27 Comments
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The Sea in Me    (Síodhna)'s avatar

'Art has a way of showing us things that we've never paid attention to. The things we don't look at closely. The things we’ve chosen not to. The things we've hidden from and the things in hiding. The gaps'

Thought provoking, beautifully written post, Duane.

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Duane Toops's avatar

So incredibly kind of you to say! The deeper I go into my creative practice the more i see this come to fruition in myself and all I do.

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Harley Claes's avatar

How crazy, I just wrote a post with a similar message to this one! "Art is an unveiling, a therapeutic expedition." Again, your collages are lovely. I like the color schemes. It would be fun to collaborate on a collage.

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Duane Toops's avatar

“a therapeutic expedition” - love that! That’s exactly it! I’m going to go look for it. Thanks so much!

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Treasa's avatar

I love how there seems to be a deconstructed question mark in the corner of 'question of loneliness.'

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Duane Toops's avatar

Treasa! I love that! This is what I love most about sharing work in a communal space, seeing what others see in the work that I myself haven’t seen. Thanks for that!

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Jenn's avatar

Ritual complexity and the question of loneliness really stood out to me, but they’re all excellent, as are the sentiments you’ve surrounded them with.

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Duane Toops's avatar

Thank you Jenn! Ritual complexity was a fun one to work on. I love incorporating text and typography into my work, but I've been trying to do it in a more abstract way lately. This ones got close to what I'm thinking. The question of loneliness stands out to me as well. I always wanted to be a painter, but I was never able to adapt to the medium. It was never able to capture my voice in teh way that collage has. But, I've recently been dabbling with trying to incorporate paint into my collage work. results have varied widely, but this one came out ok, i think.

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Jenn's avatar

I do like the mixed media, the slight transparency makes you wonder what is underneath and why is it hiding in an intriguing sort of way. I am liking your new innovations with text and paint.

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Duane Toops's avatar

Thanks Jenn! I don’t know how much more paint will be involved. I love the idea but the execution can be really frustrating for me. For some reason, whenever I try to involve paint in my work all hell breaks loose…and not in the good way, lol.

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Jenn's avatar

Haha! This one turned out well! It’s fun to try new things, even if only to gain the knowledge that it’s not for you.

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Duane Toops's avatar

I totally agree. I’m still making small attempts with painted things here and there, but I’ve been experimenting more and more with moving source material between analog and digital and back again. That’s proving to be a lot of fun.

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Jenn's avatar

That does sound quite fun! I can’t wait to see where that takes you.

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Cecil Touchon's avatar

Love those little square collages.

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Duane Toops's avatar

So glad to hear it! It was fun to work in a different format! I think I’d like to do a few more but perhaps larger. We’ll see.

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Mohika Mudgal's avatar

There’s something unsettling and brilliant in how you expose the slow erosion of wonder in our daily grind. They’re the kind of pieces that make you pause, tilt your head, and rethink what you thought you knew. You’ve got a knack for turning the familiar into something eerily beautiful, something that demands a second look! Loveeee your newsletter!

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Duane Toops's avatar

This is one of the best compliments I can ask for! Thank you so much for it! I owe so much of this to the practice of collage. You have to look past mere appearance, delve in the texture of things, find connections and juxtapositions, and when you do you start to uncover the Otherness beneath the surface tension of everything. Thanks again!

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Manuela Thames's avatar

Thought provoking as always!

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Duane Toops's avatar

Too kind as always! I appreciate you!

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Stephen Tomasko's avatar

The work in this post is amazing!

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Duane Toops's avatar

Thanks Stephen! That really means a lot coming from you!

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janice bisset's avatar

Love the loneliness piece. I felt a visceral reaction when I saw it and then read the title

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Duane Toops's avatar

Thank you Janice! That one stuck out to me too. I’m starting to experiment with a bit more of a mixed media approach here and there. Thanks again!

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Martin Hughes's avatar

I'm all in on "fated to serve a new purpose". Acts as a reminder for lots of things that need reminding.

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Duane Toops's avatar

Thanks Martin! That was a fun one to make. So many seemingly discordant elements that came together in an interesting narrative.

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Poetry Symposium's avatar

, layers of life through art ... enjoyed this post. PS

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Duane Toops's avatar

So glad you did! Thanks so much for reading!

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