No Matter What Shape - The Archive

Tearing, pasting & painting paper -

2011-11-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

"MaCha Bad Bar"collage by Mick Mather- click image to view full size - The cropped and manipulated image that you can see here at MickMathersARTblog raised a question or two about whether it was "traditional" or "digital" collage, so I thought I'd post the original here. This piece is decidedly a torn paper collage done in the traditional method. Enjoy.

Thursday Challenge: Garden -

2011-08-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

"Brand New Garden Coat"digital photograph by Mick Mather"... cultivate the garden for the noseand the eyes will take care of themselves ..."- Robert Louis Stevenson

From the Cube, a bowl -

2011-08-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

"Paper Bowl"digital photograph by Mick Mather- click image to view full size -After making my paper from the remains of "Erosion Cube", I decided to add some yellow daffodil petals and some leaves to the remaining pulp to make a bit more paper and this paper bowl. A thin sheet was laid out, pressed and then layered over a form - in this case a light bulb. I forgot to oil the bulb for an easy

Papermaking -

2011-07-31T15:46:00.001-07:00

"Making Some Paper"photomontage by Mick Mather- click image to view full size -Using my "Erosion Cube" and some household items such as the blender, 5-gallon tub, a plastic container (that brought leftovers home from the diner) and a mesh onion bag, I made some paper. See the full story and the final, fully dried result of the cube at MickMathersARTblog.

The original -

2010-12-30T11:28:00.001-08:00

"Winter - Original Photograph"photograph by Mick MatherI thought I should put up the original photograph that was the basis for this image posted at Illustration Friday on Christmas Eve, 2010. As many of you know, my fascination with manipulating photographs and digital collage continues unabated. Enjoy, and Happy New Year.

Who knew?

2010-03-11T10:49:00.001-08:00

"Double Exposure"digital photograph by Mick MatherI had no idea that a digital camera could produce a double exposure. I don't have a clue to what caused this accident (low battery power perhaps) but here's a most strange and disconcerting photograph of my youngest granddaughter, Leighlund. A manipulated version can be seen here at MickMathersARTblog.

Adrift, again -

2010-02-12T11:56:00.001-08:00

"Adrift (Alternate Version)"manipulated digital photograph by Mick MatherAlthough I like this version better, I found it a bit too cold as compared to this version posted at Illustration Friday on February 12th, 2010. As you'll see, the windmill isn't evident in the other image and I thought some of you might enjoy seeing it.

The night before -

2009-10-30T16:10:00.001-07:00

"Trick or Treat II, 2009"digital photograph by Mick MatherIn my early teen years the Hallowe'en tradition always began the night before. I and one or two of my pals would dress up and go 'round trick or treating in the far reaches of our "official" territory. Mostly we had doors slammed in our faces, suffered a few lectures about our cheek and our age ... but a rare few kind-hearted souls would

Jane -

2009-08-23T04:12:00.000-07:00

"Rediscovering Jane (Before & After Version)"manipulated digital photograph by Mick Mather- original photograph by John Mora -- click on image to view full size -On the left is the initial cropping of John Mora's photograph and on the right is the end result seen here at MickMathersARTblog.

Shake, shake, shake -

2009-08-09T10:06:00.001-07:00

"Salt and Pepper (Original Drawing)"sketch by Mick MatherThis is the original drawing pulled from one of my sketchbooks that was the basis for the block-relief print seen at MickMathersARTblog. Jump over to have a look if you haven't already seen it.

From a 1994 sketchbook -

2009-08-01T16:40:00.001-07:00

"Lamp & Glasses (Original Sketch)"drawing by Mick MatherWhen I was making attempts to gain competent drawing skills during the 1990's, I carried a sketchbook and ink drawing pens everywhere. A favorite pastime was to do a drawing of whatever was on the table at the restaurant-of-the-week either before or after dinner. These early sketches, resolved quickly in public places, went a long way toward

"COLD STREETS": The Movie -

2009-05-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

"'COLD STREETS' - The Movie"digital collage by Mick Mather- click on image to view full size -After getting a delightful comment from hpy for this post at MickMathersARTblog, I decided to go forward and create a movie poster. Get your popcorn and candy, Hélène, the first reel is about to begin!

