Collections – Dayna J Collins

Saying Goodbye to Studio A

A week ago, I announced in my newsletter that I was giving up my studio at Studios at the Mill.

I wrote an extensive history about my studio space on my blog in August of 2020, and I’ve included a link in case you want to know more about my tenure at the studios. In a nutshell, I was one of the original members of the studios seven years ago. Interestingly, this was what I wrote in that 2020 post:

I love how sparse it is right now and full of possibilities. I have absolutely no idea how I will use my refurbished, refreshed, and quiet space. Maybe for reading art books that I never seem to have time for. Maybe for journaling. Maybe for writing about ideas. Maybe I’ll bring a specific project to work on. Or bring a limited number of materials and do a collage or journal page using only what is before me. Maybe, maybe, maybe . . . .

It turns out that I used the studio once a couple of months ago when I invited a friend to join me for an afternoon of art-making. We each brought a project to work on; we pulled our tables together and had the best afternoon. That was the first and last time I used my space since August of 2020, and even then, I hadn’t used my studio since March of 2020. All my art-making supplies had been brought home early last year. I have two nice studios at my home: a painting studio upstairs and a wonderful collage and assemblage studio in my basement.

Studio A has served me well, but it was never big enough for what I needed and I never made it there to just sit and read or write or draw, as I had dreamed of doing. I realized it just wasn’t going to happen, but it took a few months for me to come to this realization.

Shortly after I gave my notice, I started removing what remained in my studio, primarily furniture. After three full days of shuffling at home, I found a place for everything. In the process, my basement studio now has an expansive work space and is more functional. My upstairs studio wasn’t too impacted, and remains a great space to paint. I don’t have any regrets about my decision, but it was bittersweet when I closed the door for the final time.

#the100dayproject – COMPLETED

It is hard to believe that 100 days ago I embarked on a project where I committed to make a piece of art every day for 100 days. That’s a lot of days and a lot of art. I wrote about the project on Day 50, so if you want more info just click on the link.

Very first piece for #the100dayproject: acrylic painting on a scrap of brown paper bag.

In a nutshell, over the past 100 days I created art using scraps of brown paper bags. The mediums I used included oil and cold wax, acrylic paint, and collage. Some of the materials I used in the pieces: black and white photographs, Stabilo Woody Crayons, pencils, vintage ephemera, book scraps, paper frames, and charcoal. Techniques and designs included splatter painting, drawing, stripes, circles, stencils, scraping, tearing, gluing, squeegees, and mark-making.

Last piece for #the100dayproject: Acrylic painting on a scrap of a brown paper bag, with strips from discarded books, and a B&W photo found at a flea market.

What I learned during the past 100 days:

True art is in the doing and there is no shortcut for that.
I like to work fast to keep the inner critic quiet.
It was freeing to work on such an unimportant substrate as a brown paper bag.
I kept pushing myself to be bolder and to make more startling moves on my daily pieces.
It was amazing to create so many pieces, and although each piece was different, they created a unified body of work.
Some days it was this project that propelled me to go into my studio. Sometimes I stayed.
Several new ideas emerged from this project and I am letting them percolate for future projects.
A very exciting byproduct was how two of the paper pieces I created inspired bigger paintings!

Here is a random assortment of pieces from the second half of the project:

Right now I am celebrating the completion of the project . . . .

. . . . but I have some ideas brewing for moving forward with these pieces.

I have this wacky idea of offering some of these completed pieces for sale and giving first notice to those who are on my mailing list. Haven’t signed up yet? Want to? Here’s a LINK.

Salvage Collage: Cut and Paste

A rare glimpse of me in my basement lair*, where I store all of my scavenged paper, vintage scrapbooks, ephemera, photographs, book scraps, old books, and book boards, and where I work on my Salvage Collages.

Lately, I have been on a Salvage Collage toot, and I work on collages in three ways:

♦ In a vintage scrapbook/journal/notebook devoted to experimenting with collage ideas.

♦ In my 2021 journal, which is a combination of collage, paint, photos, etc. Anything goes.

♦ On discarded book boards to create official Salvage Collages, which are for sale.

So join me for a whirlwind tour of the lady in the basement.

Here are a few photos of my scrapbook journal where I experiment with ideas for collages and create just for me. The journal itself was used as a scrapbook/workbook for someone in the Department of Marine Engineering and Naval Construction (1905) and the pages are filled with notes, drawings, assignments (with corrections and grading), and mimeographed training papers. I pulled out most of the glued in papers, but bits of residue are still present.

