Montage Guilt

[Stephen Mead]

In many ways I feel strange/inadequate, like an imposter, for continuing to participate on this site when much of my work in the past couple of years has become more about montage than collage. At the start of the year, having become obsessed with doing a piece on Alan Turing (which turned into roughly 300 images), I wrote this: "...as I continue to get older and work a day job, montages have become a way of compacting creative energy while my time on earth remains a mystery. I like the idea of these images hovering like holograms in space: not quite tangible unless someone wants to print them. " http://www.absolutearts.com/mixed_media/stephen_mead-fixing_mr_smar...
Having written that, I was simultaneously working on a series inspired by Sandy Denny and Fotheringay, both her song and the actual place; these other montages actually resulting in a mixed media piece of collage/assemblage elements. I'm not sure, when neurons are firing, and dopamine etc. is running through the system if the more hands-on tactile approach of collage/mixed media actually has a stronger healthier release and thus, creates stronger art. (See latest example below). I suppose I am fortunate that I live at a time and in a society where I have the luxury of pondering such, and perhaps the main, the ultimate, point here should be gratitude that we have this online International Society to share the struggles, triumphs, doubts and questions about making any sort of art at all. Thank you.

[Stephen Mead]

Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Tom and Janice.  When we take the time to encourage one another it's a good reminder that we do not create in a vacuum!

[tom Backer]

Stephen I say keep on truckin, continue creating and posting, thats what I think this site is more about.. I wouldn't get bogged down with definitions of what is assemblage or collage, its splitting hairs! Sharing the results of our creativity with the issues relating to whats important to us personally and tapping into other artists observations and visions, thats what I enjoy about this site!

[Janice McDonald]

I agree about having so many options of means to work with images. Since I still work about half time as a graphic designer, very computer intensive -- I love the hands on aspects of ripping and gluing when I get the chance! I like the image of your hovering holograms however :)