More BIG sky -

2009-05-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

"So Big the Sky I"digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather- click on image to view full size -Here's the first manipulated version of the piece posted to Thursday Challenge for this week's theme, big. The other version is posted at MickMathersARTblog if you aren't already aware. I really like both although the pea soup clouds of the storm seem very foreboding and give it a slight edge as

Stimulus Package II -

2009-05-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

"Stimulus Package II (Original Photograph #1)"digital photograph by Mick MatherThere's a sequel to Seth Apter's project, Disintegration Collaboration, that's due on August 1st. I have plenty of time to come up with something as explained here when I posted the before and after composite of my part of DisCo. As mentioned, one way for me to go is with a series of digital prints based upon

Disintegration Admiration Project: Final -

2009-05-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

"Stimulus Package I (Final Documentation View)"digital photograph by Mick Mather- click on image to view full size -Seth Apter's Disintegration Collaboration calls for final documentations today and here's mine. Sometime between installation and March 31st the project achieved it's objective, maybe. I suspect that the piece was pulled down by human hands and thrown away as opposed to being blown

The orginal photograph -

2009-03-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

"Red Shift (Original Photograph)"photograph by Mick Mather- click image to view full size -Alright Lisa, this one's for you. As promised, the original, untouched photo with absolutely no manipulation beyond sizing.

Disintegration Admiration: The Movie -

2009-03-11T16:16:00.000-07:00

"Disintegration Admiration: The Movie"digital video by Mick MatherI installed "Stimulus Package I", for Seth's project, Disintegration Admiration, this afternoon during a bit of a lull as a cold front blew fiercely through the BIG Back Yard. I took a number of documentation photos and then, as the thing moved vigorously in the wind, I decided to shoot a short movie in the event that it was

B & W version of the original -

2009-03-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

"Silverback"digitally manipulated photograph by Mick Mather- click image to view full size -I thought I ought to show a cleaner version of this photograph posted at MickMathersARTblog and Thursday Challenge for the week's theme: windows and doors. As most of you who know me will understand, manipulating photographs is what drives me and that's the one you'll see over there. If there's any

Another look -

2009-02-28T15:22:00.000-08:00

"Five of Five I"digitally manipulated image by Mick MatherI was tagged by long time friend, Lesley Boyce-Kiss, to upload a photograph. The instructions said: go to the fifth folder, to the fifth photo on your computer and upload it no matter what it is. I'm confused, since the fifth folder on my (C:)-drive happens to be for my scanner and the fifth image isn't a photograph at all but a file

The Orginal -

2009-01-30T19:11:00.001-08:00

"The Secret Shed - Original Photo"photograph by Mick MatherHere's the original of "The Secret Shed" that can be found here at MickMathersARTblog. Once again, Blogger software automatically scales and resizes an image that's larger than the available pixel width in this frame of the weblog. Click on image to see it full size.

NEW from The Trinity Series -

2008-11-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

"Trinity #15, The Readymade"digital photograph by Mick MatherHere's the original photograph I promised to show that resulted in this manipulation. Full details about the piece can be found at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG.

From the BIG back yard -

2008-10-28T16:13:00.001-07:00

"West to East - Original Photograph"digital photograph by Mick MatherHere's another original photograph taken in the BIG back yard after a fog bank had worked it's magic on the flora and fauna. I wonder, are spiders, more at - spider webs, fauna? Anyway, the manipulated version of this photo can be seen here at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG.

Land Art Project -

2008-10-16T14:56:00.000-07:00

"Sky Box I - Collapsed"land art sculpture by Mick MatherAs mentioned, I was fairly certain that the wind would take this piece apart sooner than later and that's exactly what happened. Even as I believe that wind damage is a certainty, my instinct tells me that some bird quite likely attempted to take a look, perhaps even shelter, in Sky Box I. Also, as mentioned, Sky Box II is in the planning

Land Art Project -

2008-10-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

"Sky Box I, Plate 4"land art sculpture by Mick MatherWhile perfect weather was available I went ahead with construction using the foundation shown and documented yesterday. Just as I thought I might, I moved to larger twigs and branches to create this shoulder high, 1-foot square box. With the extra weight, it began to tilt, one corner came undone and more tying, using long grass, was necessary.

