Archive for the Toni Tiller Category

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I Need Photoshop

Posted in Art, Toni Tiller, Collage, abstract with tags , , , , , , on February 22, 2012 by Toni Tiller

On my last computer I had one of the oldest versions of Photoshop that it could possibly run, and that was fine because all I ever need to do is cropping and little color adjusting most of the time, no big deal. Unfortunately when I upgraded to my shiny new laptop it decided it wanted nothing to do with that PS7, something about incompatible bits, I don’t know, all I know is it doesn’t work so I downloaded GIMP and figured how bad could it be?

It’s bad. It sucks.

It’s clunky, unresponsive, and doing the simplest things takes forever. In short, I hate it. Scanning work is the only way to get it correctly colored, but then all the magazine dots show up, something you don’t see in person, photographing pieces is superior, but without color correction the look washed out and odd. Today the colors I am presenting are subtle in their interaction, so I chose pixely scanning.

Does anyone want to take pity on me and rip me a copy?

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With or Without?

Posted in Art, Collage, Toni Tiller with tags , , , , on February 15, 2012 by Toni Tiller

I like this springy swirly shape that has come up a few times, and usually I stick with a pretty simple formula, black background with two cut pieces on top in two subtly varying values. Then I thought it might be a good opportunity to deviate in color, use the set pattern to put that part of the thinking aside and focus on the color combinations. In theory this was fine, but when I applied my usual formula it looked a little…what? Too spare? I don’t know, but it just isn’t really working for me.

So I added another layer, and now wonder if it is too busy?

Any thoughts?

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A Recent Mini Magnet And A Trade

Posted in Art, Collage, Photography, Toni Tiller with tags , , , , , , on February 8, 2012 by Toni Tiller

I recently sent out some pieces to my Twitter friend Tim Severson, who has photography, video, and design company he shares with his wife Melissa in Texas. I really enjoy their work and they were kind enough to send me 2 prints (it was supposed to be one, but I couldn’t decide and they surprised me with two) which I am looking forward to hanging. I have the spot already picked out.

and here is one of the mini magnets I sent them.

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F-yeah Tumblr!

Posted in Art, Toni Tiller with tags , , on February 1, 2012 by Toni Tiller

I’ve had a Tumblr account for awhile now but never really used it until a few weeks ago, because quite frankly I couldn’t figure out what the fuck it was for.

Is is a blog? I have blog. Actually I have two, so what do I need another blog for? But then in one of my late night fits of insomniatic boredom I started checking out other people’s Tumblrs and things kind of clicked. It doesn’t have to be a blog where I think about stuff, and then write it, and add images and links and whatever…I mean, it could be, it has all those options, but I found myself using it as just a straight image aggregator*. Somewhere to just grab and share images that amuse my brain with no real rhyme or reason, a place to please myself with creepy gifs, art I like, and a shit ton of cats.

*This is similar but different from Pinterest, which is another blog post in itself.

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Automatic Writing

Posted in Art, J. D. Hastings, Toni Tiller with tags , , on January 25, 2012 by Toni Tiller

This week my mind has been racing with all kinds of thoughts, usually unfriendly ones, but hey it happens from time to time and when it does one of the most soothing things to do (besides cleaning everything) is to find something repetitive that distracts through a form of monotony. I had a little side project from JD tucked away for just such an occasion, transcribing lengthy text.

What I really loved about this was it was all text I would have never really read on my own, and even better still haven’t. Even though I faithfully copied Lovecraft and Robespierre faithfully I couldn’t really tell you what either was about. I was so focused on one word at a time that they never formed any cohesive sentence in my own mind. I do remember writing the word “liberty” and “virtue” quite a bit.

As far as physical process there was a learning curve. Find a pen, it is the wrong pen, look for another, remember how to write clearly, contend with adverse paper textures, wonder about placement…all of this kept me plenty distracted from the obnoxious chatter of my own mind for awhile, but I’ll be needing more paper soon.

