Hey, campers! Ok, it’s week 4 so you know the drill… before we get started I want to show you some of the unconventional artwork that came out of last week’s “unconventional materials” art project (hashtagged #AFYEcamp). When I was at the grocery store I popped down the paper goods aisle and grabbed some envelopes. The post-its were a last minute fix, found on my desk at home, when I needed a turquoise ocean for Daryl to enjoy:

“he’d paid extra for ‘the gold sands ocean view’, so yes, daryl was going to get his GD money’s worth.”

And once again, zillions of you took this challenge and RAN with it! Here are a few pieces pulled from Instagram via our summer camp hashtag, #AFYEcamp {photo credit links are at the very bottom of the post} :

Candy, eggshells, lego stamps, candy sprinkles, old bananas … yeah, I’d call that “unconventional”. Ok, let’s see what you’ll do with this week’s project:

Art Project No.4 

“Captured through Collage “ : Today’s challenge is all about capturing the essence of your favorite place through collage. That might be your garden, New York, an imaginary planet, or even Venice! Yep, VENICE! I mentioned this at the end of camp last time… for two weeks this August {weeks of the 7th and the 14th} I’m going to be teaching part of a course through the European Cultural Center’s Academy that’s happening during the Venice Biennale. Crazy. Here’s another crazy tidbit… the Academy wants one of you to be there too so they asked me to make this week’s challenge a contest… the prize? A week of tuition at the Academy, for one of the two weeks while I’m there {which happens to be worth 950 Euros!}. Insane, I know. Travel / hotel is NOT included but the tuition for a week would be. If you can get yourself to Venice, and you want to enter this contest, please do! Your collage would be Venice themed, obviously. Just hashtag your work with #AFYEcamp AND #JealousInVenice so that I’m sure to see it!

For those of you who aren’t interested, simply take this challenge in a different direction using your own personal dream place, wherever that might be. I can’t wait to see them!

Artist Examples: 

Here are three artists who create worlds with found images, scissors, and glue. Given the Venice theme, I think it’s best to start with an Italian artist, yes? Yes! This is “Greetings” by Caterina Rossato. One giant collaged landscape made from more found postcards than I can even imagine:

Don’t you want to go on a vacation in there? Me too! I’d also love to visit this folklore-filled land created by Tasmania based artist Bethany van Rijswijk:

Ah, I would totally go there too. And finally, the Romanian duo of Irina & Silviu Szekely. This series takes us into a really bizarre art museum:

Three for three… I’d totally spend a day in here, too!

And finally, the campfire story all about Milton Rauschenberg … aka Robert Rauschenberg. His “combines” combine all sorts of things – paint, silkscreen, random bits of stuff found on the streets of New York:

See? Once again, if you gather the right materials you can create any world you want! {I also had to include that photo of Robert in the studio with Jasper Johns, pre breakup}. Well, there you have it. The campfire is out and now it’s time to hit your local thrift shop and find those books, magazines, postcards, etc., that are going to make your world come to life! Be sure to hashtag your worlds on Instagram with #AFYEcamp, and #JealousInVenice if you want to be part of the contest {more info below}. Have fun!

Other info/links:

VENICE CONTEST: Make your Venice inspired collage and then post / hashtag it on Instagram with #AFYEcamp AND #JealousInVenice. The weeks you can choose from are the weeks of August 7th, and August 14th {that’s when I’ll be there as one of the instructors}. I will be choosing ONE WINNER on Friday June 30, 2017.

1. European Cultural Academy, Venice
2. Anthony Zinonos, Episode No.2
3. WideWalls.ch
4. TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: subscribe on iTunes.

*Photo credits from Project No.3, in the order they appear above:

1. @jennifer_geldard // 2. @maryanndidriksen  //  3. @timbra_blog  //  4. @jodiejaneartist  //  5. @julieligerbelair  //  6. @kc.christmas