Finding Your Inner Artist
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What is fun to do... costs very little... and nurtures your creative soul? These three artists have the answer.
They use found objects, such as machine parts, tin cans, old photos, buttons, even broken glass, to make
assemblages and collages.
You don't have to know how to draw or paint. Just follow the advice here to make art for your home or to give
as gifts. If you have a real knack for it, you even might be able to sell your work at craft fairs and local galleries.
JAMES MICHAEL STARR
James Michael Starr, 52, formerly a graphic designer from Dallas, creates distinctive sculptures from objects
he finds at antiques stores and flea markets. One recent work was constructed from an old clock cabinet, a
19th-century tintype photo of a man, plant roots, a book illustration and an iron pulley wheel, among other
items.
Starr's pieces can be viewed on his Web site (www.jamesmichaelstarr.com). His work also is on display at
Hooks-Epstein Galleries in Houston (www.hooksepsteingalleries.com), and Conduit Gallery in Dallas
(www.conduitgallery.com). His advice...
Choose items that inspire you. Old things are what stir my emotions, but I know another assemblage artist
who works primarily with matchbooks and beads.
Look for old doll parts -- a great way to include the human form in your art.
Display familiar objects out of context. This makes a piece more interesting. For one work, I put a doll's head
on a globe stand where the globe used to be. Then I added small balls "orbiting" it. It is a reminder to me that
it is easy to become self-absorbed and think the whole universe revolves around me.
Store items in plain sight. The 20-foot Peg-Board in my studio lets me hang everything where I can see it.
Don't try to do too much. People new to assemblage often wind up with jumbled works that have no real
message or order. Less is more.
CLAUDINE HELLMUTH
Orlando-based Claudine Hellmuth, 28, combines mainly flat items, such as old photos, drawings and text,
into collages. Her art appears on preframed prints, coasters and floor mats at stores such as Bed Bath &
Beyond, Linens 'n Things and Target. She gives workshops on collage. She is author of Collage Discovery
Workshop (North Light). www.collageartist.com
Her advice...
Think of a collage as a story. Ask yourself what you are trying to say in the work.
Example: I did a collage based on a picture of my great-aunt. The elements I added all said something about
her life -- she lived in London, so I added pictures of London buildings... she and I used to feed birds
together, so I included little pictures of pigeons.
Choose a background. I often start by painting a stretched canvas. You just as easily could use book pages,
wallpaper, a map or an old calendar. I also am fond of old dress patterns, available at thrift shops, which I
glue to the canvas.
Use pictures and drawings in the public domain. More recent images could result in copyright issues --
something to consider if you wish to sell your work.
You can purchase books of images in the public domain from Dover Publications' Pictorial Archive Series
(www.doverpublications.com). Prices start at $6.
Don't rush the process. I usually have five or six collages going at once. That way, I don't have to work on any
specific piece until I am sure I know what I want to do with it.
THELMA KANDEL
Thelma Kandel, 70, from New York City, was an editor, magazine writer and book author. She now creates art
using small items, such as Scrabble tiles, doll parts, bottle caps and broken glass. She finds her materials
almost anywhere, including garage sales, flea markets, commercial dumpsters and town dumps. The
memorable and witty images she creates are far removed from the objects' more prosaic original uses.
Example: Decades-old kitchen utensils or parts from a broken machine might be arranged to suggest the
human form.
Brooklyn College Art Gallery had a show of Kandel's work in 2002. Her advice...
Don't spend more than $1 or so on any item at a garage sale. Even if there's something I like that's more
expensive, I know that I'll come across something else within my budget that inspires me another day.
Choose a frame. I might use a silverware drawer, cigar box or candy box lid.
Organize components so that you can find them when you need them. I keep three-dimensional items in
small plastic drawers and labeled containers. I have a duffel bag full of broken china and folders of pictures.
Use a simple white glue, such as Elmer's. For heavier items, I use E-6000, available in hardware stores.
View the work of well-known artists for inspiration. My favorites: René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Polly Becker
and Joseph Cornell. Plug their names into a Web search engine such as Google.com to find sites displaying
their works.
