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tips on found object 4 free art ideas plus beginner’s guide to assemblages presented by cloth scissors®

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joseph & me: a beginner’s storybox 1 guide to assemblage 3 leilani pierson amy hitchcock please play with your food birdscapes: a home for my 4 jenn mason blackbirds 2 dead man’s party skeletal sue pelletier 5 assemblage michael demeng Looking for a place to perch her papier- mâché blackbirds, Sue Pelletier sorted through her collection of found objects Tips on Found Object Art: and created assemblages involving wire, wood, and materials that 4 Free Assemblage range from bird house to a Art Ideas Plus bird “garden” made with an old sugar Beginner’s Guide shaker. to Assemblages In “Please Play with Your Food,” Jenn presented by ® Mason shows how opening up faux Cloth Paper Scissors produce opened up a whole new online editor Cate Prato platform for mixed-media assemblage creative services . division Art Director Larissa Davis e all collect stuff, don’t Finally, Michael deMeng puts his Day Photographers Larry Stein we? Little pieces of this of the Dead stamp on wedding cake Projects and information are for inspiration and and that found through toppers with his tongue-in-cheek ­personal use only. Interweave Press LLC is not wjunking, scavenging, or just keeping our ­responsible for any liability arising from errors, skeletal assemblages. eyes open to see the rare texture and ­omissions, or mistakes contained in this eBook, and unusual shape. At a certain point, we So, get out your cast-off wooden boxes, readers should proceed cautiously, especially with respect to technical information. want to put these collected treasures your mint tins, your Dremel tool, and together in a meaningful way, and heavy-duty glue, plus your collage Interweave Press LLC grants permission to photocopy any patterns published in this issue for personal use hence, we make assemblage art. supplies, and get ready to make mixed- only. media art assemblages. In this free eBook, Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Warmly, Art Ideas Plus Beginner’s Guide to Assemblages, we show you four Where approaches to making an assemblage. artists come to play Boxed assemblages of collections have been popular since the “cabinets of Cate Prato curiosities” in the 17th century, and Online Editor, elevated them to an art Cloth Paper Scissors Today form with a point of view in the mid- 20th century. So Amy Hitchcock begins with a box and a group of objects that tell a story in “The Beginner’s Guide to Assemblage.” Leilani Pierson also tells a story with assemblage collage, but she does it poetically within the tiny “canvas” of a tin container in what she calls StoryBoxes.

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Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 2 Adapted from Cloth Paper Scissors® joseph & me May/June 2010 a beginner’s guide to assemblage

1 3 3 “Mr. and Mrs. Robert Andrews and the Curious Woman in the Red Box” • 13 ⁄2" × 12 ⁄4" × 3 ⁄4" • Assemblage with found objects, 2007 “This assemblage is based upon Thomas Gainsborough’s painting, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Andrews (c1750).’ The Andrewses look so happy and content. I like to think that the curious woman in the red box is about to wreak havoc on their peaceful life. I built the red box, with the porcelain doll head in it, from balsa wood.”

