Stay Tuned...

...lots on the way in the weeks to come. I have been creating TONS of new work, and starting May 1st I will do some much needed updating of my blog :)

New Work - "The Circle" - Mixed Media Collage on Canvas

The Circle
By Tiffany Teske
Mixed Media Collage with Vintage Elements
16x20"
$150 (for a limited time)

I have been busy, busy, busy creating new work lately. It feels GREAT! I created this piece for a local art show called Home Grown. It is my 4th year being a part of this well attended show that brings together artists with our community.

This piece, like so many I create, started with a concrete plan that soon changed COMPLETELY. I love having a starting point, then seeing how far away from that it gets. I started with a 16x20" canvas that I bought at the thrift shop, already painted a nice springy shade of yellow-green. I have been wanting to try a new technique a week and for this piece I used bubble wrap as part of the layered background, as well as large stamping on just part of the piece. I like how both turned out.

The tree is made from a vintage map. The birds are illustrations from a vintage book. And the buttons... vintage (shocking, I know!). The title is The Circle. The text is from a vintage dictionary and it reads Life, Death, and Circle. It is about the Circle of life (and death). The tree represents death, the birds represent life, and the buttons, well, circles. The palette is not one I work with a lot but I grew to love the yellow with brown, black, white, and pink accents.

This piece is currently for sale in the show for $150. I plan to raise the price if it doesn't sell in the show since it is worth more than $150 but I wanted to give people the opportunity to buy this at a special price this month, in celebration of local art and the coming of spring...

New Work - BE Assertive Collage on Canvas

BE Assertive
By Tiffany Teske
Collage on Matboard and Canvas
10x12"
$125

I don't have any trouble being assertive but it may be something some of you are wanting to be as this new year begins... This may look familiar to you. I wrote about when I told you about teaching a children's collage class at my local library. I often work on my pieces in a couple of stages. I will create something, then look at it for a long time, and finally decide how to finish it, after reworking it once or twice.

About BE Assertive
This piece started off as a demo that I made for a class I was teaching at the Banff Public Library. The class was for kids aged 6 - 10. I was inspired by the book, 1 2 3 I Can Collage, by Irene Luxbacher. It is a wonderful book and there is a colorful collage much like this on the cover. I really enjoy working with circles and was struck by how this was such a professional looking piece, even though it is in a book for 4 - 7 year olds. I showed the book to my 4 year old daughter and she made a lovely piece that I also showed the kids in my class. The collage I created is on matboard and was unfinished, as far as being a complete piece. My main goal was just to have a visual, aside from the book, to inspire my students. Thanks to the Cloth Paper Scissors button challenge, I got out this piece and decided to finish it. I mounted the matboard on a canvas that I collaged with a sewing pattern. I then handsewed vintage buttons below the collage. This piece is made from a sewing pattern, decorative paper, vintage sheet music, a fortune cookie fortune, and vintage buttons. It is 10x12".