contemporary collage
an unexpected journey.
exploring abstract collage, & the materiality of paper.
My heart beats for playing with shapes, textures & bold colors, cut from the abundance of readymade collage material in magazines!
It's an adventure of gathering together things I like, playing with their arrangement, exploring how the shapes & colors feel next to each other, & responding to the what if ' conversations that pop up, directing me what to try next.
The pace is slow, wandering. My curiosity & I are absorbed in this intimate abstract folly, making everything up as we go along. We have no idea where we're going, or what the outcome will be!
no rules. no limits. no map. xxx
AND! contemporary photo collage
an unexpected journey.
exploring photography, repetition, & abstraction.
I print my personal photos & use them as hand collage material - cutting, layering, & repeating them - to create BIG abstract collages.
I've discovered the more an image is repeated, the more abstract it becomes, visually transforming itself to be independent of its original image. Yet it's intimately entwined with it. One cannot exist without the other.
The smallest change I make to the original image creates something different.
Something unexpected.
no rules. no limits. no map xxx
welcome to my contemporary collage world!
Abstract Antics is the creative visual adventures of me - Vicky Walford - in photo & paper abstract collage, working to no rules, no limits, no map xxx
Home is New Zealand, a small country of two islands sitting all by itself at the bottom of the world map, surrounded by a massive ocean moat, a little bit isolated from the rest of the world!
my creativity started with my mum ...
I grew up in the 1970's, a thriving time of do-it-yourself hand craft & art. It was fascinating to watch my mum transform yarn into sweaters, & fabric into dresses. My experiences playing with art / craft kit sets seeded a deep, lifelong love of hand making my own things.
and then ...
An art /craft /design course in the 1990's introduced my established love of hand making to a combined artist /craftsman /designer world of self taught, self directed creatives, thinking with their hands to create their own kind of art!
For one whole year I explored a broad range of art & craft, such as painting, printmaking, 2D & 3D design, perceptual drawing, life drawing, computer graphics (in the 1990's !),felt making, life illustration, papermaking, woodwork, ceramics, sculpture, basketry, leatherwork, hot glass blowing, interior design, traditional Maori weaving (taaniko, flax), art & craft history ...
I LOVED IT ALL!
Here I was openly encouraged to follow my interests & explore ideas.
To follow my curiosity & let my hands guide my making.
To view craft as an art.
To mix them up, be non conventional, discover my own way to make things.
To let creativity itself show me what's possible.
I was hooked.
I dreamt of being one of those self taught, self directed artists, living a fully creative life - hand making their own kind of art - 24/7!
but ...
It wasn't until VERY late in my life - while studying in 2017 with The Learning Connexion (Wellington, NZ) - that I discovered the combination of exploring the materiality of paper, experimenting with erasure / abstraction, & playing with repetition & collage, is how I naturally craft my art.
OMG. I'm an abstract collagist! That's what my creative 'thing' is. Wow. Who knew? (Not me!)
Since graduating from their Advanced Diploma of Art & Creativity, I've seriously pursued using my own photos to create abstract collages, & continued diving into trying new things with abstract paper collage.
no rules. no limit. no map xxx
As a late bloomer, that early dream of being a fully creative, self directed artist 24/7 can definitely feel like 'mission impossible'.
But maybe it's not ...
find out more!
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a brief bio:
creative Art training (New Zealand):
* Advanced Diploma of Art & Creativity (NZQA level 7) , 2019
The Learning Connexion, Wellington.
* Textile Design Foundation Certificate, 1991, Wellington Polytechnic.
* Art / Craft / Design Foundation Certificate, 1990. Wanganui Polytechnic.
* Diploma Wool & Wool Technology, 1986, Massey University.
exhibitions:
2019. 'Folded' - paper collage - Advanced Diploma Graduate (solo) exhibition, The Learning Connexion campus, Wellington, NZ.
2020. 'Maggie's Garden' - Abstract photo collage. Solo exhibition at Wanganui Community Arts Centre, Wanganui, NZ.
2021. 'Louder Than Words' - Abstract photo collage. Solo exhibition at Wanganui Community Arts Centre, Wanganui, NZ.
2023 . 'Abstract Antics' - Abstract paper collage. Solo exhibition at The Department of Curiosities & Fine Things, Napier, NZ.
2024 . 'Abstract Antics - YES - Abstract paper collage. Solo exhibition at The Department of Curiosities & Fine Things, Napier, NZ.
gallery representation:
Tennyson Gallery, Napier, New Zealand.
