After my print session, I now have tons of papers to use for collages and I’m trying to come up with different ways to use them. Putting all printed papers together presents somewhat of a challenge. Some of the collages I’m making are just made with printed papers and others include other papers from my stash. It’s a bit of a mess when I have it all spread out on the table making decision on what to use and what not to use. But it’s fun. My least favorite part of making a collage is gluing it down.
This one combines a variety of printed papers and other painting techniques. I think this looks better in person but the camera is having a hard time with the pinks and reds in this one. Plus the light is pretty dull at the moment.
Here’s another leaf/tree theme. All of these papers were printed first and then combined.
If you were getting tired of trees, here’s a very graphic one that is screen printed background, leaves are stamped and the water lily is a stencil. It turned out to be a very graphic style that isn’t my usual but I like the results.
This one started out as total disaster. The center design was stamped on bright yellow paper and was quite ugly. The stamping wasn’t all that good and lots of yellow was showing through. The stamp was solid without any of the center cut outs. So I cut the entire design out of the yellow background leaving some of the yellow edges. Then I cut out the center designs and colored the edges where the yellow was showing through. I did try it out on a totally different background but then I found this one and it was perfect. The background has multiple layers of paint, glazes etc. and I think it started as a screen printed piece of paper. I really like the result of this and if I had tried to get this result, I’m sure I wouldn’t have gone about it this way. That is nice about those uglier prints, you don’t feel the pressure of preserving a “good” print so cutting it up and doing all different techniques to it is just an experiment as you have nothing to lose because it’s so ugly to start with. Not sure why I feel so insecure about those “precious” pieces that I really like. I’m always worried that I’ll ruin them. Do you feel that way too? Perhaps if I just decided they were all ugly to start with I would be more adventurous.
Ruth Lane Art 
I can now ‘let go’ of pieces that I like in order to experiment with them, but I can still be ‘precious’ about a nice piece of yarn or fabric and that’s a nonsense isn’t it? I can’t just keep it to look at!
Is the pink/red paper ‘border’ in the first piece textured or is it a clever illusion by the pattern?
The last piece is splendid and was worth the time spent experimenting with it.
Good for you Lyn! That is hard to do but yes, I can do the same. I have some yarn that someone gave me years ago that I still haven’t used because it’s too nice.
The pink/red paper border is textured and I didn’t glue down the edges but left them loose. Thanks for your comment about the last piece, it was worth the effort and experimentation.
I know what you mean, I always feel really anxious adding the finishing touches to a piece that I have invested weeks of my life into. The red piece at the end is my favourite, a wonderful example of why you should never throw anything away! 🙂
Thanks Teri, I find it hard to decide if a piece is finished or needs that final touch. What if I go one touch too far?
I definitely have difficulty working with favourite pieces or materials. I suspect that’s one reason why I end up working with lots of recycled materials – they’re not expensive so I don’t worry so much about making something that doesn’t work out. Whereas if I spent a fortune on a lovely piece of fabric I would probably never use it.
However, I’ve also found that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and many items that end up in my bargain box because I’m not happy with them just fly. Of course, that may be more to do with price than quality! 😉
Nice collages by the way! 😉
Thanks Kim, I know for sure that’s correct. I buy products for the store that I think are hideous that other people “love”. Stuff I like doesn’t sell worth a hoot.
Recycled stuff is a good way to go to prevent feeling something is to precious to use.
I always get stage fright when I even think about making a collage from anything. I know it sounds silly. So, I would never use something I liked to start with. I really like the red piece, but that sounded like so much time and effort invested. Good for you in sticking with it. Is this the first stage to make it into something else?
Thanks Marilyn, I actually feel the same way when you say collage. So now I keep scraps of other pieces and use those. Then I am just using scraps. I’m not sure what I will do with it now. Right now it’s just homework.