Land Art Project -

2008-10-12T04:10:00.000-07:00

"Sky Box Test I"land art sculpture by Mick MatherI began testing the construction of my next land art project, Sky Box, today. It will be placed in a Huckleberry Bush no more than a good spit away from Kings Court Cube. This foundation has been created from the straw-like stalks of wild grain amid just enough wind for me to realize that securing the base is going to be a requirement that will

Land Art Project -

2008-10-11T05:34:00.000-07:00

"Kings Court Cube - Aerial Site View"Live Search Maps, Birds Eye Satellite ViewIt occurred to me the other day that I ought to have some finality to this series of posts that document the Kings Court Cube land art sculpture project. As promised, I posted a completed documentation photograph at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG so drop in over there and have a peek if you haven't already. This little bit of

Land Art Project -

2008-09-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

"Kings Court Cube - In Progress, Day Four"land art sculpture by Mick MatherThe rainy weather has kept me from working on the cube for the past two days. This morning, with a medium fog lending its ambiance to the muted, morning light, I went out to see how it withstood these minimal atmospheric changes. I actually added about a half dozen more pieces but working with the available materials in

Land Art Project -

2008-09-25T15:57:00.001-07:00

"Kings Court Cube - In Progress, Day Three"land art sculpture by Mick MatherI may have overestimated the amount of available material on site ... I still have a foot to go and it's taking longer and longer to gather appropriate branches with which to complete the piece. It looks like rain for the next few days and that will put a crimp in my work schedule. I hope to have it completed by Sunday if

Land Art Project -

2008-09-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

"Kings Court Cube - In Progress, Day Two"land art sculpture by Mick MatherAfter two days of construction my thinking harks back to an old Lee Dorsey album. I bet I listened to that LP at least a hundred times and one of my favorites was a song called "Work, Work, Work" that was written by Allen Toussaint song. Now, one might suggest that something a bit more modern, like "Workin' For A Living" by

Land Art Project -

2008-09-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

"Kings Court Cube - In Progress, Day One"land art sculpture by Mick MatherI'll post the finished work at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG of course, but the work record during construction of the cube will be documented here. For a peek at the digital study that inspired this public artwork, have a peek here.

Onondaga Earth Corps: Save the Creek Sculpture -

2008-07-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

"Save the Creek"sculpture by Onondaga Earth Corps TeamHere's a peek at the sculpture created by a 7-member team of community minded teenagers during the month of April. Silly me, I've misplaced all of the paperwork so I can't list the names of this terrific group of kids who really worked hard to make this public art piece a reality. The work is made of "found" materials that were taken from

Walking in the steps of Turner -

2008-06-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

"Fierce (Alternate Version)"digital collage by Mick MatherThe first version posted of this piece can be found here at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG where I mentioned that I might post this piece. Being a big fan of JMW Turner, this piece evokes memory of some of his darker paintings. For that reason alone I prefer this version but I was also correct to post the other and find it the stronger of the two

NEW from The Birdhouse Series -

2008-06-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

"Birdhouse IX (Alternate Version)"digitally manipulated drawing by Mick MatherAs mentioned in today's post at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG, I have this alternate version of the latest image in this series. I actually like this one better but, at this point, I feel much more strongly about keeping the series colorful. That may change one day and, for now at least, if you're reading this you were interested

NEW from The Birdhouse Series -

2008-05-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

"Birdhouse III (Alternate Version)"digitally manipulated tempera-on-paper painting by Mick MatherI'm quietly posting this version of "Birdhouse III" that was posted yesterday at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG. You can see the original posted version here.

Lelainia L. Lloyd Photograph -

2008-05-04T09:21:00.001-07:00

"The Birdhouse"photograph by Lelainia L. LloydIt's been a while since I talked with the fabulous Lelainia L. Lloyd and, finally, I'm able to post this original photo that set me along the path of a wonderful new series. It was posted at her fine blog, Tattered Edge, where I had hoped to link this post; please do pop in at her place to see some fabulous assemblage and other marvelous work. You can

Old skool -

2008-04-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

"The Girls at the Office (Alternate Version)"digital collage by Mick MatherAs mentioned at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG this is the version that was posted there most of the day. It kept bothering me so I took it down and replaced it with yet another version.

