I’ve been on the Cape a week now, but other than a beach jaunt with the boys on Saturday, I’ve pretty much done nothing but work (and vacuum; not that that’s any fun). So while I wish I could show you the artistic highlights going on ’round these really artsy parts, no such luck. Instead, I’ve dug into my personal collection and came up with Connie Johnson, who does fun and fashiony collages. I discovered her at the “Small Works” show at the Copley Society of Art in December 2005. I checked out her blog, and though she hasn’t updated it since last September, I was able to learn a bit about her work and grab some other examples.
First, here’s the piece I purchased at CoSo, which pre-dates the pieces shown here. I keep it propped up on my bedroom bookshelf with my chicklit : )
“Wearable #13”
Johnson is self-taught, and makes many variations of whatever theme she’s focusing on. In 2003 she started doing monoprints with a vague idea of making skirts, which evolved into making collage figures with paper bag heads that she placed on the monoprints. Johnon works with found household papers such as sugar and flour bags, candy and pasta wrappers, torn scraps of wrapping paper, onion bags, and other trash, to create the outfits, complete with accessories. The backgrounds of many of these ladies are the short stories she wrote about them, which are posted in full on her blog.
Lady #3 “There Is No Prince Charming”
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Lady #6 “Bride”
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Lady #13
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Lady #14 “All Dressed Up and No Place To Go
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Lady #38
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“All Dressed Up and No Place To Go”
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This next set is from the group Johnson labels “The Ladies Part 2.” No paper bags over the heads of these dames, so some of them don’t have any faces. Many of them have much denser written backgrounds than the first group.
“Blending In”
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“The Pearls”
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“After He Left #2”
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In early 2007 (I think), Johnson created interesting collages using roses made out tar paper, along with pieces found on walk, like garlic stems, birch bark and hickory seed pods.
“Icons 2”
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The most recent work posted on the blog is a dress she found at a local clothing swap, that hung in her studio for a bit, before she transformed for a piece to submit for a show last fall at the Concord Art Association. As you can see, she’s incorporated tar paper rosesas well as mini artworks which she strung together as a necklace.
“Wedding Dress”
I wonder what she’s been up to lately. . .