by Amy Hitchcock

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 3 m at e r i a l s am a collector. I’m not interested in fine crystal or silver, but instead I’m • Sketchbook and pencil attracted to vintage found objects. Though found objects are often seen as i • Wooden box banal and replaceable by some, they hold a beauty that is both familiar and • Found objects (family mementos and mysterious to me. There’s nothing like a bundle of vintage National Geographic photos, vintage paper ephemera, maps, postcards, trading cards) maps, a package of old sewing needles, and a box of bisque doll parts. • Decorative I thought I was alone with this took on a whole new meaning. Not only • Balsa wood obsession, but then one day I came were they beautiful, but they also had a • X-acto® knife and blades across the work of Joseph Cornell, and higher artistic purpose. Who could argue • Cutting mat and ruler I was smitten. For here was a man who with that? • 5 Minute® Epoxy created assemblages that were made out • Toothpicks of the same found objects that I so loved getting started • Paintbrushes, old and new and cherished. Here were assemblages I often look at old family photos to get • Acrylic gel medium that told stories that were as common inspired. Just about every family has • Plastic putty knife, 2" and enigmatic as the materials he used. an excellent story about a great, great • Paints (acrylic or latex) Suddenly my stash of buttons and corks grandparent worthy of an assemblage. • Wood stains But if you don’t, and you’re feeling • Beeswax pellets uninspired, I find the best thing to do is • Double boiler using a to just dive in. I rifle through all of my optional supplies and set aside the objects that • Miter saw and miter box appeal to me. To this collection I add sketchbook • Wood glue complementary decorative papers and In the past, I vintage ephemera. Then I look for the worried that I perfect box for my assemblage. Having would run out of ideas for my the right size box is very important; all directions next assemblage. too often an assemblage doesn’t quite 1. Work on the interior of the box first. I eventually work because the relationship between Decide if your assemblage will have discovered that the found objects and the box are at sections or be one space. I use balsa once I got started odds. creating, new and often better ideas wood to make walls, drawers, and came to light. The best thing I ever Eventually, as I sit with my found objects floors in my assemblages to create bought to help this creative process and paper goods surrounding me, an additional spaces for imagery and along was a small sketchbook. assemblage/story emerges. I may not found objects, and to make the I use it to jot down ideas and have all of my materials, but I’m ready to information about an assemblage artwork more interesting to look as I work, and any other time ideas get started. at. Balsa wood is easy to cut with come to me. I include what I want an X-acto knife, using a ruler and a an assemblage to look like, the putting it all cutting mat. It can also be painted materials I’d like to use, and any together and stained. possible titles. Documenting the evolution of your projects in this way You may already have an idea where 2. Mix the epoxy according to the will come in handy when you’re you want everything to go in your manufacturer’s instructions, and feeling uninspired. Flip through assemblage; if not, experiment and play adhere the wood pieces. I use your sketchbook, and your next to determine the layout. toothpicks to both mix and apply the assemblage may be right there. glue. Allow to dry.

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 4 joseph cornell

(1903–1972) Joseph Cornell was a self-taught artist who lived his entire life with his mother and brother in Queens, New York. In 1940, he left his job as a textile designer and pursued his art full time. During the day, he supported his mother and brother (who had cerebral palsy) by working as a freelance art designer for such magazines as Vogue and House and Garden. At night, he worked on his art in his basement studio. To create his poetic and often enigmatic assemblages, he used everyday objects and photographic images of maps, animals, and Renaissance art. With these images and objects, he found a means of communicating his stories, memories, and desires. In addition to creating assemblage art, Cornell was also a filmmaker, diarist, and collagist.

4. Using a paintbrush, apply a thin layer of acrylic gel medium to the box.

5. Set the papers over the wet gel, making sure they lie flat. Use the plastic putty knife and, working from the center of the paper, smooth out any bubbles or excess glue; this allows the paper to dry without “She Knew How to Work a Room (A portrait tip: You can also use thicker pieces of wrinkles or blemishes. 1 3 of Nellie Wood)” •18 ⁄4" × 11 ⁄4" × 3" • wood to create sections, but you will need Assemblage with found objects, 2008 a saw, and possibly a miter box, to get the tip: I always wait for the gel to dry (the “This assemblage was inspired by a photo of cuts you desire. Epoxy or wood glue can paper will feel cool while the gel is still my great grandfather’s sister. Though she has wet) before I apply other papers or the top a strong and determined look on her face, she be used to adhere these heavier pieces also looks slightly amused. I’m sure that nothing together as well. layer(s) of gel medium. got passed her. Old soda boxes are my favorite boxes to use. I love the colors and the strong 3. Measure and cut the papers for 6. Add the 3-D elements. Apply the graphics.” the interior surfaces of the box, as epoxy glue to the surface of the box desired. and position the pieces, or apply the glue directly to the found object and then put it in place.