Vintage Scrapbook/Journal/Notebook by Dayna J. Collins

Next up is my 2021 journal. It is usually a paint journal, but this year I decided to create a junk journal, a journal I made using found papers to create three signatures, which I then sewed into a book where I had pulled out all of the book pages. This is a work in progress and I just started adding collage and paint at the beginning of the new year.

Finally, my ongoing Salvage Collages, always in some level of process, always spread out on the table; my washer and dryer are across from my work tables, making it convenient to throw in a load of laundry, then spin around and start puttering and auditioning scraps of papers, book pieces, or black and white photographs. During these work sessions, I usually find myself working on all three: Salvage Collages on book boards, my 2021 Journal, and my experimental vintage scrapbook/journal.

I am always trying to move my Salvage Collages in different directions, pushing what I have already done, finding new ways to use my materials. Recently, four friends gifted me lots of wonderful papers, ephemera, and photographs, and these new materials have been informing my latest work. (A special thank you to Sam, Bonnie, Jami, and Mavis for your generosity and interesting papers and photos.) Here is a selection from my most recent Salvage Collages.

“Bold Adventures,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“Constant Equilibrium,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“Silent Recognition,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“Reciting Poetry by Heart,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“Weighing Possibilities,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“Mischief Makers,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“Beverly,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“A Series of Concurrent Events,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“A Little Out of Place” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“Full of Sweet Nostalgia,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“A Smoldering Promise,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“A Sense of Purpose,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“Void of Silence,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“Spirit of Cooperation,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“Seeking Forgiveness,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“Interrupted Story,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

“The Echoes and Shouts of Memory,” Salvage Collage on book board by Dayna J. Collins

Several of these new pieces are available at Salem on the Edge and others are available directly through me.

*It is also where I store all of my metal, wood, found objects, crazy collections, and miscellaneous stuff that defies classification. But today’s focus is on collage materials.

Funky Junkyard Birds Are For Sale . . . Thanks for asking

I’ve had a few inquiries about whether my Funky Junkyard Birds are for sale and the answer is yes. Because I don’t usually sell direct or online, I needed to figure out the best way to make this happen. The first thing I’m doing is listing all of my birds on this blog post with a photo, name, and price. If you would like to buy a bird, please email me (dayna@alleyartstudio.com) and let me know which bird you have chosen and I’ll send you a Paypal invoice. If you live local, we can work out an in person exchange and no shipping will be necessary. If I am sending you your bird, the mailing charge will be $10.

Here is the whole gang, and in alphabetical order, no less!

Funky Junkyard Birds
Allie
by Dayna J. Collins
Salem on the Edge
Downtown Salem Gallery

Funky Junkyard Birds
Barnaby
by Dayna J. Collins
$65.
SOLD

Funky Junkyard Birds
Beatrice
by Dayna J. Collins
$75.
SOLD

Funky Junkyard Birds
Beckett
by Dayna J. Collins
Salem on the Edge
Downtown Salem Gallery

Funky Junkyard Birds
Cooper
by Dayna J. Collins
Salem on the Edge
Downtown Salem Gallery

Funky Junkyard Birds
Crawford
by Dayna J. Collins
$75.
SOLD

Funky Junkyard Birds
Daisy
by Dayna J. Collins
$65.
Guardino Gallery in Portland

Funky Junkyard Birds
Evangeline
by Dayna J. Collins
SOLD

Funky Junkyard Birds
Evelyn
by Dayna J. Collins
Salem on the Edge
Downtown Salem Gallery

Funky Junkyard Birds
Finn
by Dayna J. Collins
$75.
Guardino Gallery in Portland

Funky Junkyard Birds
Gilbert
by Dayna J. Collins
$75.
SOLD

Funky Junkyard Birds
Harvey
by Dayna J. Collins
Salem on the Edge
Downtown Salem Gallery

Funky Junkyard Birds
J. L. Munkres
by Dayna J. Collins
$75.
SOLD

Funky Junkyard Birds
Lila
by Dayna J. Collins
$75.
Guardino Gallery in Portland

Funky Junkyard Birds
Lucky
by Dayna J. Collins
$75.
SOLD

Funky Junkyard Birds
Margo
by Dayna J. Collins
$65
SOLD

Funky Junkyard Birds
Maverick
by Dayna J. Collins
Salem on the Edge
Downtown Salem Gallery

Funky Junkyard Birds
Oliver
by Dayna J. Collins
$65.
SOLD

Funky Junkyard Birds
Palmer
by Dayna J. Collins
Salem on the Edge
Downtown Salem Gallery

