Two Part Harmony

Posted on March 25, 2026 by cecelia

Here are two recent mixed media collages. There are subtle differences between them. Both show how I use layers to make a complex, yet cohesive structure.

I usually start by printing a monotype, sometimes printing a new color over the “ghost” of another monotype, sometimes over embossed string lines. The layering continues with inked, printed shapes added. Some colored pencil shapes are drawn on the print. Cut out shapes complete the collage.

I hope you enjoy making your way, visually, under, over, around and through #1447 “Before Beginning Something New” and #1448 “ Turn Up The Volume.”

#1447 Before Beginning Something Else monotype, colored pencil, collage on paper 30×22 2025 -1

#1447 Before Beginning Something Else monotype, colored pencil, collage on paper 30×22 2025-finished

#1448 Turn Up The Volume monotype, colored pencil, collage on paper 30×22 2025-1

#1448 Turn Up The Volume monotype, colored pencil, collage on paper 30×22 2025 – finished

A Many Layered Thing

Posted on November 11, 2025 by cecelia

Inspiration for my work (art) always comes from many sources. At any given moment I, like most people, am seeing, thinking, hearing and feeling. What I do is express those things through my art. There is almost never a direct correlation between the input and the output. It’s a jumble that gets sorted out as I work.

This time the inspiration came out of the blue. Literally. I was reading “Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” by Neil deGrasse Tyson and “Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space” by Carl Sagan (1994!). The books got me thinking about color (among other things), specifically BLUE. How blue, a primary color, when mixed with red, another primary color, becomes purple. And, just like that, I had my inspiration for two new monotype/collages. The cosmos called.

I usually detail the stages of layering as I make the collage. This time I am going to present the finished collage and mention the stages of layering that got me there.

monotype over monotype color

printed circles and parts of circles

stamped/pressed acrylic paint circles

small dots scattered about

stencil shapes of marbled paper and sun prints – these hold, visually, everything that is

swirling around.

Here are the collages.

#1443 Cosmic Delight 1 monotype, acrylic paint, colored pencil, collage 30×22 2025

#1444 Cosmic Delight 2 monotype, acrylic paint, colored pencil, collage 30×22 2025

Just for fun. Can you identify the various layers?

“Making feels like my best friend – supportive, calming and emboldening at the same time.” Marina Dempster

Lucky Me!

Posted on December 2, 2024 by cecelia

Recently, I had the VERY good fortune to receive a gift from my son Brad. Now, this is not the first time Brad has given me something special. The best present was his arrival on December 1, 1965. But, aside from that, his recent surprise gift can’t be topped. It is a two-volume set of all the ArtEveryday blogs that appeared on my website from 2012 to 2023. They are still online at www.studio7310.com/ArtEveryday.

The books were designed and published by PixxBook. They are stunning! The blogs are there in their entirety with superb layouts of text, art, and photographs. Brad did all the technical heavy lifting to ensure the final product would be exceptional.

Here are the book covers and some of the pages.

If you’ve followed my blog through the years (time really does fly) some of these pictures may look familiar. Throughout my years of blogging, I have tried to provide insight into the “how” and “why” of my art practice. It’s been a long and ongoing journey of self-discovery. Having you along for the ride has been a pleasure.

2012 to 2023 may seem like many years but it’s only a moment in time. It’s wonderful to revisit what the blogs captured during those years. “Thank you” can hardly express my deep appreciation for these amazing books but Brad knows the depth of feeling those two words convey. I am savoring these books now; I know I will return to them often. Surprises await with each turn of a page.

At the end of the blog on March 7, 2012 I wrote “Do what you love or you won’t love what you do.” I hope you all find your happy place. I found mine.

Artfully yours,

Cecelia

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAD!

Come A Little Closer

Posted on June 9, 2022 by cecelia

It’s time for a straight-forward combination of the elements I often work with, in collage. The geometric shapes are readily apparent but how are there two colors on what seems like one layer of a monotype print? The mystery lies in the use of two “plates” into which coils of string are incised by the weight of the etching press. They are inked with two different colors and printed. Paper circles are placed on the second plate before printing. When they are removed the color of the first plate shows through as circles. Mystery solved!

As I’ve done in the past, I construct the collage on the printed monotype. It’s a step by step, layer by layer process using parts of collagraph (textured) prints and monotype prints.

Here is the first set of three. They are horizontal.

#1394 To Do Or Not To Do monotype w. collage, 15.5×23.5, 2022

#1395 Peripheral Vision monotype w. collage, 15.5×23.5, 2022

#1396 Now You See It monotype w. collage, 15.5×23.5, 2022

If you look the second set of three, which are vertical, can you tell that each collage is assembled on a print from only one plate? Bet you can! That monotype print is the “ghost” image. It is the impression from the image left on the first plate after printing. The vertical collages are constructed in the same way as the horizontal ones step by step, layer by layer.

