i have spent the last half-year creating this 320 page art book, which consists of selected collages from a single photograph. i make the collages on Paint, a program which recently made the news—Microsoft was going to lay it to rest, but a revolt took place, and they will keep it as part of Windows computers.

here are some examples of my work. in the book the photo the collage came from faces the page with the collage itself, so the reader can see where my vision came from. click on link to buy the book, or send $37 here.  

 

 

 

 

well the Artist Enrichment Grant the Kentucky Foundation for Women awarded me has seen its end. i sent in the final report, which is a retrospect assessment of whether my work made impact and affected change, whether i grew as an artist and independent thinker, well–so much to think about, digest, take inventory of-
we are all such houses to clean!

i put as much work into the report as i did the calendar, book or other aspect of the project. today i spoke with a woman at KFW while she held my work in her hands. hours later i would discover i am covered now by Medicare. the rewarding finish of two major looming aspects of my life–the project, and my pursuit of health insurance concurred.

my response was in earnest because the project gave me the opportunity and responsibility of sending more overt messages out with my singular voice.

i find i dont always agree with messages the media labels as feminist because at times it is sensationalised and rather honed to an agenda.

this can cause people to perceive feminists as being up in arms about things which may or may not be relevant, accurate or true–meanwhile, each day women endure actual discrimination, harassment, hardships and barriers most men dont. and i think to focus on my personal experience- my point of view is the most helpful, and the less distracting.

 

was happy to set fire to 2016… much loss and illness…a climate changing for the worse, groups being singled out and blamed, bolstered supremacy groups like the KKK and neo-nazis, rivers being raped, native people stripped of rights, treaties ignored, a congress which gives itself a raise the very day it votes against an increased minimum wage, people who are well-off living like they were poor because of skyrocketing healthcare costs…

well anyways.

here are two collages in response to such ugly things, attempts at Beauty.

making a collage from a single photograph has been my daily routine for some time. it is not that i prefer it to drawing- rather it is more fun to play with shapes, shadows, textures and so forth using a photograph as a pallette. my cousin Marcel asks a good question- is anyone else out there doing this?

not sure how to find out. but i do know i am thankful for everyone out there.

xo Bree

so yesterday i joined the Shelby Regional Arts Council and sold some of my pieces at the festival of lights in Shelbyville. i met several of the artists involved with the council. i look forward to being active in the group. one of the board members had seen my work at Sixth & Main Coffee Shop and lured me in- i was caught easily! it was because of the exposure the grant from The Kentucky Foundation for Women awarded me with that i came into the council.

thinking of Trump and not knowing what is to come for women- (not to mention ALL stigmatized or minority groups) i made some collages which celebrate the strength and bravery women exhibit unceasingly- and shall- despite Trump, Pence and whomever else should try to eradicate hard-fought for freedoms.

sometimes we work better under pressure- as a chef, i certainly learned how to maintain my rhythm and balance with two feet in the fire. while i like to allow myself to create whatever comes- i expect affirmative works which glorify women as we walk on coals unscathed.

this first day after the election i am thinking the tipping point is not even close.

women need to uplift one another- feel each other within us- let that feeling fortify, instruct and lend hands.

this is true for all oppressed and stigmatized. our stigma- our breastplate. wear it proudly, for it is what the world sees when they look at us as much as it is our protection.

i have been making gorgets again- based on the stone gorgets made by the Yucchi tribe which revered the sun, pileated woodpeckers, and so forth. one of their clans was the opossum.

previously the gorgets i made were drawn. this one is a collage made from the photograph below- although i used Paint’s watercolor tool on the critters themselves. it reminds me of a quilt and i think of all the Kentucky women who use quilts as a form of community and symbol of family.

other recent art- since lately all i do is walk and draw it is the animals which seem to pique me..

as part of my Grant project for the Kentucky Foundation of Women i have designed a calendar featuring some of my collages. each are made from a single photograph, on Paint- some i enhanced using Fotor or Photos. In it i highlight some badassed woman well worth wiki searches…impressive women who impacted or continue to impact the way we interact.

i made a LTD Edition of 50 copies i will number and sign.

TO ORDER : send cash/check for 25$ to Bree 147 Marcus St. #4 Pleasureville, KY 40057 OR Paypal to leastbitternbooks@gmail.com using the friends and family option.

this collage didnt make the calendar, but i do like it.

 

went from Easter in Pleasureville (above left, 9.17.16) to Falling in Pleasureville (10.12.16)  —both made on Paint, enhanced with Fotor–

late spring i lost my health insurance, and this summer i battled the anxiety from that with collage work, mainly. delving into pastorals– tend to be nervous about texture, so i am keening my focus on that.

also making plenty of nude studies, some tongue in cheek, some ambient.

my husband passed away suddenly in September, which really had me on my knees. we were divorced last November, but i never call him my ex-husband. there is no need to distinguish him from any other husband, as he was the only.

i finally passed my driving test, and have wheels….and intended to go about with gusto making friends in venues like bookstores and art galleries…but the grief has me indoors– or else hiking– in order to practice mindfulness. whether my mind is trained on lines i draw or birds i see on limbs, it is best busied on a thing rather than streaming about in griefs building like flames.

here are some works from the last while…..

some recent work here, mainly been making collage made from a single photograph…sure to draw figures and scenes as well so as not to get rusty.

this is the photograph of a shower curtain in an artist’s studio in Burton, KY from which i made Empress Jingu:

both Silk Tree Shakti and Arms Up Don’t Shoot are made from this photograph of a silk tree, otherwise known as mimosa, which is a non-native flowering tree.

i went to Catholic school for 15 years. in that span of time three Catholic sisters suggested i was called by God. this intrigued me, as no other girls i studied with has been told this by a sister. however, i have yet to join a convent.

i am continuing to create, while juggling music and health insurance saga. next week i visit my family and friends in Cleveland, OH. when i get back i will set to action for the finale of my project. yaya. xoxo  Bree