shiso mama

In honor of the 100th of my collage series, I’ve decided to write a little bit about the process and the materials. Sorry it took me so long to get to it, Mary P.

Unless you’ve been around for a while (unfortunately, many more than 100 days), you may not know the thinking behind this collage a day project. This was meant to be an easy, stress-free way to get into the practice of making art every day, without laboring over one important and significant Work of Art. It doesn’t have to take long, it doesn’t have to be perfect, and I don’t even have to like the finished product as long as I keep working at it. And I’ve accomplished my goals for the most part. Unfortunately, I haven’t managed to make one every day, allowing myself to take breaks here and there, but it does feel like part of my normal routine now. There are successful ones, and not-as-successful ones, but I don’t beat myself up over the lack of perfection, and I generally feel like my process and my work has improved. It’s been interesting when people do tell about their favorite collages, and it’s one that I consider to be less successful. It’s a pleasant surprise, but I like that different people see different things in what I’m doing.

The Materials

The collages are small, about 4.5″x 6″, and are made on bristol paper. I cut a huge stack of them at the beginning of the project, and have been slowly working my way through them.

For the colored bits, I only use origami paper. I’ve tried using other papers, but keep coming back. I like the thinness and variety of color I can get in origami paper. I’ve never tested whether the paper fades or not, but so far, no collage recipients from times past have reported fading. I really doubt that the paper’s acid-free, though, so I don’t think these will survive in the Shiso Mama Memorial Library and Archives.

Glue - In the very beginning, I used a watered down bookbinder’s glue, which was a high-quality, archival version of Elmer’s, but I didn’t like working with the consistency. I switched to glue sticks for a while, but found that the collages fell apart quite easily. Now, I use this stuff called Yes! Paste:

It’s acid-free. I found it at my local art store, and is a thick, gelatinous paste, and goes on quite easily with a small, flat paintbrush. And Yes! I like it quite a bit.

The Process

The collages have been a sort of visual diary of my life. Often the subject of the collage is something that caught my eye during an outing or walk with Otis. Sometimes, I’ll see something that reminds me of something else, and I’ll let my mind wander and free associate. If I feel totally uninspired, I’ll often give myself time to look through random magazines until a single idea or image catches my attention. Other times, I’ll start with one idea, and it will morph into a totally different image.

I cut everything free hand. I don’t sketch beforehand or measure, and I don’t particularly like straight lines or precision. I basically let the collage take shape as the papers are cut. I usually compose as I cut, moving pieces around to find the most pleasing arrangement.

Sometimes, if there are so many pieces as to make it unwieldy, I’ll start glueing base pieces down before finishing up the composition.

Here it is finished (collage #89):

And then it goes into the sterile, archival storage solution I’ve cleverly devised:

It’s all a very free process from start to finish. Many times the finished product will look very little like what I imagined at the start. But the cutting is so imprecise and variable, and even if you find just the perfect arrangement, it still might change as you glue because you can’t remember the exact placement and angle of every single small piece. And even after everything is all said and done, the scanning process makes them look different as well. Most of the times I think they don’t even look like collages anymore. I love how the whole thing can sort of take on a life of its own.

If you’re interested in seeing the whole set of collage a day collages together, click here.

If you’d like to see some of my other collages, click here.

Feel free to tell me which ones are your favorites.