Here are the three vertical collages.

#1397 Super Duper monotype w. collage, 23.5×15.5, 2022

#1398 What Goes ’round Comes ’round monotype w. collage, 23.5×15.5 2022

#1399 Say When monotype w. collage, 23.5×15.5, 20

Don’t let the “process” get in the way of seeing the whole collage. Enjoy the experience of exploring the relationships of line, shape, color, and texture. Look at the whole, notice the parts, then look at the whole again.

Party on!

It’s A Wrap

Posted on October 6, 2020 by cecelia

The collage series TIME is finished (maybe). The previous blog, “Since I Don’t Write Poetry”, described the how and why of #1366-1369. I posted questions in that blog that I asked you to ponder. The last two collages in the series are #1370 and #1371.

Each element in the collage is a shape that can be named and exists as a ‘thing.” When it becomes part of another thing it becomes something else. Continuing to add elements continues the change even further. The parts lose their identity, as they become the new entity. The end result (the collage) is the sum of its parts.

Here is #1370 “This Time”

#1370 This Time

I thought it might be fun to show a bit of the sequence in assembling the collage. It may take the fun out of guessing how it all comes together but I’m not really giving away any secrets. So, here are some shots showing areas before and after collage elements have been added to #1371 which is at the end.

#1371

Here is the finished collage #1371 with all of its relationships for you to consider.

#1371 That Time

The idea of mindfulness in meditation is what I apply to my art practice. It is being present and open to the possibilities that arise during the time spent working on a project. I’ve been doing this for a long, long time. I just didn’t know what it was called. I have the following poem tacked to my studio wall. It is a powerful reminder of the need for mindfulness, in art and life, especially now.

WORDS FOR EACH DAY

Daisen-In Temple (Zen), Kyoto, Japan

Each day in life is training.

Training for myself.

Though failure is possible.

Living each moment.

Equal to anything.

Ready for everything.

I am alive.

I am this moment.

My future is here and now.

For if I cannot endure today when and where will I.

Be well, my friends, and practice mindfulness.

JOY

Posted on August 27, 2020 by cecelia

I’ve been thinking about the meaning of the word joy and how to find it and embrace it in this off-kilter time, the year 2020.

I have come upon scenes of joy in so many places all around the world. I explored my archives and found images of people and places that caught my attention for their expression of joy. Often, something in a place that made me smile. People, young and old, near and far, anytime, anywhere doing something that makes them happy. Smiles. Joy!

Here is what I found.

Eat Dessert First

CU Boulder

Feld Days Spring Creek E.S.

Vietnam

Japan

Chile

Buenos Aires, Arg.

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

A Must Have, NYC

Music In The Subway, NYC

Boston

Redstone, CO

Music at the Met, NYC

An Unexpected Pleasure, NYC

Ljubljana

So Many To Choose, Ljubljana

Beaver Creek, Co

Cinque Terre, Italy

What a Ride, Cinque Terre, Italy

Travel and photography are experiences that bring me joy. Another, which occupies more of my time, especially during these months of isolation, is working in my studio. It is the joy of discovery working with familiar or unfamiliar materials. The what-ifs, maybes and perhaps. Keep this, change that, see what happens. The road to discovery can be straight-ahead or long and winding. Minutes, hours, days, or weeks. No matter. I sink down into the work at hand and emerge at some point thinking “finished” or “unfinished.” That’s it. Next.

My Studio

Outside my studio is the natural beauty of my farm in North Texas. It exerts its special brand of calmness on me and brings me huge amounts of joy. A special part is the Tally-Ho Trail, named by my granddaughter when she was young. It meanders through the woods, gently rising and falling, twisting and turning, following the creek. It’s not Colorado, but it’s our little piece of heaven in Texas. I’ll be on it as soon as it cools off. Summer does seem to last forever here.

Tally Ho Trail

Joy can be a small thing or a big thing. If we open our hearts to the possibility of giving and receiving JOY who knows what might happen?

Life Is Art

Art-Fashion-Technology

Posted on June 28, 2017 by cecelia

I recently saw a fabulous exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. “Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion” is magical. This young Dutch designer marries art and science to exquisite effect. Her work made me look long and hard and think a lot about what fashion is all about, what the possibilities are.