Funky Junkyard Birds
Patterson
by Dayna J. Collins
$75.
Guardino Gallery in Portland

Funky Junkyard Birds
Pearl
by Dayna J. Collins
$65.
SOLD

Funky Junkyard Birds
Poppy
by Dayna J. Collins
$65.
SOLD

Funky Junkyard Birds
Ruby Ann
by Dayna J. Collins
$75.
Guardino Gallery in Portland

Funky Junkyard Birds
Taylor
by Dayna J. Collins
$75.
SOLD

Funky Junkyard Birds
Whitfield
by Dayna J. Collins
Salem on the Edge
Downtown Salem Gallery

Funky Junkyard Birds: A New Flock Has Landed

It is no secret that I am a collector of worn out and tossed aside objects, the rustier, grittier, and grimier, the better. If those objects are scratched, dented, and beat up, my heart skips a beat. Every couple of years, I feel the tug to create a new batch of my Funky Junkyard Birds. I pull out vintage tins and pieces of metal that I’ve been squirreling away over the months, and begin selecting which pieces will be used for making my metal found object birds.

Although I’ve been a collector for years, the idea for creating metal birds came in 2010 when I took Leighanna Light’s Birds Gone Wild class. I was immediately smitten and Leighanna gave me her blessing to make my version of the birds, saying, “Yes, of course, sell away!”

I started my latest batch of birds in February, with an offer from my husband to cut out and flatten the vintage tins and cut out the bird parts: wings, heads, pants, shirts, and bodies. I selected which tins I wanted to use, drew shapes onto the metal, and then turned them over to Howard to cut and sand the razor sharp edges. After a couple of weeks, I had beautiful piles of bird body parts.

In March, the auditions began. This involved combing through my basement stockpiles, opening cupboards, pulling out drawers, digging through bins, and pawing through boxes. I pulled out various found objects that might serve as a body, then tried out different heads. Personas began to take shape; pants or legs were added; an array of wings posed; balancing shape, color, and design. Unique bits and crazy finishing trinkets added to the emerging personalities of each bird.

Once the birds were Frankenstined together, a process that took several weeks, each bird was given a name, photographed, and are now making their debut.

Here are a smattering from the 25 I created over the past four months.

Funky Junkyard Birds
Ruby Ann
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
Poppy
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
Maverick
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
Margo
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
J. L. Munkres
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
Evangeline
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
Daisy
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
Crawford
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
Cooper
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
Beckett
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
Beatrice
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
Barnaby
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
Allie
by Dayna J. Collins

Funky Junkyard Birds
Whitfield
by Dayna J. Collins

Salvage Collage: A Sort of Magic – Opening Reception

The opening reception for my show (with ceramic artist Michelle Gallagher) at Guardino Gallery, was on Thursday, July 25. It was a warm evening and lots of people were out enjoying art and the festivities of Last Thursday on Alberta.

The official photos:

Michelle Gallagher, Donna Guardino, and me

The unofficial photos:

Howard and Donna watch the festivities of Last Thursday on Alberta

Thank you to everyone who came out for the opening and for those who have been visiting since the show opened.

Scrounged Beauty: The Opening

Here we are the day of our show opening, stopping by for a final sneak peek since we hadn’t yet seen our scrounged letters hanging above the word beauty. We loved it. We spent the day tromping all over Astoria, took a short rest, then returned at 5:00 to celebrate our opening for the rest of the evening.

Final formal photos of Stephanie and me.

Once the guests began to arrive, it was a riot of activity, laughter, fun, chatter, music, visiting, drinking, eating, and general merriment as people came and went, lingered, wandered, stopped back for another look and chat. Stephanie and I were blown away by how many of our friends drove from out of town: Seattle, Salem, Portland, and Albany.

After the last guest drifted away, a group of friends joined us for dinner across the street at Fulio’s and we lingered late into the evening, basking in the afterglow of a successful show and opening party.

Scrounged Beauty

Years of Collecting

After years of being junking partners, my friend Stephanie Brockway and I are doing a show together at RiverSea Gallery in Astoria. Both of us have shown our work at RiverSea for years, and Stephanie had a solo show there a couple of years ago. I show paintings, she shows a combination of paintings and outsider folk art. Scrounged Beauty is found object art, highlighting the best of our collections of found objects, and as some would say, junk.

Months of Auditioning

I spent months pulling things out of drawers, bins, bowls, and trays, choosing which pieces to try out on various pieces of reclaimed wood and prepared boards.

