Amy Irwen Colab

by Amy Irwen & Matthew Stolte

I know Amy through the mail art network. This painting is actually 8 x 6, the smallest work of this project. This work features what to me looks like a nice house on a lake resting in a sci-fi landscape. Amy painted around a couple of "e"s I painted using a Budweiser metal sign. Most of the wording is upside down, & oddly one section reads "u need a turntable" which is exactly what I got into this summer! The work hangs just above it.

8x10 from Diane Keys

8x10 colab painting by Diane Keys & Matthew Stolte

1 or 2 lost mailings aside, I now have returns from all the participants of the 8 x 10 Colab on Canvas Project. The above images are scans - note the back of the work isn't in focus - I'll photograph it later. I have other artworks to post here & the collection to hang in my apartment "foyer" gallery. 

Note the raw stretcher area in the back, lower left - rabbit!

Norma Soulet 8x10 "Skin"

Painting by Norma Soulet 

Norma Soulet like me is an IUOMA member (mail art) & that is how I came to invite her to do this project. Norma asked if she could totally cover my work & I replied she could do whatever she likes. She did just that. The surface is likely on paper & is affixed to the canvas. The edges & back, painted a bright blue, are likewise done by her hand. I ask myself - why would someone "collaborate" on a work by totally covering it? (I believe Diane Keys, also invited to work on this project, did the same.)

It is fulfilling to work with "raw" materials. Sometimes I paint over found paintings on curb sides or from thrift stores. To the extent that that practice is a collaboration makes sense to me as "skin & bones". That is, my original canvas is the bones & the work Soulet did is the skin. It ends up a mail art object par excellence, painterly, employing collage & text, with bright & vibrant colors.

Nice work, Norma! Thanks for participating & see you in the mail. 

Miguel Jimenez & Kelli Hoppmann

Kelli Hoppman & Matthew Stolte - 2 8x10s

Miguel Jimenez & Matthew Stolte

More additions to the 8x10 Project. Kelli Hoppman sent a photo of the pair of works she completed & will be showing them together at the U-Frame-It Gallery in Madison in June. I am excited to see them.

To save on shipping costs, Miguel Jimenez (Spain) removed the fabric from the wooden stretcher. Instead of restretching, I made additions to the canvas as is. 

8x10s by a Bennett by a Bennett & I

C. Mehrl Bennett & Matthew Stolte

John M Bennett & Matthew Stolte 

More collaborations on 8 x 10 stretched canvas with the Bennetts. John's work was done on a canvas borrowed from C. Mehrl. The writing across the top reads "Mur Mar Mer". An older painting shows through.

I worked on C. Mehrl's return yesterday, having added RAIN to the ice & snow then a layer of all-over vispo lettering in blue acrylic.

These collaborations have worked out far better than I imagined. Several artists are currently working on their interpretations & more work by the Bennetts is forthcoming. 

What is the 8x10 Collaboration Project & How did it start?

Catherine Mehrl Bennett & Matthew Stolte 8x10

Catherine Mehrl Bennett & Matthew Stolte 8x10

I met Catherine Mehrl Bennett in 2009 for a Madison Area Open Art Studios show we ended up co-curating in my apartment. We did the show again in 2010. Part of our time was spent painting & we exchanged many works. Last year Catherine attempted to send me a collaboration she did with one of my paintings - unfortunately it was lost in the mail. I had a show last year which included many of the works from 2009 & 10. After the show came down I had a lot of lonely canvases in my apartment. I suggested to Catherine I would send more works for her to collaborate. She agreed & thus the 8x10 Colab on Canvas Project was born. 

The paintings here are 2 of the 1st I received back from Catherine. These particular works retain the stenciled $s & Cents concrete poems, if not highlights them, & add completely new dimensions of their own.

John M. Bennett & Matthew Stolte

John M. Bennett & Matthew Stolte 

I haven't received this one back yet, but did receive this surprising jpeg. The original 8x10 is among the 1st experiments I did in 2009, using small, oil board stencils. It simply featured the $s & Cents concrete poem "¢rude" with some alphabet stencil accents. John added the rest.