THE GREEN SHOW – Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse

Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo Gallery, Epic Center – September 2011
Working with a GREEN point of view, seventeen Kalamazoo area artists investigated how this might
impact their work. Many have looked to found objects as a source of materials and inspiration.
Others are recycling work that they created earlier in their career.
Still others are inspired by objects found in nature. Show Statement.

Randy Walker, I passed a leaf while falling ... mixed media
Helping the planet can mean recycling, reusing materials, or it can be just plain not wanting to throw stuff out. This show was an opportunity to share what I've done to reuse materials and satisfy all these needs in a creative way.

The panel is from two previous works that never quite made the grade. The cradle for it is pieces cut for other projects or from the scrap pile at Park Trades Center. Next is the use of the wrapping tissue used for the occasional wine bottle in one of those skinny bags, or a gift. I use a matt medium which when dry glues the tissue to the panel. I brush both sides and lay it down...wrinkles, overlaps, tears and all. I do pay attention to the shapes and the rhythm or pattern to some extent.

Next is gesso or a primer over the whole piece and then graphite (a ground pencil lead) is applied to the surface, rubbed in and wiped off. This gives me some idea of what values to use and where, as well as composition.

The rest is using paint, pastel, ink, and lots of exploration to find the right balance and to generate some emotion or feeling. In this piece " ...and I Passed a Leaf While Falling" relates to the day I jumped from a plane with a parachute, and the nature of my perception.

rwalker@randywalker-art.com