Two collages and how they came to be

Below are a couple of collages I've done recently. I'm pretty much not too good at collage, I know that and it is OK. Here are some really good ones. I read "how to collage" tutorials, and it seems that most people have an idea beforehand on what their collage will be. They decide on a theme, or even draw out. I don't do it that way. Maybe that's why my collages aren't as good, but they have a lot of meaning for me. They are more like an expression of an emotion that words can't convey.

What I do is flip through magazines, or newspapers, or my scrap pile of papers. When an image catches my eye, I look at it for a second. If an idea pops up into my mind I cut it out. At that point I'm not sure where it's going, so I continue flipping through. The one below got started when I was flipping through magazines and my eye was drawn to the moon. As I was cutting it out, the lyric to Credence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" came to mind. OK, that's a theme.

I thought the lake of burning coals seemed like it would go with a bad moon rising. And when I saw the man covering the woman's eyes, I thought about how Satan covers our eyes, deceiver that he is. And his 'tentacles' came to being when I saw a National Geographic shot from the air of windswept sculpted sand dunes.

So...Artist statement of this collage: "Satan deceives us by covering our eyes, which does not allow us to see the Truth, which is Jesus. Satan's tentacles grab on, keeping us more firmly in his grip. While Satan has his hold on us, we delight in the sins of the world while at the same time dwelling in turbulent waters. And if we choose to remain in that state, the lake of burning fire awaits. This is the age of a Bad Moon Rising, and many are deceived."

This one: my friend gave me a Christmas present of the amaryllis in a box. After I planted it, I looked at the box, scanning it for art possibilities. (This is the life of a scrounger, everything can be something else). I liked the fifties aspect of the design and I cut out the flower and the title. I took a leap from there, keeping with the light hearted theme and the colors. I continued with the vegetation idea, making it be the frame. I used the black and white heather at the top right to contrast with the color of an amaryllis. Colorful butterflies flit from flower to flower. And the Yuban and Darjeeling are beverages that I drink to wake me up, sort of seeing the world colorlessly until I have the caffeine! Acrylic paint (both flat and metallic), and gesso provide the background.

Bad Moon Rising
Credence Clearwater

I see the bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin.
I see bad times today.

Chorus:
Don’t go around tonight,
Well, it’s bound to take your life,
There’s a bad moon on the rise.

I hear hurricanes ablowing.
I know the end is coming soon.
I fear rivers over flowing.
I hear the voice of rage and ruin.

Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we’re in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.

Scientists are baffled

Freak science news roundup.
Jellyfish attack, bedbugs attack, tiger attacks, birds flop to the ground, camels flop to the ground, comets explode, mud appears. A freaky month of December!

Six hurt as tornado hits London
Up to 150 houses and many cars were damaged when the freak weather hit the Kensal Rise area.

Dead camels still puzzle scientists
31 dec 2007
The several thousands of dead camels in North Africa and the Middle East have baffled scientists who are probing toxins, antibiotic pollution, viruses and even climate change as possible causes.

After a decade, bird flu still baffles
28 December 2007
Baffled scientists first watched a mysterious virus called H5N1 jump from birds to humans a decade ago in Hong Kong, killing six people and forcing the territory to slaughter its entire poultry population.

45 Birds Found Dead in Staten Island
December 23, 2007
On Friday, dozens of birds fell out of the sky and died on a street in the Great Kills section of Staten Island. Residents grew concerned as, the Staten Island Advance reported, birds "flopped and twitched...as they breathed their last"

Another bird mystery
New cluster of deaths on South Shore
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Staten Island, N.Y. -- Had not 50 dead and dying birds dropped from the sky over Great Kills on Friday, the sight three days later of a smaller cluster of dead birds in Eltingville might not have alarmed Staten Islanders.

Hundreds Injured in Mass Jellyfish Attack on Brazilian Beach
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sao Paolo, Brazil — Nearly 300 swimmers looking to cool off from a heat wave were stung by swarms of jellyfish that filled the shallow waters off a southeastern beach city, Brazilian media reported Sunday.

Mysterious mud waves found on Arctic seafloor
Surprise discovery of accumulated sediment baffles scientists
Fri., Dec. 14, 2007
San Francisco - Along parts of the Arctic Ocean floor, currents have driven mud into huge piles, with some "mud waves" nearly 100 feet across... The mud waves, however, were an unexpected surprise. The scientists aren't sure what formed them.

Comet Holmes brings brief burst of brightness to Orlando area
December 9, 2007
The strange thing about Comet Holmes is that you weren't supposed to be able to see it. The fuzzy blob in the northeast sky has scientists and astronomy buffs buzzing as they try to understand the comet's extraordinary transformation this fall from a dim mark visible only through high-powered telescopes to a bright light visible to many with the naked eye.

Bed bug epidemic hits New York City
31/12/2007
New York City is suffering from an unprecedented epidemic of blood sucking bed bugs, it has emerged. The number of infestations has increased more than tenfold in the last three years and no neighbourhood, no matter how upmarket, is immune.