tips on found object art 4 free assemblage art ideas plus beginner’s guide to assemblages presented by cloth paper scissors® 1 3 4 2 5 joseph & me: a beginner’s storybox 1 guide to assemblage 3 LEILANI PIERSON AMY HITCHCOCK please play with your food 4 JENN MASON birdscapes: a home for my 2 blackbirds 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 collage materials that 4 Free Assemblage range from bird house sculptures 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 sculpture. 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 mixed media 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, Joseph Cornell 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. clothpaperscissors.com 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 MATERIALS 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 papers 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.