Friday, December 9, 2016

Destruction, and a New Life



A very melodramatic way to describe the second day in the life of our collage, right?  However, I'd have to say it's pretty accurate.

Here's how I left it last night; it was going nowhere, as far as I could see.


I'd had this idea floating around in my head for a few days, using a particular cabinet card photo of a young girl, something nebulous about a lost or broken girl.

You can kind of see her here, amidst the flotsam and jetsam. When I peeled the photo off the card, it tore, but that didn't really bother me.


I had recently found an old set of encyclopedias from 1971 in my basement. Jackpot! I removed the cover from one of them and sanded it to get the slick finish off so that things would adhere to it more easily, also making it look older.


I had already glued the girl together on a piece of an old engineering drawing, and given her a flower hat. Here's where the collage met its fate.


I ripped it into pieces, and laid some of them out on the book cover with the girl.  Not bad. Now we're getting somewhere.


 But where?


 So, putting things on and taking them off, trying to decide which I like best...



 No, way too much...


 So, imagine this happening about a hundred more times...


I feel like I'm getting close, except for that skirt-thing.  Sooner or later...



...I have the basis of my composition laid out. Time to start gluing!  Soon I'll post the finished piece.




p.s. You might see other pieces of the original collage turn up here or there later on...






10 comments:

  1. Lovely work. I relate, it can take me days and weeks of arranging and trying different things before I commit with a collage. Fun stuff. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Annie! I can tell by looking at your work that it's gone through many changes, which makes it so much richer. That's probably why I like your work so much! xoxo

      Delete
  2. It's gorgeous to see how your projects come to life! Thanks for the inspiration and for sharing your creative process! I can hardly wait to see the finished piece.

    Gaby xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Gaby, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I love seeing the processes of other artists - maybe you'll be next? xo

      Delete
  3. Loved seeing your process. There are so many decisions to be made to get the collage right--all part of the fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, SO many decisions! Which is usually fun, unless each decision just makes it worse! lol

      Delete
  4. "So, imagine this happening about a hundred more times" ... LOL .. You just nailed our work with that simple statement! Awesome post.. You really captured the process! Xo

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks, Cat! I really wasn't exaggerating, was I? LOL xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  6. The title of the piece that resulted from this process drew me in. All the way from Facebook! Your ability to share your process is such a gift. As I have told you before you give me the insights I need for working through my creative endeavors. Your collages are wonderful! Xo Teri

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks so much Teri - that's really good to hear. If I can provide insights to anyone, that makes me feel very gratified, and not altogether useless!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. I'm happy to reply here, but may not always have time for individual emails.