Collage/Print: There Are Too Many Secrets/ Multi-cultural Integration & the Art(s)

There Are Too Many Secrets, RTomens, 2018

BONJOUR, HOLA, GUTEN TAG, CIAO, OLÀ, NAMASTE  and SALAAM! (with apologies for all other variations left out, but, you know, life's short).

So I've been sleeping on the blogs for a while, the other one especially - why? The answer's too complex. Sorry. But now I'm back to enrich your life. How did you manage without regular emissions from moi, darling? Never mind.

There Are Too Many Secrets was born of misfortune, namely; my desktop going kaput. Or rather, to rewind, before that I'd begun exploring paper collage again and the absence of any technological tools only strengthened my resolve to continue and this collage was one of the results. You can see others in the shop. Now that the computer's fixed I'll be adding more pieces as and when I feel capable/have the time &/or inclination. Christmas is looming (yes, it looms for me nowadays) so what better time to purchase one of my collages for a loved-one? (Note to self: make cheery, colourful pieces, preferably featuring little lost-looking girls...or birds...yes, I know what sells!).

Ch-ch-ch-changes...apart from collage-making I've been doing some finkin' (which probably explains my current headache and not, surely, the whisky I was downing last night) and decided to integrate all culture into this blog rather than the previous clear cut separation (IMO was mostly music, some film etc). By 'all culture' I mean those other things, 'the arts' as they're known, simply because they, as much as art, inform/inspire my work. It's impossible to absorb so much music, film and literature without it emerging in a visual form somehow, as a shadow, ghost or upfront presence. 

It's fitting that collage (of all kinds) is probably my preferred (most-explored anyway) style since my life's a collage, arts-wise, of sight and sound. As I write Larry Young's superb album, Unity, is playing. Here's a track...

...I work to music, always, usually picking from certain genres such as No Wave, Classic Electronic or Jazz. No Wave's energy boosts mine, Electronic music's complexities encourage deeper thinking and Jazz, well, that's a constant.

So in the spirit of  'multi-culturalism' don't be surprised to see book/music/film posts here from now on. Art will, however, always be central, of course. Now that blogging is OVER I feel more determined to carry on because I'm like that, you know, against the grain. That said, despite getting on in years, I'm quite moderne in having a Instagram feed (Tomensart) - oh yes! ha-ha-ha.

Thanks for dropping by and don't forget to check out the shop sometimes for new additions. TTFN!