Ms. Van Heren is inspired by art, architecture, science and technology. She describes each collection in terms of its influences. Is this “wearable art?” Maybe. The creations cover or encase the body and in fact, are presented in runway fashion shows, although I can’t imagine anyone walking in the shoes shown in the exhibit. A video shows they can! She utilizes traditional handwork (still) but also incorporates materials made with a 3-D printer, materials not associated with garment construction. The results are “other-worldly” and mesmerizing. There is a notable absence of color, which places greater emphasis on structure.

Sometimes she collaborates with other artists such as the architect Daniel Widrig and Jolan van der Wiel (shoes).

The Refinery Smoke collection (2008) utilized thin gauge woven metal to create a giant pouf.

Refinery Smoke collection

The Crystallization collection (2010) incorporated 3-D materials for the first time.

Crystallization collection

The Escapism collection (2011) combined handwork and 3-D printing, creating a lace-like garment without needle and thread.

Escapism collection

The Capriole collection (2011) has acrylic sheets wrapping around the body or prominent spikes.

Capriole collection

The Chemical Crows collection (2008) was made entirely by hand, including fan-like shapes from umbrella ribs.

Chemical Crows collection

The Radiation Invasion collection (2009) looked to science and its relation to the body for inspiration.

Radiation Invasion collection

The Synethesia collection (2010) took science as its starting point.

Synethesia collection

The Magnetic Motion collection (2014) was made in collaboration with Philip Beesley and combined 3-D printing with handwork.

Here are the shoes!

The exhibit will continue on to Cincinnati, Phoenix and Toronto. Run, do not walk, to this exhibit!

Details

Posted on March 6, 2017 by cecelia

To see details is to notice the parts isolated from the whole. Without the context we focus on an object’s lines, shapes, colors or textures.

Here are some architectural details from ancient stone edifices to a new bridge whose details seem like line drawings against the sky.

D’s Palace, Sp;it

Cathedral, Zagreb

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, Dallas

Iceland’s Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavek has a mostly clear glass and steel façade. You can see buildings in the distance as well as the structural detail when you get close.

Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik

The distinctive character of a wall, an unusual door handle and metal grillwork look different up close.

DUMBO, NYC

Kumrovec

La Boca, Buenos Aires

Japan

What walls are made of or what’s on them provide great visuals.

Japan

Reykjavik

Dallas

Windows have an added dimension when looking for details. Looking through them adds a bit of color, which enhances the detail.

Dallas

Greenville, SC

We walk on floors, inside and out. Get low and see their textures, lines and shape.

African American Museum ,Dallas

Lisbon

From bright and shining vintage cars in museums to not so bright and shining, just old, we’re drawn to their colorful details.

Antique Car Museum, Warrenton, TX

Auto Museum, Moncopulli, Chile

Minturn, CO

Then, there is ART. When I stand back and look at the entire piece, i.e. a painting, or move around a sculpture I have one kind of experience. When I move closer I can see the parts (details) making up the whole. I can see how light affects the surface. I can see the negative spaces. I can isolate the colors and textures.

Michelle O’Michael “Metamorph”

Juan Fontanive

In my paintings and collages there is the “whole”, composed of many parts in dialogue with one another. A closer look reveals the details.

#1271 Cecelia Feld Untitled mixed media acrylic painting on panel, 24x24, 2013

#1271 Cecelia Feld Untitled mixed media acrylic painting on panel, 24×24, 2013

#1271 Untitled- Detail

#1294 Cecelia Feld Untitled mixed media acrylic painting on panel, 36x36, 2015

#1294 Cecelia Feld Untitled mixed media acrylic painting on panel, 36×36, 2015

#1294 Untitled-Detail

#1301 Cecelia Feld Remembering The Things You Forgot collage 22x30 2016

#1301 Cecelia Feld Remembering The Things You Forgot collage 22×30 2016

#1301 Remembering The Things You Forgot-Detail

#1303 Cecelia Feld Chasing The Unexpected collage 30x22 2016

#1303 Cecelia Feld Chasing The Unexpected collage 30×22 2016

#1303 Chasing The Unexpected-Detail

A big thanks to those of you who sent me your shots of DETAILS. Here are some that I selected.

Al Padwa

Bruce Schlein Home Napkins

Theme #7 is SHADOW PLAY. I hope you will participate.

Send me your photos as email attachments no larger than 1MB by April 3, 2017.

Crazy For Collage

Posted on January 26, 2017 by cecelia

I often construct my collages on acrylic painted paper. For a recent group of collages I layered stencil shapes cut from discarded prints (monotypes, collagraphs, etchings) and other found paper on the painted background. I needed one more element to make the collage POP. I found it by using acrylic “spreads.” Never heard of them? Spreads are made by painting acrylic paint or paint + gel medium on a releasing surface like plastic, letting it dry really well, then scraping it off and gluing it to the collage paper. They’re a little tricky to make, but they’re fun to make and fun to incorporate into the collage. They add texture and a bit of 3-D to the flat surface.

