38 Comments
User's avatar
Ann Collins's avatar

What’s that old saying?

To improve is to change.

To be perfect is to have changed *many* times.

Congratulations on your exhibition entry!!!

Duane Toops's avatar

Oh, love that saying! I haven't heard that before, but I'm saving that! Thank you!

John E. Dobbs's avatar

Congratulations on the exhibition! What an honor! I’m not surprised a bit!

Duane Toops's avatar

Thanks John! I was absolutely surprised, caught me completely unprepared, haha!

John E. Dobbs's avatar

It’s nice to be appreciated and noticed…happy for you!

Duane Toops's avatar

Thanks again John! I really do appreciate your support!🙏❤️🤜

Brian Funke's avatar

Congrats!

Dave Szweduik's avatar

Hey! Congratulations on the exhibition - so exciting!

Duane Toops's avatar

Thanks so much Dave! I’m excited and baffled all at once, haha!

Dave Szweduik's avatar

Ha! Well enjoy the moment, you’ve earned it!

Duane Toops's avatar

There is some awkward revelry afoot, haha!

Jenn's avatar

Enjoy the experience, and I hope it’s not the last! I have become better as well, but there is a joke in my house that my husband must ask me first before throwing anything in the garbage 😬😂

Duane Toops's avatar

ALWAYS ASK FIRST!! please haha!

Jenn's avatar

Sad but true 😂. I find everything so interesting and beautiful and I love paper.

Jenn's avatar

Congrats! That is so cool that you’ll have a piece in an exhibition! Hooray! I love the red roses piece. I also love the world in reply! I’m a sucker for repurposed mail items. Beautiful words and art. Thanks so much.

Duane Toops's avatar

Thanks so much Jenn! The thought of one of my collages in a gallery is still super weird to me. I have a feeling it will be even stranger to see, but looking forward to it.

I was saving so much junk mail for a while! It was really a problem. Now i only save it if I think I have an immediate use for it. Lol

Darlene Carroll's avatar

These are gorgeous. The more you delve into ICAD the more the art of collage evolves in self and each piece. Creativity at its finest. Your thoughts take possession of both harmony and discord. It represents in not only the theme but also your colour palette of contrast — colour (vivid) v the black and white (unadorned). Congratulations for Roses Are Red. Well deserved.

Duane Toops's avatar

Thanks Darlene! I always appreciate your feedback. ICAD has been and continues to be a tremendous source of creative energy. The exercise has revolutionized my creative practice, especially in better enabling me to get out of my own way. I love what you said about harmony and discord. I was reading a story about one of Herbie Hancock's early performances with Miles Davis. Hancock plays a wrong chord, a chord completely and noticeable out of key with the song. In response Davis started playing notes that made Hancock's wrong chord sound right, and the rest of the band followed along. I think collage introduces dissonance and in the dissonance finds a new harmony.

Darlene Carroll's avatar

You're welcome. I love how creativity has this beautiful way of evolving even when we use the same materials. Then it expands further the more the creative adds differing techniques or supplies or even merging into different creative fields.

I have read that story about Herbie Hancock and Miles Davies. I read it while working with the Jazz papers featured in the book designed for Roman Newell's Jazz in Pastel. It's lessons and my own reflections creating. Those papers held many quotations that encourage creativity through tough times and what our mind tends to auto channel as "mistakes".

Never a wrong note/chord, etc. Just a joyful potential waiting to push creative people a little further than they might have dared to venture or think past… creating something entirely new than originally imagined. That's beautiful encouragement for any artist/writer/musician when they perceive an error. That instead of sitting in the negative they are able to flip it around and improvise. That's a mind that's creatively expansive and experimental.

Duane Toops's avatar

"Never a wrong note/chord, etc. Just a joyful potential waiting to push creative people a little further.." - Damn good line! Thank you for that! That's it exactly!

Patris's avatar

Your art work is beautiful

Duane Toops's avatar

Thank you so much Patris! That means a lot to me!

Nathaniel Roy's avatar

Congrats Duane! Well deserved.

Duane Toops's avatar

Thanks Nathaniel! I appreciate it! It’s exciting and shocking. I’m not sure it’s really hit me yet. I can’t quite get my head around the idea of my work hanging in a gallery, haha.

Nathaniel Roy's avatar

You’ll get used to it by the third or fourth time, maybe 😉

Duane Toops's avatar

I’m hoping to find out, haha!

Jazz1959's avatar

Love your work!

Duane Toops's avatar

Thank you Taylor! I really appreciate your support!

Manuela Thames's avatar

Beautiful!

Duane Toops's avatar

Thanks so much!

Roman Newell's avatar

I’m a fan of these art pieces, Duane.

Duane Toops's avatar

Thanks so much Roman! So glad you like them!

Richard's avatar

Disruptive innovators rule!

Duane Toops's avatar

“disruptive innovators” - love that!

errin ironside's avatar

Yes Yes - a chance to be changed, I completely agree.

Duane Toops's avatar

So glad, its not just me! haha! Thanks so much Errin!