Great question! Thank you! The assembly is done in one sitting. I try not to linger too long. To get too analytical. To question it too much. Or to slip into overthinking. I try to make quick, intuitive decisions, and respond to them. But, that’s not to say that ‘my process’ is fast. It does happen in stages. I spend a lot of time creating my own collage materials. I’ll digitally manipulate scans of previous collage work into new compositions and then print them out to be cut up and used in new analog collages. I’ll also create collage paper on copy machines by enlarging random images from magazines. Sometimes I put my own collages into Midjourney as image generation prompts and print those out too. I also dabble with gel printing here and there. I take all of that into my studio, cut out the parts I like and then start the assembly. I hope that helps!
Thank you! That’s exciting to hear you’re collaging! My best advise, not that you asked for it, lol, is make little something on an index card every day. They’re small. Inexpensive. And, it doesn’t take long. It’s a low friction, low barrier to entry. Doesn’t have to be good. You don’t even have to keep it. Just that little act of consistency builds so much momentum, rhythm, and muscle memory. From seeing a few of you photograph you already have a great knack for texture and composition. You’ll nail it, I’m sure.
Thanks so much Mark! I have no idea why they wanted a collage maker to design an article/interview, especially one who had never done it before. I just tried to get it finished before they changed their minds, haha!
You’re welcome! I like using quotes to create poems, too. Famous quotes, quotes from films or TV series - it’s another way to get my creative juices flowing. 😊
Thanks Ann! The Plastikcomb spreads were so fun to work on. Definitely a different approach to so much of my other work, and such an honor to get to do it! Glad you like the cut-poem pieces. That’s also an insightful and enjoyable creative exercise. It’s almost a kind Rorschach test with words. You start to find things you didn’t know you needed to say.
Love seeing the poem with the art. “lyrically as gifts” is especially beautiful. Surely there is a fussy cut flower nestled there? (I read your previous post with interest — I had never thought about this in terms of your work, but I really love your aesthetic of juxtaposing straight lined elements!) Happy New Year
Thank you Amy! ‘lyrically as gifts’ is one of my favorites too! So glad you like it! I wish I could say there was a fussy cut or two involved but no, not this time, haha! Maybe one day I’ll find the right combination of patience and skill to do it, but for now I’m happy exploring what cleans lines and angles can do. Thanks again!
Wow! Thanks man! That really means so much coming from you! I was hesitant to take on the spreads, because I’m not a graphic designer and I’ve never done any kind editorial design before. But, the chance to do something for Plastikcomb was just too good to pass up. So glad they were happy with it!
Oh, I love it. I’m not even sure I could do something like that and I think you not being a “graphic designer” is part of it. You might not be, but your sense of composition is impeccable.
Maybe this is an easy reach but it very much feels like something out of Ray Gun.
You caught me red handed, haha! A have a Ray Gun book called Out of Control. That book was one of main primary sources of inspiration! I kept flipping through it and referencing it the entire time I was working on those spreads, lol. Good eye!
Thank you Anne! That’s exactly what I was hoping for! I was really hoping that it would feel like an extension of the collages. that the cut up words would provide a kind of additional narrative and that it might bridge all teh collages together in an interesting way. Hoping to a couple more from time to time. Thanks again!
Mitchell, thank you! Coming from someone who REALLY knows graphic design, I take that as I high compliment. I had no idea what I was doing. I was just winging it the whole way through and hoping I wouldn’t blow it too bad, haha!
Thanks so much! I’m so glad to hear that! I wanted to match the aesthetic of the magazine and attempt something interesting. Hoping that it would be coherent. I tried my best to swing for the fences. I figured I’d probably never get the chance again and had I better give it everything I could.
Congratulations on the editing achievement. Love your collage work Duane, especially the people ones. The words work great, I didn't know that's how you started, explains your gift with both. Often think cafés and interesting communal spaces would really be lifted by displaying framed art, and words, just like those you produce.
Thank you! For a long time I made collages only as backgrounds for my cut out poems, but over time the collages took over. I still love making the cut-out poems, so I was glad to find a way to bring them back into my current work in a bit of different way. Thanks again!
