Witty Collage Art enters a whole new dimension, too!

As devoted followers of this blog and my art know, I got into the hang of creating collages about a year or two ago, as I was overcome with a strong desire to both destroy old work (okay: work I considered failures) and create something new. So why not combine those two forces, and instead of looking at drawings that didn't turn out so well as ''failures', use parts of them and turn them into the foundation for a whole new series of Witty Art all together?

Hence, the creation of the series 'Once Upon A Time.. Never Happened!'

Now, it was time for more.

Lately, I accumulated a lot of ''half-way-there-works'' (half finished or just not-quite-that-good drawings, etc) dwhich to me provided more than enough volume for a whole new process of what I've come to call 'Creative Destruction and Resurrection': cutting or just downright tearing or ripping things up and readjusting the remaining fragments, trying to see if and where they'd fit in - and if not, that that'd be also fine because than they simply belong elsewhere.

No shortage of paper or canvas to create more works of art!

While working on this new batch of Witty Collage Art, something interesting started to happen. Comicbook-style elements like text balloons started appearing out of nowhere, while trusted characters and familiar faces popped up (including a couple of little lost bears and sinister looking rabbits, ofcourse), as I began mixing different materials and techniques into one big blend of both cartoon and surrealist art - without having any real idea of what on earth I was doing.

But boy, am I pleased with the outcome! It's almost like I've unknowingly been creating the picture book I'd always dreamt of, except that there is not such a thing as a storyline involved - well,not at the moment, that is. And perhaps there is no need to, as I got taught by a somewhat unexpected visit of an expert in storytelling - but more on that in my next blog!

So, what do you think? Is this gonna be a book or not? What's your opinion?

My art book 'My Life In Limbo' reveals more and more insight into the World of Witty Art

Time to share some of the latest pages of my Witty Art Book 'My Life In Limbo'. As I have shared with you before, this is perhaps my most personal art series up to date, as it is pretty much an insight in my mind, as I am slowly coming to terms with the new directions my life is heading into after losing my house and having to life the life of a 21st century city nomad.

It's an almost daily reflection of my life-in-transition and more than that, it has become a in-depth investigation in the world of Witty Art, or rather: the world behind Witty Art. Stuff that drives me, motivates me, triggers me, frightens me, haunts me and all other kinds of stuff that doesn't exactly kill me but make me either weaker or stronger.

It also features most, if not all Witty Art Characters, some loved, others feared and some pretty much univited guests too. And some new ones, too. But they all make up the World of Witty Art, so in a way, I hold them all dear to my heart. No exceptions to that rule.

 

Witty Art Characters are starting to break down ''the fourth wall''

As my Witty Art Book 'My Life In Limbo' is coming along, it moves further away from it's original intentions: to keep a visual diary of my life of in transition, but, as I wrote before, it has become much more a series on highly personal reflections on Witty Art itself; and the world(s) that it embodies. 

And over the weeks, as the book progressed, the characters that inhabit those world(s), started speaking for themselves. As someone dear to me described it, almost like they were breaking down the invisible ''fourth wall'' between their staged world, disregarding their director/creator (me, that is) and starting to speak directly to the audience: you, friends and followers of Witty Art.

And, yes, is true. They do. As I wrote before, sometimes I am not completey sure whether I am the creator of my own art, or just a humble intermediator, whose sole purpose is to visualise the characters that inhabit a universe I call the World of Witty Art; and to give them a voice as well.

Well, if that is the case, I can only hope their stories speak to you, as powerful as they speak to me. Powerful in their moments of weakness and insecurity, of crippling self-doubt, facing the challenges of being alive every day. While finding strength, resilience, even hope in those very moments of hitting rock bottom - because when you do, when you are at your lowest point, the only thing you can do is look up. And while you might see the steepest hill and the highest mountains you have to overcome, there is another thing you might see, too.

The sky. Now, that may not be the brightest of blue skies, and dark clouds might hide the sun, it's still the sky. And, when it comes to the power of imagination and creativity, to me, the sky is still the limit.

Visit Rotterdam Coffeebar Ookami for some Coffee & Witty Art!

For those of you who want to see some Witty Art for real, up close and personal: if you happen to live or visit the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, please pay a visit to coffee bar Ookami, at Burgemeester Meineszplein 19. Located in the area known as Rotterdam West (Middelland).