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 5 “Three Graces” 3 12" × 10 ⁄4" × 4" Assemblage with found objects, 2009 “To me this assemblage is a story about immigration. It’s about three young women, so beautiful and unique (the woman in the middle is my grandmother), finding their way in an industrial city. So many immigrants became lost in this environment of machinery and hard work, it’s important to remember their personal stories and character. I used parts of an old meat grinder, rusty nails, and vintage car headlight bulbs to represent the assemblage’s industrial elements.”

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 6 1 3 3 “To the Good People of Jamaica Plain” •13 ⁄2" × 12 ⁄4" × 3 ⁄4" • Assemblage with found 8. Melt the wax pellets in a double objects, 2009 boiler. Apply the melted wax with an “Made in to my adopted hometown, this work is made with an architectural model figurine and a child’s gardening tool. The figurine is standing on part of an old lamp that I old paintbrush as desired. Usually, I almost threw out. I covered the sides of the box with decorative paper to help finish the look.” brush it only over the inside edges of the box and onto some of the found objects. Not everyone likes this look, but I think it adds to the vintage appeal of my found objects and assemblages. Like all great artists, you’ll just know when your assemblage is complete. In the end, I hope that when you do finish, you’ll have an assemblage that celebrates the true beauty of your found objects and your story. Joseph Cornell would be proud. amyhitchcock.com

cautions

• The temperature should not exceed 200° when melting wax. Always check the temperature with a thermometer. • Work in a well-ventilated area. It is a good idea to have a fan facing away from you and your work area to disperse any fumes.

7. Consider treating the edges and note: The gluing process sounds so simple, but it’s really not. This is when outside of the box with paints, stains, the assemblage/story comes alive. As an or decorative papers if you have used object is drying in place, I can feel the an unfinished wooden box. Obviously, story emerge. Sometimes I realize that the this can be done before you create object isn’t going to work in that spot at the assemblage, but this step often all, and I quickly remove it before the glue ties it all together and sometimes dries. can’t be determined until the interior of the box is finished.

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 7 Adapted from Cloth Paper Scissors® scapes bird March/April 2010 a home for my blackbirds

ot long ago, I started experimenting with papier-mâché as a sculpture material. I began ncreating a series of birds that were simple yet slightly quirky. The birds themselves were fun, but they needed a home that would match their lively presence. Sorting through my studio collection, I found tinware, children’s blocks, cigar boxes, and wood scraps, and all of these things became homes to a flock of birds. Birdscapes, if you will.

by Sue Pelletier

1 3 Left to right: “Bird house 28” • 7 ⁄2" × 2 ⁄4"; 1 1 1 “Bird house 29” • 8 ⁄2" × 2 ⁄2"; “Bird house 27” • 9" × 2 ⁄2"

