FOOD: Collage and Cartoons about Food and Dining
November 5 - 24 at SLO Provisions.
Art sales (of originals, cards, and prints) benefit the SLO FoodBank!
Ed Himelblau - cartoons
Kit Gould - cookbook collage (instagram: @kitgould)
Cookbook Collage by Kit Gould
We’ve all seen a cook book.
Maybe we we’re attracted to the pictures. Maybe we poured over the recipes to dream up the perfect meal. Maybe there was a particular cookbook that seemed to live on the kitchen counter.
My first cookbook was Susie’s New Stove, The Little Chef’s Cookbook, from Little Golden Books and Tacoma Metal Products Company, 1950. I looked carefully at all the pictures, turning each page, pretending. I wanted to be Susie and have cute outfits with matching aprons, use a tiny toy stove, and have willing playmates and obliging parents.
Eventually, I made one of the recipes, scrambled eggs. It seemed the easiest, we had all the ingredients, and I had watched mom cook eggs on weekends. I could be successful! For a short period of time in 1978 I diligently followed the recipe and made scrambled eggs. Soon other interests took me out of the kitchen, but I still have and cherish Susie’s New Stove.
In 1981 my family purchased their first microwave..it was huge, a little scary, and it had its own room (the pantry, away from all the other kitchen appliances). The microwave was something new and maybe better. A few items were stationed near the microwave: a roll of wax paper, oven mitts, and the GE Microwave Cookbook. I would look at the images in the cookbook and be amazed by the possibilities. For a period of time the microwave was used by mom to make all kinds of things.
Mom had recently returned to work and the microwave seemed a quick way for me to prepare an after school snack, hotdogs. I would score a hotdog, cover it with wax paper, and pop it into the microwave. The hot dog became a curly and edible piece of hot meat. This was my go to snack for probably 3 months, and then I stopped, because microwaved hotdogs really aren’t that good.
(Tangent-I don’t think I every saw a cookbook in either of my grandma’s kitchens. Recipe cards and newspaper cuttings yes.)
1998, a cookbook magazine rocked my world, Cook’s Illustrated, and it was purchased by a person who would cook for me and still does. It was love at first sight. Today, our kitchen is full of Cook’s Illustrated and related iterations. We have volumes and volumes and they are our go to resource for cooking. I’m using “we” liberally as I don’t use Cook’s Illustrated that often, but I feel secure knowing that they are there.
So, yes I like cookbooks, but the images for my collage work could be anything. I was doing bird collages before, and next I might use handyman books. It’s really about my process, how I work, and what is of interested to me artistically.
Having the opportunity to show at SLO Provisions is a gift. I like their food and I enjoy their owners and staff. I like what they do. They feel like part of the community and they regularly donate to local groups. They are good people, and you are what you eat, or cook, so to speak.
So, cookbook collage seemed appropriate for this space. As does donating a portion of our sales to the SLO Food Bank.
I appreciate that I have time, space, and materials to create. I’m grateful for my family, and friends, and people in general.
And I really don’t need more of anything, really…
well, maybe a few more cookbooks if you don’t want them.
Thank you,
Kit
My Process by Kit Gould
My process is just that - It’s mine. It’s one way of doing things. It’s not the best, it’s not the worst..it’s just a way. I hope the following information is helpful.
I’m a collector of stuff, especially unwanted things. They were once useful, possibly cherished, until they weren’t.
I like thrift stores. I’ve been visiting SLO thrift stores for the last decade and a half. I was a regular of Craigslist and estate sales too. Now I tend to pick up things during my daily walk that are literally at my feet.
I am attracted first to what I see- colors, shapes, composition, setting. Attachment and thought comes later.
I have a lot of cookbooks in my studio. Most are from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, some earlier. To me, a cookbook is a unit of usefulness that has a history. It was or is, a resource that might have meaning attached. I get nostalgic for what once was, and I get excited about possible transformations.
The funny thing is, I don’t like to cook, or read recipes. I like to eat, and I have a lot of associations with food. I’m lucky that someone cooks for me, and cooks very well. A good meal is my favorite thing..and I’m grateful to those that feed me.
For the past handful of months, I’ve been going through the cookbooks.
My brain has three settings, on, off, and idle. To move the switch to ‘on’ I go into the studio. That can be a significant step. It’s a low pressure re-entry into making art. I start by making something, anything, for about 10 minutes.
I really don’t like the saying ‘blood, sweat, and tears’, but I have my own version of that cliche. Making art is a mental and physical process, there are highs, and lows, and in-betweens. It ain’t all fun… it’s work. It’s something I must do and I’m very fortunate to have the time and space to do it.
My materials and equipment are simple and minimal; a pair of old barber scissors, (I like their length, sharpness, and precision,) a paper cutter, a UHU glue stick, bristol paper or card stock, pencil, glass from clip frames, and scrap paper.
I rip or cut the pages out of the book and put the text aside. I use the paper cutter to isolate the image, or I jump right into cutting. I love using the scissors. Guiding the scissors through the paper feels good and I like the immediate results. The image transforms into something else when freed from the page. The possibility of change, of subtle transformation, motivates me.
I place the image on paper, maybe pair it with other images, play with the composition, think about color and negative space. I put glass over it to hold everything in place until I’m ready to glue. Sometimes I glue right away, other times it takes days or weeks. I think a lot about how a change might affect the composition and feeling the work.
When I’m ready to glue, I work on a paper-lined counter to contain the glue and then use an extra sheet of paper to cover and press the image onto the paper. I like the finished work to be tidy and clean.
The collage with resin on boards are the result of a long process and I am going to be brief in my description. I use EnviroTex Lite pour-on High Gloss Finish. I advise the use of a small blow torch to pop the inevitable bubbles and the wearing of a vapor mask for safety.
My process is mine, isn’t perfect -nor do I want it to be- but it works for me. I hope nothing stays in the way for you to create, to make.