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Fair Use

Posted in abstract, Art, Toni Tiller with tags , , , on January 18, 2012 by Toni Tiller

It’s been a long time since I have taken any photographs of people, and when I do they are usually people I know very well, but a recent interaction made me wonder what the fair use of pictures of strangers would be. I don’t take pictures for advertisements, or to sell, so it’s not something I ever really think much about but since the question came up I threw it out to my good friends on Twitter and Matthew Best was kind enough to provide me with this very useful article which answered all of my questions and then some. Looks like as long as I am in public and not invading a private space then I am in the clear.

In the mean time you should check out some of his work here. Good stuff.

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New Camera

Posted in Art, Photography, Toni Tiller with tags , , , on January 11, 2012 by Toni Tiller

Why is it that all electronics decide to crap out at the same time? My Olympus, like my previous laptop, has been dying a slow death for the last year or so. It had gotten to the point of being so unreliable that it was essentially unusable, and now with all the problems the company is having along with my personal experience with their products I thought it would be best to go in a new direction. Lucky for me I have a few camera nerd friends and after a little consulting decided to go with this.

So far it’s great, a bit heftier than my previous ones, but it also feels more substantial. Now the only problem is that I have been without a decent camera for so long I don’t know what I want to take photos of…so here is a cat.

When in doubt always go with a cat, it is the default setting for internet communications.

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Mini Mini’s

Posted in Art, Collage, Toni Tiller with tags , , , , on January 4, 2012 by Toni Tiller

When I was out west visiting with Mr. Hastings I noticed a stack of unused magnets that have been sitting there for 4 years (I know this because I stuck them there 4 years ago) and I asked if I could have them. I probably could have just thrown them in my bag and they would have never been missed, but it’s always polite to ask.

These are 2 inches by 3 inches.

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Not Quite Art

Posted in Art, Toni Tiller with tags on December 28, 2011 by Toni Tiller

But I do need this to make it, my old HP P.O.S. kinda crapped out. This one is much more friendly.

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Maps

Posted in Art, Collage, Toni Tiller with tags , , , on December 21, 2011 by Toni Tiller

In my search to find bigger things than magazines to cut up I came across an old map and thought I’d give that a try. I started by cutting out the perimeter of the land masses (the Netherlands were a bitch) and then started doing my interior cuts. This is essentially the exact opposite of what I would normally do because making the exterior cuts can usually weaken the structure of the paper, making interior cuts more difficult. In this case the paper was so large and of a more durable quality this has not been an issue so far.

The main thing I have learned from this so far is don’t take a photo of a complicated piece on a glass top table, with over head lighting, while using a cell phone camera.

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So I Was Hanging Out

Posted in abstract, Art, Collage, Toni Tiller with tags , , , on December 14, 2011 by Toni Tiller

Working on collages, scalpel in hand and one of my friends was telling me a story about how he used to work on his grandfathers pig farm as a kid. He said his job was to sit around and hand castrate the little boy piglets with one swift, well placed cut and sometimes he’d have to do about 600 a day assembly line style.

While he was telling me I ended up making this.

I swear I didn’t do it on purpose.

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I’m Back (And So Is The Feeling In My Index Finger)

Posted in Art, J. D. Hastings, Toni Tiller with tags , , , , , on December 7, 2011 by Toni Tiller

Every year I have the opportunity to run away to the middle of no where, take a break from daily life, weekly blogging, and any art making at all. I love making art but I love my sanctioned break from it just as much, there is a relief to being able to put it all aside and not feel it hanging over your head. That time ends up being useful to reflect and consider the previous years efforts and loosely plan what might come next.

This year I had some time to work with JD Hastings, where we thought about ways to team up using my marks and his quilting. One of the things we tried was using some of his pre-painted sheets and layering the same design repeatedly. It’s not something I can do with my usual materials because of the thinness of magazine paper, but the thickness of the painted paper means I can trace and reuse the same squiggle as many times as we like. He took over the color choices in these while I took care of the mark making and cutting. The enduring challenge in working on these came in the form of a very numb index finger, a consequence of the pressure applied to get through the materials. It took 3 days to wear off.