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 8 I have been creating wooden house 4. After the bird shape is dry, coat it 4. Attach the bird using a cloth staple. assemblages for years (see the January/ with gel medium. Add gel medium under the staple, February 2008 issue of Cloth Paper and then slide the long wire bird legs 5. Layer strips of torn black tissue paper Scissors: “Home is Where the Art right through the staple. over the bird body and build up the is”). But after creating these birds, tail using long, twisted strips of black I knew I wanted a different look for tissue. their houses, one that was simple and child’s block monochromatic. 6. Add color to the beak and wings. I tore shapes from vintage books and with bird applied them to the bird with gel birds medium. m at e r i a l s and houses building the house • Child’s wooden block • Tinker toy or other wood shape building the bird 1. Cut out 2 identical house shapes • Small drill from the wire mesh. • Gel medium 1. Sculpt a bird shape from the instant • Bird papier-mâché. 2. Stuff the house form with white tissue and, using wire, sew up the • Wire (14-gauge) 2. Cut lengths of the 14-gauge wire for edges all around. • Saltshaker top the bird’s legs. I like them long, so I • Embellishments of choice 1 cut lengths about 2 ⁄2" long. 3. Coat the exterior with papier-mâché. I applied 3 coats using newspaper 3. Place a dollop of gel medium on the strips and a glue/water mixture. I wire and stick the legs into the mâché created my houses this way because I while it is still wet. Allow to dry. wanted them to feel and look totally different from the wood houses I had m at e r i a l s been making for quite some time. • Instant papier-mâché Allow to dry. (I used Celluclay®.) 4. Cut a piece of canvas the size of your • Tissue paper, black and white house and glue it to the front with • Gel medium gel medium. ® • Mod Podge “Fly High” • 1 1 • Wire (14-gauge) 5. Add papers, fabric scraps, and 6 ⁄2" × 3 ⁄4" • Ephemera embellishments to the front and sides of the house. • Canvas for house background • Wire mesh (I used WireForm®.) details • Graphite pencil • Water-based oil pastels 1. Create a house sign with the duct • Duct tape tape. Using the metal printer stamps, hammer letters into the tape to • Metal stamps for letters stamp the words you want. • India ink • Paper towels 2. Apply black India ink to the tape and • Cloth staples (I used double-point then rub it off with a paper towel. tacks #5; I found them in the The ink will stay settled in the letters hardware section.) for a nice contrast. • Various embellishments: fabric 3. Doodle on the roof a bit using a black scraps, pieces of vintage measuring tape, pieces of wood, etc. graphite pencil and water-based oil pastels.

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 9 1. Attach your wood shape, or Tinker 1. Fill the tin container halfway with toy, to the top of the block with gel tinware bird air-dry clay to give it some weight. medium. This tinware bird was inspired by pieces 2. Choose your bird; stick the wire legs 2. Drill 2 holes in the wooden piece for I found at a local flea market. through the holes in the shaker top the bird’s legs. and into the clay. m at e r i a l s 3. Attach the saltshaker top to the 3. Create some flowers with the • Small, tin cheese/sugar shaker wooden piece using gel medium. Celluclay. Stick each on a length of • Air-dry clay wire, add a button center, and stick 4. Stick the bird’s legs through the • Bird the wire ends through the holes in holes in the top of the saltshaker and • Celluclay the shaker top and into the clay. into the holes in the wooden piece. • Button(s) 4. Add embellishments to the outside of 5. Embellish the piece as desired. • Embellishments of choice to decorate the tin. the tin “elephant in the room” This piece was created from a fairly random group of materials I had in my studio. The wooden elephant has been hanging around for years; I could never bear to part with it because I knew one day I would come up with the perfect home for him.

m at e r i a l s • Cigar box • Collage papers • Mod Podge® “Bird • Heavy gel medium Garden” • 1 1 7 ⁄2 × 4 ⁄2" • Small drill or awl • Wooden elephant or similar • Dominoes • Air-dry clay for flowers • Bird(s) • Duct tape • Metal stamps • Water-soluble oil pastels • Graphite pencil • Embellishments

1. Collage papers onto the cigar box with Mod Podge.

2. Attach the elephant and the wooden dominoes using heavy gel medium.

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 10 3. Drill holes in the top of the cigar box and elephant to attach the flowers and the bird. “The Elephant in the Room” 4. Create a sign with the duct tape and 5 11" × 7 ⁄8" metal stamps as before. “I love this piece because it makes me smile. It is all about ignoring 5. Apply ink and then ‘The Elephant in the Room.’” rub it off to make the letters pop.

6. Add any final decorative details and embellish­ ments as desired. I am often drawn to include wooden blocks and vintage toys in my work, and I was thrilled to come up with a new way to use some of these treasures from my studio. suepelletierlaughpaint.com

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 11 A pause in a busy day. A laugh. A simple. Calming. Quiet lurking in a small tin box. When opened, the box bursts with a world of imagination. A journey. A moment. For you— to tuck away or give away. To forever cherish. storybox

toryBoxes appeal to both the novice and the sexperienced artist. They challenge you to work tightly, with the freedom to do as little or as much as directions you desire. It is your journey of discovery through the StoryBox cover fabric, images, trims, and objects on the small canvas 1. With sandpaper, scrub your tin box all over—inside and of a tin box, all held together by a string of words. outside. This helps the glue adhere better. If there are any Warning: this frolicking is addictive. stamped dates on the edges, sand them away.