Tempera-on-paper original -

2008-04-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

"Summer Air Travel Likely"tempera-on-paper painting by Mick MatherAs mentioned at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG, here's the original painting (inspired by Candy Pegram over at her wonderful blog Panels, Portals & Pop) that resulted in this digitally manipulated version.

Alternate Version for Illustartion Friday: Fail -

2008-04-12T13:22:00.001-07:00

"The Epic Fail"digital collage by Mick MatherAs mentioned at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG, I had two ideas for this week's Illustration Friday theme of fail. You can see the other version here. With this post, it's the somewhat hilarious idea that failure has a superlative usage, hence the title used. With that in mind, how much more superlative might the epic fail be if there was a magazine that students

Gestural drawing: a quick study -

2008-04-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

"Mick's Glasses"pencil sketch by Mick MatherLast week I participated in Career Day at one of our local High Schools. My presentation was a general discussion of drawing & illustrating by hand vs computer generated work and how both relate to individual fields in real life. Such as: graphic art, design, architecture, illustration and fine art, to name a few. Each student was encouraged to take

NEW from The Telephone Series -

2008-03-08T15:15:00.000-08:00

"Telephone #5"monotype by Mick MatherHere's another image from The Telephone Series - "Telephone #20" and a group of thumbnails can be seen here at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG - that was the precursor to The Toast Series. I talk about it here, where you can also see "Toast #7" from that series ... take a peek.

Little hands, little drawings -

2008-02-16T09:43:00.001-08:00

"3 Drawings" ink drawings by Leighlund Ruth VincettAs I mentioned here one day last week, I've been playing around with a number of my youngest granddaughter's drawings. I do have some of these works completed and the newest can be seen here as part of The Mister Existence Series, an ongoing, tongue-in-cheek body of work related to a brother, a sister and their dogs. Eventually, as I've also

Ahead of the curve -

2008-02-12T05:03:00.001-08:00

"No Waitin' G #1"stressed paper collage by Mick MatherAs I mentioned in this post on Sunday, here's the original stressed paper collage that resulted in that very "op art" image appearing at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG. To begin with, stressing paper is something I've been doing for quite a few years now - both in my painting and in certain collage pieces. For this piece, what I mean by stressing is a

Pop art -

2008-02-05T07:32:00.001-08:00

"Sister Existence and Her Pop Art Masterpiece"digital painting by Mick MatherJust a quick post that references the piece at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG today. You can see the newest image from The Mister Existence Series here.

Tammy, aka blondestrawberry -

2008-02-03T06:04:00.000-08:00

"The Purpose Driven Life (Original Version)"torn paper collage by Mick MatherAs I mention in this post at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG, I sent a letter to Tammy - aka blondestrawberry - with this torn paper collage in the middle of it. Since I find nearly impossible to resist manipulating almost all of the images I create over there, I often put alternate versions and original, untouched examples here.

Every photgraph is now a great photograph -

2008-01-31T07:01:00.000-08:00

"Cornfield"photograph by Ann BallardThis is the original photo by my good friend and poet, Ann Ballard. You can see the manipulated image at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG or at Thursday Challenge. Now that we have such a wide variety of photo editing and manipulating software available, any photograph can be turned into something much more pleasing, hopefully. In my case, photography was always a medium

My old friend -

2008-01-24T13:04:00.000-08:00

"Old Man in the Sink"photograph by Mick MatherHere's the other photograph that was mentioned at today's post at MICKMATHERSARBLOG. It was tough choice between this and another tree for the weekly post at Thursday Challenge. I love this tree and it's been the subject of a number of photographs and a few drawings over the years. Sadly, it's gone now. Victim of developers who built a number of patio

A peek at the first layer -

2008-01-21T08:43:00.000-08:00

"Complicated (Original Photograph)"photograph by Mick MatherIf you were just looking at the finished image at my daily weblog, MICKMATHERSARTBLOG, this is the original photograph of a children's toy that was taken at a dentists office. It's a little bit dark and the process of cropping and resizing leaves a diffused, smoky-looking set of shadows behind. So the color balance was modified, making

a HAPPY NEW YEAR sentiment for youse -

2007-12-30T16:51:00.000-08:00

"...AND"- click image for larger view -image by Sam Williams- from twohundredby200: issue 8 -As we begin the countdown to a fresh start and the beginning of a brand new year, I found this image to be somewhat telling, both as a commentary on certain recent events in 2007 as well as a good bit of solid advice for 2008. Before I close with the obvious, I do want to take a moment to sing the praises