Here are some examples from the “Hidden In Plain Sight” series.

#1296 Hidden In Plain Sight 1, collage, 16x20", 2016

#1296 Hidden In Plain Sight 1, collage, 16×20″, 2016

#1297 Hidden In Plain Sight 2, collage, 16x20", 2016

#1297 Hidden In Plain Sight 2, collage, 16×20″, 2016

#1298 Hidden In Plain Sight 3, collage, 16x20", 2016

#1298 Hidden In Plain Sight 3, collage, 16×20″, 2016

#1300 Hidden In Plain Sight 5, collage, 16x20", 2016

#1300 Hidden In Plain Sight 5, collage, 16×20″, 2016

I continue to use pieces of my photographs, like the underfoot and graffiti images with discarded (you could say re-purposed) prints and found paper. May I say “ephemera?” It sounds so much more sophisticated. The compositions extend in all directions on a white background.

Here are a few recent examples.

#1301 Remembering The Things You Forgot collage 22x30" 2016

#1301 Remembering The Things You Forgot collage 22×30″ 2016

#1302 Internal:External Forces At Work collage 22x30" 2016

#1302 Internal:External Forces At Work collage 22×30″ 2016

#1303 Chasing The Unexpected collage 30x22" 2016

#1303 Chasing The Unexpected collage 30×22″ 2016

Sometimes you have to go “small.” Same idea, collage on painted paper. What happens when you try to downsize? What do you pick and choose to take? Ugh, you say. Well, I have to make the same sort of decisions every time I look at the paper. I made a series of “minis” called “Mini-Go-Round.” They are 6×8”, a lot smaller than 16×20”, 22×30” or 29×41”, my usual sizes for collage. How would you design a collage on a small piece of paper?

Here are my “minis.” Remember, they are small.

#1304 Mini Go Round 1, collage 6x8" 2016

#1304 Mini Go Round 1, collage 6×8″ 2016

#1305 Mini Go Round 2, collage 6x8" 2016

#1305 Mini Go Round 2, collage 6×8″ 2016

#1306 Mini Go Round 3, collage 6x8" 2016

#1306 Mini Go Round 3, collage 6×8″ 2016

#1309 Mini Go Round 6, collage 6x8" 2016

#1309 Mini Go Round 6, collage 6×8″ 2016

#1321 Mini Go Round 18, collage 6x8" 2016

#1321 Mini Go Round 18, collage 6×8″ 2016

Have you made collages? What’s your approach?

Reflections

Posted on November 28, 2016 by cecelia

Reflections of. Reflections in. Reflections on. How different the world can seem when we notice only a portion of it. Shapes and colors are distorted in strange and wonderful ways depending on the reflecting medium. I like to describe it as shape shifting. The image is somewhat recognizable but somehow different from what we expect.

Some materials are highly reflective like antique cars in a museum, polished to a fare thee well, reflecting people passing by as well as their pricey neighbors.

Antique Car Museum

If the car is outdoors its colorful surroundings are captured on its slick and shiny surface.

Santa Fe

Sculptures, indoors and out, often have highly reflective surfaces which reflect museum goers, both those studying the sculpture and those photographing it. There is an otherworldly aspect to those reflections.

Jeff Koons

Donald Judd, Marfa

Loveland Sculpture Park, CO

Glass has a way of capturing and altering what it reflects. Sometimes it reflects what is in the immediate vicinity. Sometimes it lets us see through it and beyond in multiple layers.

Winspear Opera House, Dallas

Broad Museum, LA

Crystal Bridges Museum, Arkansas

Trammel Crow Building, Dallas

Glassware

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Water has its own special way of mesmerizing us with its reflections. This is shape shifting at its best. Wiggly, elusive images which change depending on the time of day and the light.

Venice Canals, CA

The Modern, Ft. Worth, TX

Glacier National Park, Montana

Inside and out, buildings often present multiple images, reflection upon reflection.

Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik, Iceland

Northpark Mall, Dallas

Look at water and architecture for playful abstract patterns of shape and color.

And now, YOUR photos! Thanks for letting us see what you see.

Elizabeth Greene – Libby

Marla Shainman – Rome

Moses Hoskins – Isfahan

Stan Feld – Woodcreek Ranch, TX

Phil Goodman

Next – Theme #4 is PLACE. It’s a word with many meanings. Literal or figurative. What’s your take on it? Get your photos ready and send them to me as email attachments no larger than 1MB JPG by January 4, 2017.