2. Cut a piece of fabric slightly larger than the surface area of by Leilani Pierson the top of the box. Repeat for the bottom.

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 12 tip: Choose fabric with small prints or and/or the bottom edge, using the m at e r i a l s muted, bland patterns; large, busy patterns tacky glue. will distract from the chosen image. • Small tin box (from candy or other) 6. Decide which direction your • Sandpaper StoryBox will open. Select an image 3. Using a foam brush and gel medium, • Scissors that tugs at you and, with a small-tip glue the fabric to the top and bottom • Fabric scraps of the box, centering the pieces. Let paintbrush and gel medium, glue the • Foam brush this sit for a minute or so. image (in an appealing position) to • Golden® Gel Medium the top of the box. 4. Use scissors to trim any excess fabric • Fancy yarns, ribbons, lace, cord, hanging over the edges of the tin box. tip: Instead of centering your image, wire, and rickrack place it in the upper or lower third of the • Small images (I used some 5. Attach some fancy coordinating yarn, box, where the eye is naturally attracted. from Artchix Studio and Dover ribbon, or lace, etc., to the lid edge Publications.) • Small-tip paintbrush • Text (I used words from a page of an old book.) • Aleene’s® “Tacky” Glue • Small shipping tags • String • Rubber stamps with allover patterns • Ink pad • Embellishments: glass/clay beads, buttons, small found objects optional • Paper scraps • Hammer and nail • Wire • Color Box® Pigment Brush Pad (bronze or copper)

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 13 Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 14 7. For your StoryBox title, choose some words that move you and seem to tie things together. Cut them out. the StoryBox as an note: When word-mining, be sure to find individual words or a couple of words “art-therapy” gift together, rather than long phrases that might cross into . • Create a StoryBox with a friend in • Handwrite the small poem I mind. (Follow the same instructions, wrote below, or your own, onto a but do not glue found words or shipping tag and attach to ribbon: 8. With the small-tip paintbrush and gel found objects to the box.) medium, glue the found words for “for pleasure • Place blank shipping tags tied with in leisure the title to the lid. If desired, cover ribbon and some small, loose found cut words the edges and the bottom lid with objects inside the box and then like birds a few more words that hint at the close it. outside, in StoryBox’s contents. • Tear a page of words from an old pages, tin book and wrap the page around story find, the heart of the StoryBox. Secure with some you unwind.” the StoryBox string. Give with joy! • Wrap the box again, with a larger 1. With a foam brush and gel medium, piece of fabric and secure with glue fabric to the inside of the tin some ribbon. box, leaving the edges to wrinkle or ruffle. 5. Lay your pages inside the tin box. • Stain the fabric on the box by rubbing 2. Take 3–5 small shipping tags and With tacky glue, attach a few small it with Color Box Pigment Brush Pads rubberstamp a few allover patterns found objects inside and outside to (bronze or copper). onto each tag. enhance your story. • Nail holes into the edge of the box 3. Using gel medium, glue found words 6. Keep the tin box open for a day or so body and attach a wire or ribbon onto the tags, creating some kind of to let it dry completely. Enjoy! handle. order—a sentence, a list, or even just • Nail holes into the top lid of the box, one thought. optional techniques after affixing the fabric, and “thread” tip: Feel free to make nonsense with • Cover the box with assorted papers or ­wire or ribbon through the holes. your words. Play around with their rubber-stamped images on fabric or • Use unusual items for the pages order, put illogical words together, break paper.­ grammatical rules. Surprise yourself! inside: small, flat pebbles; flattened • Create a quilted look with tiny fabric/ bottle caps; stamps sewn together, 4. Take a short piece of ribbon and tie paper squares glued to the tin box. etc. the shipping tags together. These are studiogypsy.blogspot.com your story pages.