Forward thinking -

2007-11-19T15:04:00.001-08:00

"Antarctica Gate"digital collage by Mick MatherI was surfing around in things magazine over the weekend and for a short time today - it's a beautiful space for anyone interested in architecture and/or the built environment of all kinds. I stumbled across the acknowledged futurist and genius, Syd Mead, and was thus pushed in the direction of tootling my own horn a little bit. Before I do, thanks

Another look -

2007-11-03T05:51:00.000-07:00

"The Black Hats - Alternate Version #1"digital collage by Mick MatherI was feeling a bit off center yesterday and not up to posting this alternate version of the image posted at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG for Illustration Friday. It's a bit easier to see the pun suggested by the title since the burnt match on the right isn't clearly recognizable with the extra filtering and layers. :)

Urban Art Rangers -

2007-10-28T10:09:00.001-07:00

Urban Art Ranger Information Flyerby Joanna Spitzner- a project of the Public Arts Task Force -I thought I'd post this because I think it's such a great idea. One of the things that I'm constantly faced with at my job is almost exactly the same as regards getting out there and communicating with a diverse community. While my own efforts may be more like preaching to the choir, this sort of

Wild root -

2007-10-22T07:04:00.000-07:00

"Wild: Original Photograph"photograph by Terry WalterThe annual visit from Aunt Terry also brought a bundle of terrific photographs taken on one of those Alaskan Cruises that have become so popular in the Era of Green. Forgive that I repeat the information from MICKMATHERSARTBLOG again here. All I really meant to do was show the original photo seen at today's post. This is untouched other than

A tribute to the Finnish Sisters: Part II -

2007-10-20T10:45:00.000-07:00

"Finnish Cottage - Study #1"fractal flame by Mick MatherIf you got here from MICKMATHERSARTBLOG, here are four (4) progressive studies that make up today's post over there. This is the original crop taken from a flame in one of my fractal generators where the only manipulation was to resize it for my working frame. That left things really grainy, jaggedly and loose, a lot like a sketch using

My Desktop -

2007-10-10T06:05:00.000-07:00

"My Desktop"print screen by Mick MatherI was tagged by HPY this morning along with 5 others at her blog. I don't do a lot of these tagging things - in fact, I still owe one to somebody - but this one, with all of the TOP SECRET covers seemed fun. Since I'm supposed to tag 5 more people, you're it if you're reading this. Stop over to HPY's place for the details.

Walking the Creek Walk -

2007-10-09T15:23:00.001-07:00

"Looking Southeast, Franklin Square"photograph by Mick MatherAs mentioned at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG, here's a peek at one small part of the developed Creek Walk that actually runs right along the eastern bank for about a tenth of a mile. Most of the completed trail is above and left behind the trees seen above, but I digress. I walked this route today with Mark Moncavage, ex patriot Philadelphian and

Community Mural Project -

2007-10-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

"Community Mural Project 2007"photograph by Mick MatherI had the pleasure of working for a few hours on this project that was initiated by my good friend, Michael Berman. He currently has over 25 paintings on display at The Delavan Art Gallery and in this Annex where the "Live Painting with Michael Berman" project was created. The next step is to have the piece sealed for protection from the

Save My Studies -

2007-09-29T07:33:00.001-07:00

"Mick"pastel study by Rob D'AgostinoI'm not going to go into all of the details of The Save My Studies Project here because my good friend Rob tells it better. In a nutshell, the pastel sketch of yours truly, seen above, will soon be available at auction on eBay. I believe the minimum bid will open at just $20 ... but, the higher the bidding goes, the better for Rob - and for myself! - since we

PARK(ing) Day -

2007-09-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

"PARK(ing) Day - September 21, 2007"photograph by Mick MatherYesterday was one of those way cool Friday's without a 2-ton limit on fun! The most interesting part of my day was this public art project that is spreading around the world from it's inception in 2005 by a group in San Francisco called REBAR. Follow the link for further informatiom, photo's, video and other links to the participants in

The Original Photograph -

2007-09-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

"Study for The Lawn Chairs"photograph by Mick MatherHere's the promised peek at the original photo that resulted in "The Lawn Chairs" as posted on MICKMATHERSARTBLOG. As you can see, it's a fairly simple shot of some twigs scattered across a concrete slab. This is just as I found them, no rearranging was done, patterns formed out of chaos by invisible hands of the wind, the weather and perhaps a

Alternate version of Visitors for the Finnish Sisters -

2007-08-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

"Visitors (Alternate Version"digital collage by Mick MatherThis was my original idea for Illustration Friday that appears at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG. This one is for Susu and Elegia and all who struggle with the task of turning an idea into an artwork.

