Collage Art
At left is an interim photo of the collage in progress that I began posting about here.
Below is the collage when almost finished... at this point the collage in progress will sit in the studio, as I work on others, so I can study it and consider any other possible additions.
I've already added a couple of elements but they don't significantly change the feeling of the collage -- they just refine it a bit further.
I'm often asked where the bits and pieces of my collages come from... I have a habit of looking at the negative spaces, the spaces BETWEEN and AROUND the featured items in a photograph. It's often there that I see the patterns, color gradations, and subtle imagery that I find most intriguing and useable.
The large photo above shows a recent photograph from the newspaper that had ingredient potential. (Caveat: It's very dangerous not to finish the paper before I get to it, if you want to be assured of reading the complete story!)
At left is a detail of the photo where I've indicated, with green outlines, the areas that I will rip out for future use.
I was recently explaining how I gather materials during a demonstration to a local art guild. Afterwards one fellow said, "You sure see things differently..." Yep, and I took that statement as a huge compliment!
This photo was taken yesterday after two work sessions on the latest collage. I use a wet process so there is plenty of drying time to consider my next additions. I don't plan the composition in advance but begin with something I like and build from there. Some of the elements that appear now may be covered up with others before it's over.
At left is an example of one of the surprises inherent in working this way... once the selected paper is damp with glue, images on the reverse side may show through. Sometimes remnants of imagery remain after the piece has dried, sometimes not. In this case the woman's face and high heel went away almost completely. I enjoy discovering how much will remain. It adds another "unknown" to respond to as I work. (You can see the dried blue area in the upper right portion of the larger collage image.)
More updates soon.
I'm working on some big new collages for a May exhibition. This is a photo of my work surface yesterday with a 24 x 36" wood panel ready to become something new and exciting, along with a jumble of sorta-solid color elements that I'm exploring. Total chaos, and so far the collage looks completely different from what you would expect, based on this photo! I'll post some in-progress photos soon.