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 15 with your Tips onFound Object Art: 4Free Assemblage Art Ideas please

1 1 “Fruit of the Loom” • 7 ⁄2" × 6 ⁄2" play play ©Interweave PressLLC presented by food clothpaperscissors.com by C Adapted from July/August 2007

loth Jenn Mason P aper S cissors 16 16 ®

y art always starts as one mreally fabulous idea that makes a metamorphosis into something entirely different. I used to get upset that my project was veering away from the picture I had in my mind, and I would just get frustrated and stop. Right there. Then I embraced the journey and found that my ideas were destined for greater things. So goes the story of my art journey with produce.

The intent was to find a pear I could turn into book covers. My plan was to cut the pear in half, seal or gesso the sides, and make a book. How fun! Of course, like every good project, this required a trip to the store. Then, like every good trip to the store, I couldn’t come home with just what was on my list. The eggplant and the figs beckoned me to take them home with the pear.

1 Once home, the pear decided that “The Staged Pear” • 6" × 6 ⁄2" it was not going to go without a fight. As I cut into its plastic and a hard core that gives the piece The fig played possum in my studio for flesh, first with my tiny craft knife, then weight. To keep the pellets from eroding a while after the completion of the pear with my stronger, all-purpose utility out of the produce, I needed to do some and eggplant pieces but was reawakened knife, I met with resistance—a pit, of immediate first aid. Using torn pieces of when I came up with the playful title sorts. I found that you cannot actually an old ledger and soft gel medium, I was “Fruit of the Loom.” An old box, carpet cut plastic fruit in half, and so, before able to seal in the Styrofoam and create tacks, waxed thread, and pages from a abandoning my pear, I decided to figure a new stage within my fruit. The pear, vintage housekeeper’s book and an old out its inner workings—in doing that, I which started as a set of book covers, child’s reader helped tell the story of a unintentionally created a niche. This was now became a little theatre, complete little babe in bloomers and a fictitious the beginning of the new idea. with shutters and a stage floor. The relative framed in the fig. eggplant’s fate was to be a shuttered Because I tend to work on multiple The following steps will walk you sculpture embellished with words and projects simultaneously, I turned to my through some of the ideas I used in secrets. Now both pieces needed a home. eggplant and created a similar niche. It creating these altered produce pieces. The pear sought refuge in an altered should be said that in the world of faux Consider using old recipes, interesting cigar box and the eggplant was mounted produce the inside of an eggplant and fruits and vegetables, doll house on a narrow copper tube and a pressure- the inside of a pear are practically the shutters, and other found objects to tell treated fence cap from the hardware same. Both are made up of just a bunch your story. You might choose to honor store. of Styrofoam™ pellets packed together a grandmother’s recipe for apple pie or

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 17 pay tribute to your Irish ancestors with a potato. Whatever you choose, enjoy getting your five recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, and I’ll see you in the produce aisle! directions creating the niche

1. Choose a fruit or vegetable to alter. Make shallow cuts through the plastic flesh with a sharp craft or utility knife. This process is messy and slow but relatively easy. Take your time and work over a trash can.

2. Tear your vintage or decorative papers into small pieces and use soft gel medium to adhere them to the niche. Add fluid acrylics, acrylic paints, or inks at this point, if desired.

m at e r i a l s • Faux produce • Craft or utility knife • Paintbrush • Vintage or decorative paper • Soft gel medium • Fluid acrylics, acrylics, glazes, inks • Awl • Nail heads • Old books • Cigar boxes • Die cuts 1 • Copper tubing— ⁄4" diameter, cut to desired length • Wood fence cap or wooden plaque • Tacky glue optional • Mat board • Glass bottles with spices