A very cool place to have a nice hot cup of latte, espresso or a fresh mint-ginger tea - but also because they serve coffe with a mission: to help unemployed yough (often with a bit of a history of living on the edge, so to speak) getting a new chance in life by becoming proper baristas!

And, they display a nice selection of Witty Art. And, you never know, you might run into Miss Witty  herself, as I you can find me there, sitting on one of the cosy tables, having one of those lattes or espresso's and working on some sketches, like my artbook ''My Life In Limbo''.

Want to make sure I am around too, so I can tell you all about Witty Art in person? Then contact me via email or Facebook or Instagram so we can make an appointment!

New updates of 'My Life In Limbo': about the Worlds of Witty Art

Some more progress on my Witty Art Book 'My Life In Limbo', which I started a while back, predominantly to process my thoughts and feelings after losing my house and starting a new life, bascially as a 21st century city nomad.

Since starting with 'My Life In Limbo', mid August, creating the book has helped me to get a grip on myself and my life-in-the transition and also provided me with some new, often surprising insights into the world of Witty Art. It evolved from what I thought would be a collection of random sketches and drawings, into something that resembles some kind of graphic story, told by the characters and creatures that inhabit that world.

I have always felt that the world I create on paper or canvas (or on any other surface, or even in 3D, for that matter) is actually an existing world, somewhere out there in what I call The Great Beyond. Now, that might be in another galaxy, obviously one far, far, FAR away, or even in a parallel universe, though some of you might argue it's a world existing only in my mere imagination. Well, whatever, wherever, it does not matter. Fact is, to me it IS a real life world, and its inhabitants are real life characters with their own personalities and sometimes, I feel like all I have to do is recreate their world for them, almost on their behalf.

Or should I say: worlds, as one actually is not enough for them... 

Elsewhere on this blog, I tried to describe it as follows: 

"Christy's work explores universal human themes, but features bizarre, animalistic, cartoonesque, fable-like creatures. Creatures, coping with life, struggling to survive, clinging on to all they hold dear, or what's left of it. These characters are the main actors, appearing and often re-appearing in series of drawings and/or paintings, each image to be experienced both individually or as a whole.
 
Her work features both a ''light'' and a ''darker'' side. The first being cartoonesque, exploring the grey area between autonomous and illustration art. Powerful, often surrealistic but often surprisingly familiar images through which Christy shares with us her look on life, a world spinning round and round and its inhabitants merely clinging to it. They might look sad, unhappy even but at times they appear to be almost glad to be unhappy. This part of Christy's world harbours no peace for the wicked, but leaves room for Hope.

Then there's a much more darker world, where almost every inch of Hope has disappeared. This world is a beautiful but lonely, unforgiving place, but a world at peace.
 
Most work is created in the no man's land between these two worlds.''

Hope or no hope, light or dark, cartoonesque or grotesque, whatever may be, these worlds and the creatures that live and survive there are real to me, as real as the world I live in - and all other living, breahting, hoping and dying species on this planet called Earth. Somehow, I feel our worlds are not even that far apart. Not at all. 

Not at all, indeed...

So, whenever people look at Witty Art and find it makes them smile or frown or are touched by it in any other way, because they recognize something in it, a feeling, an emotion or even a situation they can relate to, then that makes a very proud Miss Witty indeed. Proud, because I have succeed in making these worlds that are so real and alive to me in my own head, visible and, to some agree, accessible for others. 

And I hope to make them come alive in more than one way, one day. Using different mediums and techniques, different technologies and appliances even. One day, I will look back at this time in my life and find that this little book will have helped me achieve that. Not today, not tomorrow, perhaps not even soon, but ... one day!

One day... I will ;-) 


 

Witty Art is appreciated even by the most feline of creatures!

My Witty Art Book ''My Life In Limbo'' attracts quite a divers but genuinely interested following. It has even achieved its own fandom in the animal world.

Here's one of the most advert fans and followers of Witty Art:: my dear furry feline friend Lord Westenwind. Regal, if not royal and refined, this artistoc(r)at is a great connaisseur of the arts and even owns a few pieces of Witty Art himself.

If you are interested (and especially if you are a lover of cats, black cats in particular) you might want to follow the Lord's daily grooming and other exciting routines on Instagram. 

