2020 #9 Reconstituted Flower with EKD {by Dounia Large}

2020 Topic 9: Collage It

There are so many inspiring ideas in this post. Dounia has some simply stunning ideas for incorporating magazine pages into your art. I also love her idea about when in doubt, add some white dots- I think that's the story of my creative process too!

~ Keren

Hi everyone, it's Dounia with you today, and I'd like to share with you some of my experiments with collaged papers.

I love collage: it was one of the first artistic techniques I practiced with my mom when little, so it brings back a lot of good memories. As I'm also currently separated from my paper stash, I decided to take the opportunity provided by this topic to create my own patterned papers and backgrounds.

Sometimes I find myself low on inspiration or really indecisive on what I want to achieve. I then like to turn toward techniques that focus on the process and motion of craft and required little "artistic" decision making. It gives me a sense of accomplishment without stressing about every little thing. I would like to share a couple of them with you here. They are nothing new or revolutionary but I think they can be fun additions to one's creative palette.

First, magazines are full of big pictures. They can be good or interesting - or not, but they rarely are easily useable as such. However you can chop them up then create a new image simply by rearranging the order of the pieces on a piece of card. The result is a lot more random than the original and can be used as a background without distracting from the main elements.

Regular stripes are the simplest to manage but you can change width or try different shapes for a more random pattern. I find the process of systematically cutting and glue-ing almost meditative and calming. I was in the mood for a striking pattern, and generally contrasted and/colorful images work best for that.

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Here I found the first glued images still too homogeneous and recognisable so I reiterated the process with lengthwise stripes. The colors are now better distributed and I like the tessellated pattern.

To contrast with this very organised background I next went on a tearing spree! I selected parts of magazine pictures with relatively plain colors and tore them in strips and pieces.  That part is pretty therapeutic! These touches of color can be used carefully to create new images, like painting with paper, but I was more into slapping them together to make gradients.

The color variations in the strips provide great texture. I often make too many pieces for one project so I put all the remaining ones in a box to draw blindly and glue. It forces me to release control and the results can be pretty interesting.

To make an actual project, I needed stamps able to stand up to such busy papers. I went for the clear lines and organic shapes of Kim Dellow. The EDK05 set had all I needed for a nature scene:

The leaves doubled as templates for petals cut in my collaged strips. I tried stamping on the front but it covered the color variations too much for my taste.

However I wanted to keep the details on the butterflies so I stamped them directly on pictures with interesting patterns.

Contrasted against the other elements, the leaf one won. I also liked the idea that both the petals and the butterfly were made of leaves!

For the flower centre, the big flower stamp was an obvious choice and the middle somewhat looks like an eye so I ran with that idea. I love collaging eyes, they're so recognisable and always make an impression.

I tried to match both the yellow green of the first butterfly and the eyes with this frog butterfly. The result was a bit plain so I added the vellum layers to isolate the elements and celebrate the graphics of the stamps. The white and black dots also really bring things together. When in doubt, add white dots!

Here is one project finished despite creative block, and I have lots of other backgrounds to play with! I hope this gave you a few ideas to try with magazine pictures. It's very cheap in both materials and tools needed and quite effective! It is also a great way to use those paper scraps we all are hoarding, or can be applied to book pages for very graphic results.

Have fun and stay creative!
Dounia x

2020 #9 If only cats could talk with ECF {by Lynn Good}

2020 Topic 9: Collage It

Not only is it really good to hear Lynn's fur baby is on the mend, albeit looking somewhat like a shaved lamb, but also the vet scare along with a R&R boost from a Tracy class helped inspire this colourful journal page. It's funny how your mojo can come and go when you are faced with uncertain times, and I'm sure that Lynn isn't the only one at the moment looking for it to emerge!~ Keren, Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Lynn Good (Memories on the Page) with you today, and I'd like to share with you an art journal page that I have created for the topic "Collage It"

I actually made two pages before this one, I personally didn't like either of them - they didn't feel right to me but I couldn't say why.  Even though my friends thought they were fine, I decided to take a break -  I was putting myself under pressure and forcing the design.  