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 18 3. To create a stage platform in a niche, • Eyelets, nail heads, and other pronged cut a piece of mat board to size and embellishments sink into the flesh cover it in the same torn paper as the nicely. Use an awl to make a larger niche. Use the gel medium to secure hole for eyelets if you want to be able it into position and let it dry. to run thread through the holes. decorating the • Use old poems or quotes, book pages, photos, or even little altered bottles to produce and niche decorate the inside of the niche. • Dollhouse shutters can be tucked into the niche for a theatrical-like creating a home appearance. If the shutters are too for the produce tall, they can be cut in half with a 1. Consider using half of a cigar box utility knife. to stage your produce creation. Use • To attach the shutters and allow them die cuts, torn paper, old book pages, to move, attach very small hinges. old silverware, carpet tacks, twine, The screws can screw into the wood and photos along with paints, glazes, shutter and be twisted into the flesh stamps, and inks to decorate the box. of the niche. Reinforce them with gel 2. Hinges and locks can be left on the medium, if necessary. box and embellished or removed, depending on your desired look.

3. Use a generous amount of gel tips medium to glue your piece of • Use soft gel medium, in either produce into the box. gloss or matte, to secure all your 4. To make your produce stand (no pun papers and embellishments. intended), use your craft knife to • To attach a utensil to a box, use make a small hole in the bottom of a metal hole punch to make two variation: The fig in “Fruit of the Loom” holes and attach it with carpet or your fruit. Insert the copper tubing was first covered in gesso and then upholstery tacks. into the wooden fence cap or plaque layered with old book pages, glazes, and fluid acrylics. • The loom in the “Fruit of the and bend it slightly, if needed, to Loom” piece was made by center the produce. Use tacky craft [email protected] stringing waxed linen thread back glue to secure the produce to the and forth between carpet tacks copper tubing. Paint the base. and then interweaving small strips of a book index and text from a child’s reader. • ­Consider adding pen or pencil markings in your cigar box to highlight text or make notations that support the story of the piece.

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 19 Adapted from Cloth Paper Scissors® dead man’s September/October 2010 party skeletal assemblage

ne thing is for sure: pink bunnies, yellow daisies, and fuzzy opuppies are not my thing. I tend to like things on the shadier side of the street. As a kid, skeletons and monsters were my cup of Tang; give me a grinning skeleton any day of the week. I think there is nothing wrong with having a little fun with the things that frighten or scare us. In fact, there is no better way to combat those fears than head-on with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor. I learned this from the Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead—a celebration of death, which, as it turns out, is actually a celebration of life.