That's way too kind! I don't necessarily consider myself a writer, just a maker who sometimes makes things with words, haha! I do love finding the connections between things. Thanks again!!
I'm a dot joiner too, for the good and maybe my shortcoming too. Think music and words are my main thing, but I love the visual arts too. I see more 'in real life' events needing the alchemy of all 3. (And maybe dance too!) This will be part of future holistic mental health therapy, I sense. (I hope! Everyone would benefit) .
Same here! I spent a big part of my life writing songs and playing in bands. I finally had to put it down. The visual arts have always been by true heart beat. But there's a record player in my studio that gets plenty of use, lol.
I like the poem with the collages - plays well with the mind and imagination. That collage with the eyes papered over on the two women is interesting for some reason. Bionic deer is very cool as well! Congratulations on doing that editorial design work and Happy New Year!
Thanks Neil! I think the reasons I’ve always liked cut out poetry are the same reasons I love collage; there’s never a blank page. You’re always starting with something. Always working with some preexistent material. It’s a question of arrangement. Of structure. Of taking things way.
Glad you like the deer as well! It was a weird one but I enjoyed it! I think that might turn into a series of some kind. Though i haven’t quite figures it out yet. We’ll see. Thanks again!
How long does your process take? Do you finish a collage in one sitting or is it a continuing process?
Great question! Thank you! The assembly is done in one sitting. I try not to linger too long. To get too analytical. To question it too much. Or to slip into overthinking. I try to make quick, intuitive decisions, and respond to them. But, that’s not to say that ‘my process’ is fast. It does happen in stages. I spend a lot of time creating my own collage materials. I’ll digitally manipulate scans of previous collage work into new compositions and then print them out to be cut up and used in new analog collages. I’ll also create collage paper on copy machines by enlarging random images from magazines. Sometimes I put my own collages into Midjourney as image generation prompts and print those out too. I also dabble with gel printing here and there. I take all of that into my studio, cut out the parts I like and then start the assembly. I hope that helps!
Great collages! I’m just starting and it’s freaking me out. 😁
Thank you! That’s exciting to hear you’re collaging! My best advise, not that you asked for it, lol, is make little something on an index card every day. They’re small. Inexpensive. And, it doesn’t take long. It’s a low friction, low barrier to entry. Doesn’t have to be good. You don’t even have to keep it. Just that little act of consistency builds so much momentum, rhythm, and muscle memory. From seeing a few of you photograph you already have a great knack for texture and composition. You’ll nail it, I’m sure.
Thank you for the advice. I’ll definitely try this.
Hope it works for you. thanks again!
Love the cut out poetry!
Thank you! Glad to hear it! I love doing it. Such an intriguing kind of meditation.
Wonderful as always! Congrats on the work for Plastikcomb, those spreads are beautiful and quite engaging.
Thanks so much Mark! I have no idea why they wanted a collage maker to design an article/interview, especially one who had never done it before. I just tried to get it finished before they changed their minds, haha!
Glorious! I l enjoy cut out poetry too. It engages my brain in a different way.
I love your art, too!
Thank you so much! You're totally right! i love the process of creating cut out poems, it occupies my mind in such an interesting way.
You’re welcome! I like using quotes to create poems, too. Famous quotes, quotes from films or TV series - it’s another way to get my creative juices flowing. 😊
Yes! Such a great idea!
Wowsa! Just incredible, original work.
Thank you Gloria! I appreciate it!!
Wow--the Plastikcomb magazine piece is fantastic! Love that look! Also the cut-out poetry fragments. Such a great way of surprising oneself.💛💛💛
Thanks Ann! The Plastikcomb spreads were so fun to work on. Definitely a different approach to so much of my other work, and such an honor to get to do it! Glad you like the cut-poem pieces. That’s also an insightful and enjoyable creative exercise. It’s almost a kind Rorschach test with words. You start to find things you didn’t know you needed to say.