I took a wonderful 2 day online class with Tracy Scott and it was just the medicine I needed. When taking a class or following a tutorial, a lot of the design, layout and topic is chosen for you - you end up with a positive attitude and a creative mojo back on your doorstep.

I was then in the right frame of mind to create this page.  My beautiful half Maine Coon furbaby was sick and had to be completely shaved (I will put some pics up at the bottom of the post). He was devastated as well as sick and it gave me the idea for this page.

I created this page in my Dylusions Journal.  After applying a coat of gesso I have covered the page with a brayer and PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk paint in Tango, Banana and London Bus.

I have then stamped images from PaperArtsy Eclectica Courtney Franich set 12 (ECF12) onto tissue paper.

I have then torn them up randomly and adhered them to my page with matte medium

Once dry I have drawn circles on the page and coloured them with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk paint - Red Lipstick. (this was created at night so they will not be the best process photos sorry)

I wanted to create some flowers to go into the centres so I used a piece of PaperArtsy Smoothy Cardstock and painted randomly with  PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk paint in Tango, Banana and Forget Me Not.  I have then used Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Chalk paint London Bus though a PaperArtsy Stencil PS001) for some more effect and to help join the colours together. 

Using this cardstock I have stamped and fussy cut flowers from PaperArtsy Stamp EKD06 You will note that these are not closely cut out as I find if I try to cut right up to the line I end up cutting off some detail!!!!  I have also used a Posca Pen and doodled around the stamped images on the tissue paper.

I have then stamped on black cardstock and cut out two cats (as we have two) from the Cat stamp set as well as two of the sayings.

Final touches to the page included of course adhering everything down - which I have done with Matte Medium.  I have drawn a string from the cat to one flower so it looks like he is holding a balloon.  I have outlined the flowers with a black Stabillo pencil which activates when wet, as well as some white marks on the flowers and I have highlighted the cats with white posca pen as the ink stamp was not as bright as I wanted.  I have mounted one of the cats with foam dots - there is always a "top cat" in the family!!!! 

Here are some close ups:

I hope that this has encouraged you to have a go at a collage art journal page - It is so much fun to put layer upon layer and watch it form into a completed piece.

As promised here is a before and after of my cat Buster.  He is on the mend - at 13 years old they thought his coat had so quickly deteriorated due to kidney failure but his bloods show he is very healthy and it is a mystery as to what happened.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that if you get into that creative slump - remember you are not alone we have all been there and keep applying paint - you will get to the other side :) 

Lynn Good

Facebook:  http://memoriesonthepage.blogspot.com/

2020 #9 A Doll's Life with LPC {by Autumn Clark}

2020 Topic 9: Collage It

Absolutely stunning layers with some wonderful painty adventures, and gorgeous contrasting layers - Autumn is a whizz at arranging these things so perfectly and with wonderful attention to detail on those finishing touches!
~ Keren, Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Autumn Clark from SewPaperPaint with you today, and I'd like to share with you a couple of mixed media cards inspired by the designer who sparked my passion for collage many, many years ago, Lynne Perrella.  I've been a fan for ages, particularly loving the complexity of her stamps with so many opportunities to focus on even the tiniest of details.  

This pair of cards came about because I wanted to get back to my stamping roots and an earthtone palette, which was my go to when I was introduced to Lynne's stamps and paper dolls so long ago.  

One of my favorite things to do is pick my color pool for a project.  I chose PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics in Nougat, Chocolate Pudding, Slate, Toad Hall, Winter Green, Midnight, Claret, Mahogany, Toffee and Caramel.  Yes, quite a lot of paints but I wanted to create a full collection of prints to work with for a while.  I used my 8x10" gelli plate and got to work...

I printed on ivory cardstock and book pages, which gave an awesome transfer effect (shown top right).  I used PaperArtsy Stencil {Sara Naumann} PA092 for subtle pattern and added some texture with an XL embossing folder, which I sanded to reveal some of the ivory card (as shown bottom right).  

I really wanted the star of my cards to be PaperArtsy {Lynne Perrella} Collection LPC042, with the papers serving as the stage.  And so I played and played and played until I had just the right arrangements that made me happy.  

Here is that amazing text transfer stitched in place.  I made a tag from my painted paper.  More sanding to add highlights. I used more book pages for brayering off between prints I was able to use it in my collages as well.