Alternate Version -

2007-08-05T07:55:00.001-07:00

"A Day After Punch Left Judy (Alternate Version)"digital collage by Mick MatherIf you just popped in from my August 5th post at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG, I should say that I actually prefer this version. It's a lot more abstract in meaning as well as visually considering the red, background shapes that represent Punch. Is he passed on? Casually cast aside by the puppet master? The suggested,

Summer of 2007 -

2007-07-29T19:38:00.001-07:00

"Saying Goodbye To July, 2007"photograph by Mick MatherOne of the lights of my life appeared at Poppa's door with a box of doughnuts, offered proudly as a breakfast treat. It was a perfect day so we went out for a walk, looking for a protective, barking dog away 'cross a field. As Leighlund stood looking out the second floor hallway window, I was able to catch this perfect pose. Follow this link

Public Art For Public Arteries -

2007-07-25T15:29:00.000-07:00

- click image to enlarge for reading -Totem Project Article from The Post-StandardThis public art project continues to move forward and I've been scrambling to catch up with organizing and saving the press clippings, photographs and magazine articles. Once both phases are complete and we have all of the funded 16 sculptures in place, I may open another blog just for that project. Some interest by

Referrence to "Architecture and the Modern Woman"

2007-07-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

"Architecture and the Modern Woman"digital collage by Mick MatherAs mentioned in today's post over at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG, this is the first piece in what I had been contemplating as a new series. For those of you who took the initiative to follow the link over here, welcome to this post from around October 2005.

Lexus the Wonder Dog: Are YOU lookin' at ME?

2007-07-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

"Lexus (Original Photograph)"by Mick MatherAs mentioned in todays post at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG this is the original photograph of my nephews dog. Below is the cropped version - with minimal repainting in one small area - before running it through the array of plug-ins and filters here at the Secret Visual Laboratory. Enjoy, and don't forget to click the link above to see the finished version."Lexus

"Mystery of the Red Barn" -

2007-06-28T12:40:00.001-07:00

"Mystery of the Red Barn"photograph by Mick MatherHere's the original photograph that the manipulation now appearing at MickMathersARTblog was based on. The original matted and framed print is still for sale - $125.00 - and can be purchased through the Lucas Gallery in Skaneateles, New York.

Value Added -

2007-05-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

L: "Cars - Alternate Version" - R: "Cars on Main Street"L: montage - R: photographThe CarI had quite a few comments on the original post at Illustration Friday on May 25th, 2007. So, I thought it might be fun to give a little bit extra as regards its development. Alongside the original photograph, I offer an alternate version of said original post - I found it rather busy at this stage, took a

Two Hour Parking -

2007-05-22T05:40:00.001-07:00

"Pub Dart"The Totem Projectpublic sculpture - wood, metal and coated wire by Mick Mather & Rick DestitoIn 2002 I began a journey into the realm of Public Art. In my home town, Syracuse, New York, I saw that the City was replacing parking meters with parking meter pay stations, leaving hundreds of headless parking meter posts behind. What to do with these? My idea was to sleeve public sculptures

Bike-Power Gallery 2006: "Mounting Steps" -

2007-01-07T21:00:00.000-08:00

"Mounting Steps"digitally manipulated photograph by Mick MatherThis piece has been submitted to the "Bike-Power Gallery 2006 Exhibition". Hang on to your hats boys and girls while I wheel away!

