Open Collage

Posted by moonminded on February 16, 2015 in Books, In My Head | 2 Comments

“Why did I stick that whale to that lady?”

The Independent Publisher’s Resource Center (IPRC) hosts a monthly event Open Collage Night, where one has the opportunity to reflect on such decisions.

I don’t remember ever doing collage, but suspect that somewhere between Kindergarten and twelfth grade, maybe lightly attached to intermittent Sunday school attendance, I have tried it.

Showing up at the event is like what I imagine Scrapbookers feel when going into Michael’s – all those colorful materials! IPRC has old books, magazines, staplers, glue, art supplies, and scissors – the list goes on. Maybe collage people are like a more spontaneous, urban, up-cycling cousin to scrapbookers. Where my scrapbooking friends appear to experience the joy that is art supplies writ large by assembling elaborate frames for an already captured moment, collage fans at IPRC appear to let the actual moment and materials elevate and arrange themselves for capture. I just sorted through stuff, choosing what appealed with no prior thought, intention, or design outcome in mind and Voila!

And the whale-on-lady-connundrum presents itself. This is from the first event I attended last month:

Below is the outcome from this month:

I can’t say that I’m enchanted with either piece, but I really do want to “create more” and “practice less” in 2015, and I think collage is a great way to begin. In between the two events I happened across the book Collage: Contemporary Artists Hunt and Gather, Cut and Paste, Mash Up and Transform. It’s full of inspiring, beautiful work by collage artists who obviously do have a bit more design outcome in mind. I look forward to exploring more!