Weeks of Connecting, Titling, Signing, and Photographing

A Day of Hanging

Okay, Colin actually did the hanging, while Steph and I gallivanted around Astoria.

A Sampling of My Pieces (out of 42 I have in the show!)

“Delightful Daydreams,” by Dayna J. Collins

“Giddyup, Little One Trick Pony,” by Dayna J. Collins

“Obscured Thoughts,” by Dayna J. Collins

“A Whisper of Conspiracy,” by Dayna J. Collins

“Drawn Into Memory,” by Dayna J. Collins

“Daily Interactions,” by Dayna J. Collins

“The Tiniest Things Mean Something,” by Dayna J. Collins

“Most Expedient Route,” by Dayna J. Collins

“Painstaking Exactitude,” by Dayna J. Collins

“Traveling Side Show,” by Dayna J. Collins

“Seeing Through Shadows,” by Dayna J. Collins

“Little Time to Talk,” by Dayna J. Collins

“Untroubled By Disturbing Dreams,” by Dayna J. Collins

“Staring Into the Distance,” by Dayna J. Collins

THE SHOW

If anyone had ever told me I would get to the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market . . . .

. . . . I would not have believed them. But it happened last Sunday.

We were on vacation in Los Angles last week to see an uncle, visit museums, art galleries, and just do some general tromping about. The sites we wanted to visit were divided by neighborhoods to minimize the time spent in the car. On a whim, right before we left for the airport, I googled “flea markets.” The Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market, of course, popped up. It is held one Sunday of the month. Guess which Sunday it was being held? (Insert gasping and hyperventilating.)

We arrived early (they have different entrance times and prices, we were there by 8:00 am), got our bearings, and set off for the Orange Area: Antiques and Collectibles. This was important because there are 2,500 booths, so we needed to narrow our focus.

My focus for the market was black and white photos, paper debris, and any sort of ephemera; I rounded up a smattering of everything.But the mother lode was a scrapbook I saw, walked away, then had to go back and purchase.

The scrapbook belonged to Virginia Anita Bugg, and chronicled her early 1930s high school experience on through getting engaged and married. The scrapbook was crammed and crumbly, so when I got home I carefully deconstructed each page into categories: letters, photos, gum wrappers, menus, ticket stubs, dance cards . . . . I even discovered a smashed celluloid doll toward the back. Take a look:

The deconstruction:

I’ve already integrated the pieces into my studio and I’m looking forward to creating new lives with the remnants of Virginia’s life.

Back to the Flea Market, some photos of roaming about.

And the rest of my bounty:

Quarterly Open Studios

The artists at the Art Studios at Mission Mill decided at the end of last year that they wanted to host quarterly Open Studios rather than monthly events. I personally liked having them monthly, but they did seem to roll around rather quickly. Our quarterly event, under the umbrella of Art After Dark, will be held this Thursday, April 13, from 6-8 pm (a change from our old time of 5-7 pm). Studio A, where I hang out, has been converted to my Special Project Studio, where I am working on a big mixed media and collage project titled: What’s Your Story, Real or Imagined: Telling Stories through Black and White Photos. I started this project last year, but it has been evolving and morphing into something bigger than I earlier anticipated. I still have my two walls of black and white photos, which have expanded and taken over more real estate.

I recently had the opportunity to sort through a couple dozen boxes and three chests of family photos and ephemera and somehow I managed to find room in my compact corner space for piles and mounds of paper, 3-D bits, and photos.

I’ll be doing an Artist in Residence at the Salem Art Association Annex in the fall, so for now, my ideas are percolating as I spend time in this special studio. I’ll be sharing more about my fall project a bit later, but it includes a panel discussion, two weeks of working in a spacious light-filled studio, and will culminate in a one-day workshop I’ll be teaching. In the meantime, come see my newest acquisitions and hear more about my project on Thursday night.

ART AFTER DARK

The Art Studios at Mission Mill are located at the Willamette Heritage Center, across from Willamette University on 12th Street and across from the Amtrak Train Station on Mill Street. All of the second floor studios will be open, Carol Green will be demonstrating a Polaroid emulsion lift process (“The World Through Polaroid Imagining”), and Bonnie Hull is bringing her instant camera and will be taking curated photos ($1, please bring exact change). There will be new art on the communal walls and all of the artists will be serving refreshments. On the first floor, Max Marbles, the bookbinder, will be open, the Eco Hub is featuring student artwork honoring nature, and you can meet the newest tenants: award-winning photographer Frank Barnett and his wife, 3D artist and writer, Mart Soloman. It’s going to be a splendid night!