Actually, I am still discovering my collage process. Especially since, as I’ve mentioned, this year I am creating a series of Darby collages to include in a 2012 Longhaired Dachshund calendar. I’ve never worked on a series before. These are some photos of my first steps.
I spent a significant amount of time cutting out silhouettes of Darby sleeping. Then, decided I wanted to use the actual photograph instead. This is an important decision for a collage artist. Are you going to use the photo or deconstruct the photo and build the shape out of other materials? I wanted to use natural and/or Japanese paper in each collage and I liked the idea of Darby made out of the speckled paper, like an eggshell in the nest. And I wanted to use the feather paper beneath the nest. But both didn’t feel right. So I’ve put these attempts aside. For now.
Every time we go for a walk, I spend time looking at the colors I see, and the natural world my dog interacts with. Brown, green, and a hint of purple are January this year. Here are some images I intend to work with, including photos I took of succulents in my yard.
Here’s my work table. Yes, those are real deer antlers hanging on my fence…
One of the challenges I discovered was that I kept finding images I wanted to use for other months. I considered buying another table, but knew I would lose the saved images under piles of more saved images. So I decided to put everything up on the wall. I used Scotch Reusable Tabs
I’ve also been working on compositions for future months and posted them on the wall too…
Here’s the direction I’m headed. I placed a lighter version of speckled paper behind the nest…
P.S. When I was finishing up yesterday, I noticed a scrap of paper on the window sill. I put some pine cones behind it (I’ve become obsessed with the artistic and engineering genius of the pine cone since I moved here — I used to think they were corny) and took a picture. It was a nice reminder about simplicity and the happy accidents that occur in the studio.
I’m so glad to be back.