and buds, in various states of open, rest in a sunny flowing landscape created by carefully controlled drips and thick wet brush strokes of paint. The composition was first sketched in with watercolor pencils. For this method I prefer using Faber-Castell's Albrecht Durer pencils because of the smooth flowing texture of the lead, which is a bit softer than other brands, and the rich pigments; In particular, a certain blue and an orange will stain a canvas and won't rinse totally away with water washes. I apply heavy wet strokes of acrylic paint, allowing the brush to dig slightly into the watercolor under-drawing. Then added drops of water will naturally follow a path through the thick paint to the watercolor, creating drips that cut through layers while coloring the exposed canvas surface underneath. When thinned acrylic paint dries it can often look chalky, but it's easy to remedy the lifeless surface with a coat of acrylic varnish (I use Liquitex brands) which brings out a glossy richness. It's an exciting, fast paced way to paint that always yields results with character.

"Purple Poppies", 5"x 7" canvas panel board.

This somewhat rare flower was historically used in hallucinogenic rituals by the "Minoan" civilization on Crete and represents the Greek God Morpheus, overseer of visions and dreams.




*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

Share

Influences; A Painting on Paper

Influences is a multi-media painting on paper by Tree Pruitt.

I found myself awakened in the middle of the night and unable to drift back to sleep right away, so I decided to let my pencil wander through a bit of relaxed drawing; the little painting in this entry is the end result. I didn't seem to have anything in particular in mind but shapes and forms began to flow alright. By the time the paper seemed to have a composition to the group of images I was able to pleasantly drift back to sleep. The next day I worked the color and forms to a more refined level with Holbein water color paint, Derwent watercolor pencils, Prismacolor pencils, some acid free collage papers, and acrylic paint thinned with acrylic gloss varnish. I've included a couple of close-up views here, (though Blogger seems to show my images a bit darker than they should).
Clicking on an image will open a larger version, for a better look; you may need to click the page back to return here from viewing the image.

I had a good time and enjoyed working with the high key colors. The vibrant blue and pink are both created from Holbein brand water color paint. The 'Opera' creates a super hot pink and rich warm orange tones. The 'Peacock Blue' is probably my favorite blue of any brand or paint medium! These colors really "pop" more so than my camera and Blogger will pick-up. The butterfly and giant thumbprint are pre-printed collage paper I adhered with PVA glue, as well as the areas of artist tissue paper to the right side of the piece and over the moon like shape. The black dots are created with acrylic painted and gloss varnish that I allowed to thicken by drying slightly. I later added highlights to the dots in areas by pressing the painting onto another piece of paper, which when pulled away left small amounts of paper fiber stuck to the highest points of the dots. I personally think the differences in texture, layer and color are pleasing.

It wasn't until my husband walked by the studio table and remarked on the piece that I realized it was a self portrait - which seems silly now, in hindsight, that I hadn't noticed before! There are several metaphysical symbols within the painting that relate to myself, my eyes are green, and the inclusion of the nose ring on the same side as my own should have been a give-away! Now that my eyes are more open, I've enjoyed looking at the painting to interpret what my subconscious was leaking onto the paper, (and still chuckling at myself for not having been more aware). So, I've aptly title the piece as "Influences", and leave it up to the viewer to decide what each element may represent. ;)

*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

Share

Medicine Woman Painting Near Finished

Recently I was overcome with the urge to sort of doodle, to allow imagery free flow from within, and the un-finished canvas shown here is the result. I had lain down to go to sleep, a few days ago, when the mental pictures began to flow. I grabbed some sketch paper to take notes and refer back to the next day. Tonight I feel as if I've worked this piece to a state of being very close to finished, so I took a couple of quick snap shots to look at it in a different way. Since it was moving towards evening the photos are dark, but I think the elements can all be seen well enough for now. Clicking an image will open a slightly larger version in a new window. The entire painting is done with Liquitex Acrylics and Prismacolor Pencils on canvas.

Generally a painting is well planned, or even fully mapped out, but I've had fun allowing this one to grow as it seemed to like. I can't say what inspired the concept; sometimes these things just happen. I've been in a phase of using Impressionistic brush strokes a little on the wild side, so it's been a bit of a challenge to switch back to Realism ... but this painting isn't exactly 'reality' based, is it? The main character is a young Native American woman wearing eagle feathers in her hair and a poignant expression; perhaps she's only recently discovered her Path as a Medicine Woman, perhaps she looks upon us with compassion. Her vision emerges from the energy of spider, the weaver of life. Behind her is the strong presence of raven, who is nearly always a symbol of magic in cultures and mythology. Behind her hovers a white moth intended to portray the presence of the spirits of ancestors. The background houses spirit orbs, pine trees, distant mountains, and a salamander in the Full Moon watches over the valley below.



I think I'll work on her jewelry accessories a bit more, and perhaps add a touch of a silver glint to the spider webbing in places. Whatever my choices are, when the painting IS finished I'll happily show it here in a better light.




*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

Share

Wicked Black Cat

I've just finished a new painting illustration on paper featuring a black cat with the word, "Wicked". I'm happy with the results and hope it pleases others as well because it's inspired by a couple of my all time favorites. Animator Chuck Jones was an expert at creating expressive felines for Warner Brothers cartoons and he's close to being a hero of mine. His fun characters may have been inspired by the work of Théophile Alexandre Steinlen who is most famous for his black cat poster commonly known as, "Le Chat Noir" or "Tournée du Chat Noir". Steinlen (1859 – 1923) was a textile designer but became well known as an illustrator who created cabaret advertisements of music hall performers and his signature cats. Both artists had a good time portraying felines in art, as I did with "Wicked Black Cat".

My painting, shown at left, is done on acid free 110 lbs paper, and is painted with various acrylic paints, including a blue metallic that has a mild sparkle sheen for a magic touch. The image began as a playful monoprint, where wet paint strokes were applied to a piece of glass and then the paper was placed on top. This method creates fun, random background papers for me to later work into more refined art. The original may currently be available but here's a fun variety of Zazzle products featuring this image too including t-shirts, coffee mugs, poster prints, plus both blank note cards and special Halloween greeting cards.

Wicked Black Cat by TreePruitt

*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

Share