by Michael deMeng

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 20 I head south every year to the city of depicts everyday scenes with skeletons. outdo the rival parade. Who knew that Oaxaca, Mexico, for this magical event; it I have a number of these that I have being dead could be so lively? actually lasts about a week in this area. collected over the years: skeleton Different villages celebrate it on different dentists drilling a tooth of a skeleton days, but basically it goes from October patient; drunken skeletons listening to creating calaca 31–November 2. Most people are dead mariachi players. If you can do it Whenever I get back from one of these familiar with the graveside celebrations when you are living, it seems that you adventures I am still a bit crazed, so and nighttime vigils involving music, can do it when you’re not. I often try to come up with a Day of candles, flowers, laughter, and tears. But the Dead art project to address these Whenever I visit for Dia de los Muertos, another aspect of this celebration is the urgings. One of the more recent projects I go a little calavera crazy. I have presence of the smiling calaveras around involves making little calaca scenes. purchased hundreds of skeletal toys every corner. These are simple to create and don’t over the years. One of the best ways to require many materials. Basically, the Spanish term calavera purchase these creations is table side means skull, but in reference to the in the zócalo (square). During my first Of course you could make your figures Day of the Dead it refers to an often visit, I must have picked up 30 or more out of clay, but I’ve found an approach comical portrayal of death. Calaveras of these little handmade guys, and every that’s slightly more fun (and a bit are artistic representations of the dead year I return my collection increases. “deMented”). Lately I’ve been raiding doing everyday things; they are actually Last year I picked up a large skeletal local craft stores for wedding cake making fun of the living. They represent Frida Kahlo on a bicycle, and the year toppers, lopping off the heads, and death as the great equalizer. You may before that I snagged an amazing black transplanting skeleton heads. Voilà, have been wealthy, powerful, or clever pottery creation featuring five skeletal “newly deads” or “just buried.” in life, but none of that matters when women in traditional garb, gossiping on you’re six feet under . . . or at least that’s a park bench. the idea. m at e r i a l s One of the symptoms of calavera Calaveras appear in many forms during craziness is a desire to chase after the • A plastic couple or figure (I used a this celebration. A favorite at the sounds of marching bands. The music wedding cake topper and Hansel and Gretel figures.) cemeteries is the calaveras de azúcar or usually indicates that somewhere sugar skulls. Sugar skulls are beautifully nearby there is a wandering comparsa, • Safety goggles ® decorated and, yes, edible . . . though, a carnival-like procession that roams • Hacksaw or Dremel rotary tool with a cutoff wheel and a drill bit slightly only if you enjoy a sugar cube for a through the streets. In addition to larger than the wire snack. You will often see numerous the band, giant puppet people called • Little skull heads or skeletons sugar skulls adorning graves as an mojigangas and oodles and oodles of • Thick-gauge wire (I use rebar offering. dancing skeletons participate. Some wrapping wire from the hardware are in masks, others in face paint. Another version of the calavera is the store.) The problem is that you can’t really calacas, my personal favorite, which • Wire cutters plan ahead; different barrios • E6000® glue (neighborhoods) or schools • A block of wood, size is determined organize these comparsas, so you by the figures you’ll be using usually run into them by chance. • A piece of balsa wood, the same At some point they will end up width as the wood block and about at the zócalo for a stroll around 1" taller than the figurines the square. It’s also fun when two • Light molding paste (I use Golden different comparsas run into each Artist Colors®.) other on their random path. At this • Paints and paintbrushes point the tuba players, drummers, • Ephemera: small flowers, glitter, troll and trumpeters go crazy, and the hair, random accessories dancing skeletons frantically try to

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 21 a disassemble There are a couple of ways to start this project, but for me I like to start off with the dastardly deeds first. Wearing protective goggles, use the Dremel tool with the cutoff wheel attachment (or a saw) and remove the heads from the figures (photo a). I suggest saving the heads; you never know when they might come in handy. If you are using a full skeleton you need c to perform the same head-removing procedure on it (photo b). If so, save the bodies for a future use.

caution: Make sure you wear goggles. Plastic can melt and splinter shooting bits into the ever-sacred artist’s eyes. b tip: I stockpile all my skeleton supplies from the Dollar Store around Halloween. Usually you can get a nice garland of skeletons for—that’s right—a dollar. d

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 22 e f g reassemble This process will vary depending on the figures and skulls you have.

1. Drill a hole in the necks of the decapitated figures (photo c) to run a wire down into the body. Do the same to the bottom of the skull (photo d).

2. Slide some wire into the neck and cut the wire so that when you place the head on the end of the wire it will slide down fully, flush with the body (photo e).

3. Position the heads where you want them and use a little h E6000 to secure them in place (photos f and g).

4. Glue the balsa wood to the back of the block of wood vertically (photo h). The long end should go up, creating a narrow stage for the calaveras.

5. Apply a thin layer of light molding paste over the figures and the base to create texture—a bit of crustiness . . . a little extra decay—and allow to dry (photo i).

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 23 6. Go to town and use whatever colors you want to paint the stage and figures.

7. Attach the figures to the base. A little glue on the feet should do it. Let dry.

8. Embellish your figures and the stage. Add tiny flowers, troll hair, random accessories, as desired. If you’re a glitter person, add some glitter. Don’t be shy. A dead man’s party—all dressed up and nowhere to go . . . wix.com/demeng/michael-demeng

Step-out photos by Michael deMeng

Tips on Found Object Art: 4 Free Assemblage Art Ideas presented by clothpaperscissors.com ©Interweave Press LLC 24