oubliette

So my current fascination appears to be making assemblage art. Inspired by my recent clutter trouble, I'm trying to transition from simply arranging my junk nicely on the windowsill to putting it together as artwork.

I've made some half-assed attempts to do this in the past, but this is the first time I've really put effort to it, and the results aren't totally awful. It's interesting; when I draw or paint, the process comes so naturally to me that it's almost like muscle memory. There's not really any thought process involved beyond a pause once or twice to think about the composition. But with this assemblage stuff, everything I add, a twist of wire, a paint color, a texture, I consider. I look at the composition and think, How can I balance this out? What's the significance of this element? I'm enjoying it quite a lot. It makes me feel very good.

Here's what I've been working on recently. It's not finished, though:



It opens, too, but my camera battery runs out really fast for some reason. Dunno. Anyway, here's some closeups:







That last one's a little grainy; sorry. More photos after the battery re-charges.

I feel like the transition between the gold leaf and the green book cover is too stark. I'm not sure what to add to the border to make it a little more gradual. Any ideas?