I added acetate butterflies, sticker text, wooden and chipboard cutouts.  I wanted the pair of cards to be similar in style, but also unique.

I really love the embossed painted paper and how the texture plays with my tears and wrinkled edges...  That's the beauty of collage for me: somehow making a random collection come together in unity, making art.  

Having not made an art doll in far too long, I thoroughly enjoyed playing with these stamps and paints!

So what techniques or colors have you perhaps forgotten that might bring life into your creating these days?  For me, no matter what, my love for collage remains as the crucial element of my work, but it is fun to revisit past affections and blend them with my ever evolving style.  Would you agree?  I still have my green prints and lots of leftover papers, so I think I shall have another play with a green doll!  

It's been a pleasure as always!  Stay safe and creative my friends!  Hugs, Autumn

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2020 #9 Merci Beaucoup with ESN {by Jennie Atkinson}

2020 Topic 9: Collage It

Jenny has given us a real treat in carefully dissecting the collage processes (both thought and physical) in order to show us how to build layers and what to do to make some layers more prominent, and knock back others. It's obvious that this is her preferred technique when creating as she executes it so beautifully.
~ Keren, Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Jennie (Live The Dream) here with you today sharing my love of collage! It is always my "go to" for so many projects and is invariably a reason why I buy a set of stamps as I can see their potential for collage and layering.

I also love to collage different types of medium and so in this piece I have used tea dyed papers, tissue paper, old text paper, gelli plate prints, texture paste and pieces of lace. Sometimes it is just anything that is lying around on the desk or in my bits box! For me half the fun of collage is finding random pieces that work well together.

I have used Sara Naumann's fabulous French selection on ESN43 and related stencil PS178. Sara designs are little collages in their own right but are great when stamped on different mediums. The first time I saw the feather I just knew it would be fabulous on tissue paper.

ESN43

PS178

Every collage composition needs a good base and so I have layered some rather thin old French text onto cardstock. It was rather too thin to glue so I have machine stitched the edges. 

I do like to stamp images and play around with placement before glueing anything in place. Here you can see elements stamped on tea dyed paper and tissue paper. The tags had already been cut for another project so I added a little texture with paste through the stencil. Although I did lose some of this later and had to go in again in a final layer. But that is collage !

Once I have determined (sort of) my design I lay things in the order I have taken them off so I know which layer to do next. Some elements don't get used such as the butterfly and others get added in later to fill in gaps as I start to glue or machine stitch them into place.

Sometimes it is easier to hold things in place with a little glue before stitching.

I decided to continue with the machine stitching as it does help heavier elements to lie flat, which was particularly needed for the next layer.

At this stage the tissue looks quite prominent but once dried (I used gel medium) it blends into the background. It also mutes the colours in the gelli plate labels underneath somewhat, so they are less prominent. I decided to continue with the vintage theme and used Archival Potting Soil Ink but in hindsight a darker grey might have worked better. Despite using Archival ink it leaked onto the labels giving them a bit of an orange look when dried!

Once the tissue layer has dried I then added the final layers whilst trying to ensure many of the underneath layers still had some prominence.

I decided to emphasise the horizontal and vertical elements of my top layer clusters with some small pieces of wood. The little flower is made from some rolled up tea dyed paper and again just gave a little more focus to this area.

As mentioned above, I lost some of the texture paste elements when I layered the tissue, so I added another final layer of texture paste using the stencil. I love how the text on the stamped tissue looks so good over the stamped tea dyed paper.

I think the "1901" on the stencil is going to be used a lot! It just manages to pull some of the edges together in this layer.

I love stamp sets which have lots of little details which can be isolated from the larger stamps. This set has wonderful little coins, numbers, letters, tickets ..... and the stamps themselves are a super size to use on smaller makes such as cards or ATCs but big enough to have a punch on a larger piece of work. Both the larger stamps and smaller details are just perfect for collage composition. I think this is going to be a set that I will use over and over and I hope my project gives you some ideas for layered collage composition both with these stamps and others in the PaperArtsy range. 

As always thank you for joining me!
Jennie x

Blog: Live the Dream