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Two For One

Posted in Art, events, Toni Tiller with tags , , on October 5, 2011 by Toni Tiller

Those that have been with us for awhile might remember that I am in charge of the art department for Minks to Sinks. It is essentially a giant tag sale and I spend days in my little tent pricing a few thousand frames and framed posters, and when I’m lucky a few original pieces. It’s a tight space but I’m happy to be there because without fail a monsoon hits us every sale. It’s our version of a rain dance and we often joke that we should take it on the road to drier climates because we are sure to bring the clouds with us. I took this from the safety of my spot, check it out.

It was a mess, but we all just keep our grease pencils in hand and carry on.

Every sale I allow myself to choose two pieces to bring home, it is always the very best and the very worst piece I can find. This time I think I managed to combine them, what do you think of my treasure? I think at 2 bucks you can’t beat it.

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Heineken Mini

Posted in Art, Collage, Toni Tiller with tags , on September 28, 2011 by Toni Tiller

I’m still working on these minis in between experimenting with larger paper not quite ready for viewing. This color combination was provided by a beer ad. Now I wish I had more time to say something about it, but it’s Minks to Sinks again and I really need to be down at the tents getting rained on. See you guys later.

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Are Those Flesh Colored Pants?

Posted in Art, landscape, Toni Tiller with tags , , , , on September 14, 2011 by Toni Tiller

We had 8 days of no power after the hurricane, which isn’t as horrible as it sounds, but I guess maybe my next door neighbor got bored or something because he took it into his head to put on a little unwanted show for me while I was on my trampoline.

I’m not the kind of chick that gets thrown into a tizzy at the mere sight of a nude man, but there was definitely some creeper element to this situation. Trampoline time is sacred to me, it’s where I get my exercise and work out problems. It affords me the best view of my property and gives me the opportunity to monitor progress from an aerial advantage, so I was deeply annoyed at having this precious position compromised. My first thought was to move it to another location, but that is kind of impossible because it’s enormous, and I almost entirely forgot that I had it installed in place for just that reason, so lifting it anywhere was out. Screening seemed like a better idea, but I kind of hate manufactured fencing and I really didn’t want to spend money because someone else was being a dick. Or showing a dick. Whatever.

Instead I noticed that there was a small copse of trees that arced around it and thought, “why don’t I just build that up a bit?”, seemed like a workable (and free) solution. I strung some plastic cording between two trees at three levels and stood long, narrow, scavenged branches against it, then used nylon twine to bind them in an easy weave. Now wouldja look at that, a 10 foot tall fence that blends in with the natural landscape!

During the parts where the support trees were a little further apart I added some extra durability by making a chain out of the cording, in this case speaker wire was chosen for the flexibility, the plastic coating, and the ability to hold a knot.

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Once the initial structure is finished I plan on going back and staggering a second layer across the front of fill in the gaps and cover all the ugly wires. Hopefully my neighbor can keep his pants on in the meantime.

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Actual Size (I Think)

Posted in Art, Collage, Toni Tiller with tags , , , , on September 7, 2011 by Toni Tiller

During one of the discussions on how best to approach reproducing these for the internet the point was brought up that they look different at their actual size. My thought at the time was to post them larger so they would be more easily seen, but that also magnifies the flaws that aren’t as visible in person. Now I have a 17 inch screen, and I am sure that if yours is bigger, or smaller it might throw this whole idea out of whack, but if that is the case you can just grab your average 2.5 x 3.5 inch baseball trading card and imagine this image over it. They are small.

I like this one by the way, it’s going in the direction I was hoping for more of in my last post. The lines are delicate loops and the gradated pink over the gray adds an uneasiness that reminds me of glare on a photo, but which is really only the color as it is.

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Yes and No

Posted in Art, Collage, Toni Tiller with tags , , , on August 24, 2011 by Toni Tiller

I’m sticking with the minis for a little while because they are giving me a platform to figure out how to eventually work with these on a larger scale, potentially by combining multiple small pieces, or finding bigger paper (posters perhaps?) and cutting that.

