Carolina Wren
collage on paper
5"x7",   2015

I'll be participating in the 2015 NXNA Garden and Artisan Tour, which is Saturday, May 2 from 10am-4pm.  For this event I've created a series of collages showcasing native birds in Texas.  There are 24 gardens and 12 artists on the tour. What a great idea to pair art with gardens!  You can find me at the Almon family garden, 9502 Stonebridge Drive, 78758. I'll have originals available, as well as prints and notecards.

For more info:
www.lovenorthaustin.com/nxna-garden-tour

Travis County Credit Union Show

I created the 'Swingin' into Spring Series' to hang in the lobby of the Travis County Credit Union, which includes a play area for children.  My hope is that these collages reflect the joyful spirit and energy of a space dedicated to child's play.  Thank you TCCU for supporting local Austin artists!  The Travis County Credit Union is located at 1101 N Interstate 35, Austin, TX 78702.  Lobby hours are Monday - Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm.  How often do you get to see an art show at a bank? Now is your chance! The show will be up until mid-July.

Round and Round
collage on paper
14"x11", 2015

Connect the Dots
collage on paper
14"x11", 2015

Swingin' into Spring
collage on paper
14"x11", 2015

The Contemporary Austin's 5x7 Exhibit

I'm so excited that I will be participating in The Contemporary Austin's annual 5x7 Exhibit. It will be Thursday, February 26th from 6:30-10pm. Tickets are still available. Hope to see you there!

www.thecontemporaryaustin.org/event/five-x-seven

Dance Card # 27

Dance Card # 27
collage on paper
8"x6", 2014
collaboration
started by Susanna Binder
finished by Michele Hogan

starter collage by Susanna Binder, 2014

Austrian collage artist Susanna Binder and I have collaborated on some collages.  We mail each other a "starter collage" and the recipient finishes it.  Here you can see the "starter" that Susanna mailed me, as well as my completed version.

If you would like to see another collage collaboration that Susanna and I did, you can check it out at her blog:  https://susannascollagenblog.wordpress.com/.  I mailed her a starter collage for that one.  She completed it and titled it "A Man and His Birds". We plan to do more collaborations together because it's really fun. Susanna and I have never met.  I hope one day we will!

Far to Fall

Currently I'm working on a series incorporating some of my Grandmother Alma's things.  I was recently given a box of her belongings that hadn't been opened in forty years.  I never met my grandmother, but felt I got to know her a little in going through the things she saved.  That made me reflect on the items we leave behind, and what they may tell others about us later.

In Far to Fall, Alma's Homework and Spring Collection of Geometry Dresses, I used her high school math homework and her friends' graduation cards from 1930.

Far to Fall
collage on paper
5"x7", 2014

Alma's Homework

I began the collage, Alma's Homework, with a page of my grandmother's math assignment from the 20's.  I then built the rest of the piece around that.  Through the erased lines of her diagrams, I felt I could see her thought processes as she worked the geometry proof. I wanted the graceful diver to mimic the elegant lines of both her handwriting, and the diagrams.

Alma's Homework
collage on canvas
7"x5", 2014

Spring Collection of Geometry Dresses

Both Spring Collection of Geometry Dresses and Value Study of an Egg were in the Art Science Gallery's 2nd Annual ATC Show and Fundraiser of 2014.  Here I dressed this glamorous lady in my grandmother's geometry homework. I also experimented with hand stitching in the collage, which was a lot of fun!  It was an honor to have this piece included in the show's logo, and I look forward to next year's show.

Spring Collection of Geometry Dresses
collage on paper
3.5"x2.5", 2014

Value Study of an Egg
pen and ink on paper
2.5"x3.5", 2014

For Value Study of an Egg, I used a technique called stippling, in which all of the shadows are made up of tiny dots with a fine tipped marker.  While I've been mostly working in collage for the past year, it was fun to get back to drawing a little bit.  I found that the stippling process has the qualities of a meditation, the gratifying one of being pulled into a zone, and the frustrating one of demanding a lot of patience!