Several years ago, in honor of our ninth wedding anniversary,
I gathered some lace and candy hearts, buttons and beans,
twigs and glitter, magazine cutouts, a collage mat, and a frame,
and then contrived -- with the help of Elmer's glue and an
unrivalled ability to set aside perfectionism -- to have the whole
collection hang together in a nine-Valentine offering for my
dear husband.
The hanging has faded a bit from age (as well as my being
ignorant about adhesives and fixatives), and sometimes pieces
of it cry out for a fresh dot of glue, but that first work of "art" was
a hit with Bob, and it was only recently taken down to be
replaced by a new Valentine's Day creation.
We were both quite astonished by the initial production, since
I'd always claimed to be without an artistic cell in my body. I
began to doubt what I'd always believed -- that I had no artistic
abilities -- and I began to scratch like crazy at a growing itch to
produce collages.
After getting some technical advice from my sons -- the really
artistic family members, I started churning out notecards,
Christmas cards, gift tags, and journal cover collages. I looked
for excuses to give decorated blank books and packs of my
handmade cards to friends.
My workshop filled with papers, fabric scraps, old calendars and
used gift wrap, broken jewelry, odd fluffy yarns, twigs and
twine, ribbon in every color and width, and dozens of pens,
paint jars, and markers. I began designing an applique-quilt-
and-collage design for the dining room wall in our new home.
edition print, altered
photo of original collage
collage of acrylic paint,
crocheted thread, and
jewel accent [$35]
multimedia collage on
gallery-wrap canvas
[$110]
11" x 14" framed
multimedia collage [sold]
x 12" framed multimedia
collage on canvas board
[$40]
multimedia collage on gallery-wrap canvas [$95]
latex and acrylic paints on mulberry paper
and foam core board [sold]
book, acid-free pages, with
paper and fiber collage
cover [$30]
16" x 20" multimedia collage
on canvas board [$85]
10" blank book, acid-free
pages, with fabric and
paper collage cover [$30]
framed multimedia collage
[$90]