Thursday Challenge: Cup -

2006-11-30T19:14:00.000-08:00

"Glass & Brass"digitally manipulated photograph by Mick MatherFor this week's addition to Thursday Challenge, I came this ><>

FREE Parking -

2006-07-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

GALLERY SALES BANNERKeep Up the Good Work Awardfrom Mary Stebbins TaittYou Make My Day Award from SusupetalLUCAS GALLERY BANNERFlickr Selfportrait Series Banner Syracuseblog.com Banner Lyrics BannerHere will reside new sidebar banners as I create them. I'll be using Lyrics in the sidebar over at MICKMATHERSARTBLOG and the other at my Syracuseblog.com site that has been down for over two weeks

He Just Might Be Back!

2006-06-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

After quite some time at another blog service, it may be time to come back to blogger. With server problems that have my hackles up and with enough time passed to forget about the hated, bug-ridden picasso 2 software, I'm seriously weighing my options. How such a return will manifest itself is, for the moment, unclear. For now, below is today's post that has twice failed to go up at Mick Mather's

2005-07-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

Thursday Challenge: Time - Syracuseblog.com is down and I have a bad feeling about it. So, for one night, this is Mick Mather's ARTblog. Anyway, since Blogger now has a photo editor that doesn't require using that most miserable, bug-ridden Picassa/Hello software, I still have options. Anyway, here's this week's post to Thursday Challenge...testing, testing, 1-2-3, is this thing on?

2005-03-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

WELCOME to "NO MATTER WHAT SHAPE - THE ARCHIVE". Picassa 2 has self-destructed, AGAIN! So, I've reduced this weblog to an 'archive' where anyone with an interest can work their way back to see what went before. Some of this work may - immediately or eventually - be reposted at my current home at "Mick Mather's ARTblog". Use the link in the sidebar at your left, click here or cut and paste this

2005-03-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

"Basic Series - A Square Peg and a Round Hole" - When I first started doing monotypes a few years ago, two basic forms began to repeat over and over - a square and a circle. Last year I began doing an altered book using these shapes to find a subject and a concept: a square peg and a round hole. The pages of the book (an old GW-BASIC 3.22 USERS GUIDE) quickly became warped and wrinkled so I

2005-03-04T20:16:00.000-08:00

"Basic Series 002 - A Square Peg and a Round Hole"

2005-03-04T20:15:00.000-08:00

"Basic Series 001 - A Square Peg and a Round Hole"

2005-03-03T19:12:00.000-08:00

"Midnight in a Camden Field" - Too much of the fine detail is lost in this one. When my old computer crashed last year a lot of my documentation files went with it as I'd not backed everything up as I had thought. I was able to find this posted at another web site and captured it again for my records. This block-relief print was actually editioned on blue paper in black ink- giving it a very cold

2005-03-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

"Sunday Morning in the Park" - I can't seem to stop doing images in the Crop Circles Series and here's another to prove my point. For an explanation and to see other pieces in this series surf back...or, go directly to the post for Wednesday, February 16th, 2005.

2005-03-02T19:33:00.000-08:00

"Gum Wrapper" - I tried to buy this small, oil-on-board, painting today from Duane Keiser. He has come up with one clever idea for selling artwork over the internet that is meeting with some amazing success. Of course, the fact that his work is so good does have a lot to do with it. To find out what I'm talking about click here and have a look at his blog, A Painting A Day.

2005-03-01T20:43:00.000-08:00

"Folding Chair" - Yeah, grab one, open it, plunk yourself down and have a short read about why I blog.

2005-03-01T20:13:00.000-08:00

Quite a bit of good fortune has befallen me ever since finding Ivan Pope's blog, 'Absent Without Leave'. From there I found Karen D'Amico and 'Fluid Thinking'. From there I found Bill Ives and 'Portals and KM' - all of which I now read daily. Anyway, today I ended up at DeepBlog.com for a little while where Michael Schaefer is collecting essays on "Why I Blog". You know that my own mind never

2005-02-28T19:39:00.000-08:00

"Jazz" - This weeks themed post to Illustration Friday.

2005-02-27T08:48:00.000-08:00

"Lips" - I was working on 2 new pieces for the Crop Circles Series this morning. I like the way that this one turned out...the image below still isn't quite where I want it to be.

2005-02-27T08:47:00.000-08:00

"Pill Box Hat" - Nope, not quite what I want.

