Trying to put it all together

Cassiopeia

detail of bottom

detail of top

detail of top

Some elements that you may have seen already here but now I've put them together

postcard with some swap items

 So now that I have any number of bit and pieces and elements in my stash from the image transfer class I'm trying to incorporate them into larger works. I could just go nuts doing nothing but making smaller elements  but the trick is for me how to use them in bigger pieces  and bringing it all together.

 I find assemblage to be with many challenges as I have mentioned in previous posts. One must be very careful to assemble things in the right order or you may find yourself figuratively painting yourself into a corner. Some mistakes can be hard to fix and retrieve the look you're hoping for. One of the biggest problems I seem to face with my backgrounds or substrates from found objects and thrift shop finds is that fastening elements can be quite a challenge. More than once I decided to use tiny screws and have them not grip the composite wood  background and  "waller" out. Then if it's a thin piece you have dangerous sharp screw ends sticking out the back and  have to find a way to saw or clip them off.

 I struggled with the Cassiopeia piece because while I was happy with the elements I had chosen the composition ended up  looking to rigid with images floating in there own  quadrants of the  box. The composition seemed too static for me. I remember being told in an art class that numbers and letters carried more visual weight as does faces so adding any more text or elements such as that might really make the eyes crazy.  I  tried to remedy it by dulling down the white images with a wash of light metallic blue paint and highlighting the background with copper and blue metallic paint on the distressed corrugated. I really have a greater admiration for assemblage artists every time I attempt one myself.