These are two experiments from this week where I wanted to use more limited colors, and bolder, thicker patterns. There were as always mixed results, this one below is not working.

It’s too blocky, lacks elegance, the cuts aren’t that great and the top of the perimeter is askew. It’s a big fat NO.

This was more successful, the shapes were more graceful, the pop of color behind the gray pushes it forward, and keeping the thickness of lines similar kept them from competing.

I learned something here, I am not exactly sure how to articulate it but it will come back to me in peripheral awareness as new ones are made.

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In Progress

Posted in Art, Toni Tiller with tags , , on August 3, 2011 by Toni Tiller

Yesterday JD posted a photo of his ever so slightly messy workspace on his Tumblr feed, a scene I am familiar with from occasional visits.

I’m not even going to try to lie, I looked at that photo and I wanted to fly to Berkeley just so I could clean it all up, and while I was out there I could stop by my friend Andy’s new place and probably clean something there too.  I haven’t been out to visit yet but it is a pretty safe bet that there is something going on because he is the one from this post that was responsible for leaving all of this behind.

That is a lot of stuff.

I have managed to trim it down to this so far.

Read more »

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The Life And Times Of Matvey Matveich

Posted in Art, events, Toni Tiller with tags , , on July 20, 2011 by Toni Tiller

I actually worked on some art this week, but not enough to show you all anything. A likely story, I know, but I swear it is true. But in other news I’ll be participating in a show next week (along with Tom Bennett), and I will also be hanging it, and by hanging it I mean pointing at walls and telling sweaty guys to “put that one up there…no, more that way, um yeah. wait. no, lets put it back over here…”

Here’s the run down on the show, a fun idea built around a fictional person.

“DUC presents a pre-launch affair celebrating the Life and Times of Matvey Matveich, with original art pieces and performances.

We found the old suitcase behind an abandoned train station in Stavropol containing an old VHS, a damaged journal, and some bank statements. Upon viewing the tape we realized we had come across the belongings of a very mysterious individual.

Who is Matvey Matveich? Where is he now? Eleven artists, assembled under the order of the grand Duke, set out to discover just that.

Guest List: Co-hosted by Patrick Duffy, Jason Thome, Geoffry Payton, and Fixx Invictus.

Featuring: Alexcalibur, Fixx Invictus, Bretlan Weaver, James Curtright, Jazmine Catasus, Joanne Weaver, Therese + Joel, Toni Tiller, Tom Bennet, Paul Cupo, Gio Black Peter, Emil Martirosian, Nikita Shoshensky.

Live performance by: Alexcalibur, Joanne Weaver, and Fixx Invictus.

Theatre Bar, located in TriBeCa, is Albert Trummer’s cocktail fantasy world where Moulin Rouge meets Death & Co. A true playground for artists, and drinkers alike to meet and create the moments that make New York the extraordinary city that it is.”

More info at ducsite.com/events

Hope to see some of you there!

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Top Secret!

Posted in Art, Collage, Toni Tiller with tags , on July 13, 2011 by Toni Tiller

I am participating in a Twitter print exchange that is being organized by the very cool @laeliamitchell and 7 other people, including our own @j_d_hastings and some of our other Twitter pals some of whom I don’t know at all. I love projects like this, it’s such a fun way to connect with other artists, especially the ones I don’t know because there will be nothing but surprises arriving in the mail and I’m always excited by the prospect of fleshing out my art collection even further. Since I don’t want to spoil the surprise of what I am making for anyone else you will just have to wait*.

*There really is an art swap, and I really don’t want to spoil the surprise, but this also may or may not be a minor ruse to cover up the fact that I have no art this week. Maybe. You’ll never know for sure. But if you really have your heart set on seeing something you can go check out my ex-husbands latest project, a graphic novel just getting off the ground about the joys of being a professional bird watcher here.

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