2005-02-26T16:18:00.000-08:00

"Cut" - I signed up with FEEDSTER yesterday and have been playing around with some of the features there. For example, a search for 'collage' is going to keep me busy for a while. Before I get lost in that stack of sites I wanted to post this image from a street art/sticker art site that I liked quite a bit. Click here to surf elbow to elbow with me.

2005-02-25T20:42:00.000-08:00

F03C10 - This weeks submission to PixelWar. Apparently, I didn't make the cut for this round and I'll admit, this isn't exactly a terrific piece. There's always another round though, eh?

2005-02-25T20:26:00.000-08:00

"First Came Lunch..." - I actually used this as my cover letter in the early 1980's whenever I was seeking employment in graphic design studios. Doing that sort of work for clients who didn't have a clue got very frustrating and boring for me rather quickly so I only did such work for 3 or 4 years. At one particular art department (part of a printing company) the other graphic artist and I put a

2005-02-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

"Wrecker One Star Beer" - I used to publish a collage 'zine in the early 1980's. It was called 4-U-2 Post Magazine with the idea being that one might cut out the artistamps and post card pages and re-post them. I know that a few folks did, 'cause they reposted back to me! This particular piece began life as part of a post card exchange with a group of rubberstampers and eraser carvers known as

2005-02-24T20:53:00.000-08:00

"Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" - I could be knocked over with a feather! My image posting software is working again! So, have a look at a photograph I took on the Seneca River in a very picturesque village where I used to live, Baldwinsville, New York. While walking along I completely missed this shot, going out as well as coming back, until a squirrel came racing down a tall, old tree

2005-02-23T19:10:00.000-08:00

I have another whole series of photo-manipulations that need organizing and renaming. I invented a fine family called The Hinkley's who had a pack of daughters all at once. I won't give away too much just yet but suffice it to say that today's post - click here to have a look - is the first peek at "The Hinkley Triplets Series". Most of these were created using multiple images before being

2005-02-22T19:53:00.000-08:00

This is day three where the image posting software for blogger is on the fritz. I simply don't have the energy to uninstall & reinstall another time and I may soon decide to just move everything. Uploading images to ART CRUTCH is a tiresome procedure after working all day, catching that late afternoon nap and then disappearing into the studio. I've managed to calm my nerves a bit by doing some

2005-02-21T15:56:00.000-08:00

Three uninstalls and reinstalls later, the problem between Blogger, Picassa 2 & Hello still has me feeling like yesterdays post: "At Sea". Click here to have a look at it.

2005-02-19T09:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm darned upset with Picassa and Hello this weekend. The other night it gave me an error message and locked up everything on my computer - it took me 10 minutes to get all the programs shut down and then reboot. Even now, the program has stopped working entirely; so much for a beautiful thing I suppose. The support moderator mentions a "bug" in the program that they will have fixed in a

2005-02-18T14:48:00.000-08:00

"NTV" - Every time I walk into my studio there's a maze of boxes, shelves, drafting table, computer station, books, magazines, k-7's and a few thousand LP's to navigate. Most of the boxes are filled with the ton of mailart received from the late 1970's straight thru till now. I'm not very active these days but once in a while a Themed Mailart Call catches my attention to the point that I submit

2005-02-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

"Black Bog Snake" - If you can read it, this block-relief print is a paper test proof / artist proof / item G. It's an 'erasercut' carved on a novelty eraser known as 'The BIG Eraser for BIG Mistakes'. Before editioning this print-block I had another artist make some paper for me, hence the series of proofs testing each variety and/or thickness. The subject is a rather large bog snake that began

2005-02-17T19:51:00.000-08:00

F03C09 - My most recent submission to PIXELWAR, a web site that's tailor made for photomanipulators like me. It's a competitive site and work is juried by peer artists unless the max number of entries isn't acheived. Click the link above and have a snoop around.

2005-02-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

"Daisy" - A third image from the Crop Circles Series. What I'm doing here is taking some very, very small sections (about 100 X 100 pixels or less) of photo's that I discover while web surfing. This is a "fair use" exercise and a bit of my own throwing in with the Copyleft and Creative Commons propositions regarding free source and reinterpreting copyright laws (always read as: be fair) that the

2005-02-16T19:12:00.000-08:00

"Indian Blanket" - Number two in the series.

2005-02-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

"A Prayer" - Here we go then, the very first image in the Crop Circle Series of photomanipulations.