Love seeing the poem with the art. “lyrically as gifts” is especially beautiful. Surely there is a fussy cut flower nestled there? (I read your previous post with interest — I had never thought about this in terms of your work, but I really love your aesthetic of juxtaposing straight lined elements!) Happy New Year
Thank you Amy! ‘lyrically as gifts’ is one of my favorites too! So glad you like it! I wish I could say there was a fussy cut or two involved but no, not this time, haha! Maybe one day I’ll find the right combination of patience and skill to do it, but for now I’m happy exploring what cleans lines and angles can do. Thanks again!
Congratulations! You are totally rocking it!
Thanks so much Stephen! I appreciate you my friend!!
Those are some sick pages!
Wow! Thanks man! That really means so much coming from you! I was hesitant to take on the spreads, because I’m not a graphic designer and I’ve never done any kind editorial design before. But, the chance to do something for Plastikcomb was just too good to pass up. So glad they were happy with it!
Oh, I love it. I’m not even sure I could do something like that and I think you not being a “graphic designer” is part of it. You might not be, but your sense of composition is impeccable.
Maybe this is an easy reach but it very much feels like something out of Ray Gun.
You caught me red handed, haha! A have a Ray Gun book called Out of Control. That book was one of main primary sources of inspiration! I kept flipping through it and referencing it the entire time I was working on those spreads, lol. Good eye!
I love the addition of the words too! They add additional layers of mystery and are visually beautiful. Happy New Year to you too.
Thank you Anne! That’s exactly what I was hoping for! I was really hoping that it would feel like an extension of the collages. that the cut up words would provide a kind of additional narrative and that it might bridge all teh collages together in an interesting way. Hoping to a couple more from time to time. Thanks again!
The editorial design! Stunning!
Mitchell, thank you! Coming from someone who REALLY knows graphic design, I take that as I high compliment. I had no idea what I was doing. I was just winging it the whole way through and hoping I wouldn’t blow it too bad, haha!
Well it all seems really intentional and cohesive. It’s a breath of fresh air from a lot of the minimalist stuff I see all the time.
Thanks so much! I’m so glad to hear that! I wanted to match the aesthetic of the magazine and attempt something interesting. Hoping that it would be coherent. I tried my best to swing for the fences. I figured I’d probably never get the chance again and had I better give it everything I could.
Congratulations on the editing achievement. Love your collage work Duane, especially the people ones. The words work great, I didn't know that's how you started, explains your gift with both. Often think cafés and interesting communal spaces would really be lifted by displaying framed art, and words, just like those you produce.
Thank you! For a long time I made collages only as backgrounds for my cut out poems, but over time the collages took over. I still love making the cut-out poems, so I was glad to find a way to bring them back into my current work in a bit of different way. Thanks again!
Now I know why you're such a good writer as well! Lovely to mix two forms. Fusion art.
That's way too kind! I don't necessarily consider myself a writer, just a maker who sometimes makes things with words, haha! I do love finding the connections between things. Thanks again!!
I'm a dot joiner too, for the good and maybe my shortcoming too. Think music and words are my main thing, but I love the visual arts too. I see more 'in real life' events needing the alchemy of all 3. (And maybe dance too!) This will be part of future holistic mental health therapy, I sense. (I hope! Everyone would benefit) .
Same here! I spent a big part of my life writing songs and playing in bands. I finally had to put it down. The visual arts have always been by true heart beat. But there's a record player in my studio that gets plenty of use, lol.
I like the poem with the collages - plays well with the mind and imagination. That collage with the eyes papered over on the two women is interesting for some reason. Bionic deer is very cool as well! Congratulations on doing that editorial design work and Happy New Year!
Thanks Neil! I think the reasons I’ve always liked cut out poetry are the same reasons I love collage; there’s never a blank page. You’re always starting with something. Always working with some preexistent material. It’s a question of arrangement. Of structure. Of taking things way.
Glad you like the deer as well! It was a weird one but I enjoyed it! I think that might turn into a series of some kind. Though i haven’t quite figures it out yet. We’ll see. Thanks again!
Congratulations! ✨✨