On rebuilding my Life In Limbo on Rock Bottom and what J.K. Rowling's got to do with it

So, here are more sketches and drawings I made for my Witty Art Book ''My Life In Limbo'', my very own personal reflection of my journey through life since I effectively became homeless. Since losing the house that once had been a trusted home to me, I have been living the life of a 21s century city nomad, or, as I somewhat jokingly call it, the life of a Displaced Diva.

Originally started as a way of being able to keep on drawing and making little sketches and notes for later artwork, as losing my house also meant losing my workplace, this artbook has indeed become a way of sharing my story with the world, in particular with the friends and followers of Witty Art. Or rather: sharing the emotions behind the story, as my work, unavoidably and irreversibly, has been greatly impacted by the fact that my life had been thrown upside down.

As I've written in previous blogposts, the book became some kind of mirror, in which I saw my relationship with my art, with my own creations, reflected and that way I saw my life, my past and present relationships with the people in my life reflected; and the way I dealt with life's challenges - or the way I didn't or didn't dare to. I saw the characters from my artwork drop by, one by one, all those Perfectly Imperfect MisFits that inhabit the World of Witty Art. And each and every single of one of them telling me something about myself I didn't know - or I already knew but didn't want to know. Some loved, some feared, I hold all of them dear, as without them, my world would be empty and my artwork non-existent.

So, writing and drawing this artbook offered me a great deal of insight, not only in how my work will develop further, but also in the relationship between me and my artwork, and, equally important, the relationship between me and the world around me, the people in it - in my life. It helps me to come to terms with things that happened in the past; and to face up to the challenges now - and those yet to come.

For yes, I might be homeless at this very moment, I might be displaced, without a place of myself, I am still not living on the streets, as so many people unfortunately have to. I still have people who look after me, who support and love me. And I might have lost a lot, I feel like I have gained even more as my life has been enriched by the kindness, generosity and care from old and new friends, some which had been complete strangers before.

And, one thing I now know for sure, as corny as it may sound: whatever is taken away from me or will be taken away, I will always have my creativity. My ability to create art. To create my very own World of Witty, and that way, rebuild my life again. 

And when someone very special recently told me: ''You will rebuild your Witty Art Empire on rock bottom'', I had to think of what author J.K. Rowling (of Harry Potter fame, for those of you that have been sleeping under a rock for the last decade or so ;-)) had to say about the ''benefits of failure'', when she addressed the Harvard Alumni Association back in 2008: 

 'So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.'

So, why should I not be able and capable to rebuild my life on my very own rock bottom, while creating my very own Witty Art Book? 

You can read and view J.K. Rowling's full Commencement Address, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,” at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association here. A truly inspirational read for anyone who currently finds him or herself on that place called Rock Bottom. 

I was. I am. So, on and forward I go. 

'My Life In LImbo': how a little book helps me understand my own artwork a bit better

As painfully confronting as it may be, I am getting quite addicted of working on my Witty Art Book 'My Life In Limbo'. Filling each blank page with thoughts and visions, words and images, has become an absolute must for me. Which is good, because that means my creative energy is flowing freely again, without any restrictions or inhibitions. And that means I feel stronger to take on the battle of getting my life back on track again. Or at least strong enough to start venturing out again, making new plans for projects, for a new workspace, and a new place to live as well.

Working on this little book of dreams and nightmares alike also helps me to gain new insights of my own work. It helps me understand a bit better where certain themes and figurines come from, what role they play in my work and where they more or less stand for - or not. Just a bit, mind you, as some characters are just as elusive as they have always been and even for me are just too hard to grasp.

 

Let's just say that I rediscovered how long some of these characters have been around, ever since I was a child. A curious, but shy, withdrawn child who'd rather spend time drawing and writing then going outside to play. Other kids might have liked to venture out, go out on adventures and discovering stuff. I prefered to wander in my own mind and drift of there. So, I might have become a bit more outgoing as an adult, but not that much has changed. 

So, I can safely say that the contours of the World of Witty Art were shaped in those early years of childish wondering and wandering. And it has been my biggest loss, my biggest regret that I have allowed myself to lose that feeling of wondering and wandering during such a huge part of my adult life. 

Having been able to find that back, to find I did not lose it after all, to discover it was still there, has been a bittersweet experience. I lost a lot during that process, too. A process that more or less ended with losing my house. But I gained something so much more important, so vital, so crucial for me to be who I really am: my ability to create this thing I call Witty Art, the world it comprises and the creatures who try to survive there.

(Click on any image to enlarge)