How to Collage

(A STILL IMAGE FROM THIS VIDEO TUTORIAL BY LISA CONDON ON HER INSTAGRAM STORY INSPIRED MY CREATION OF AND PLAYING WITH THESE SHAPES.  TO HER GOES ALL THE CREDIT).  

Create different sized shapes out of different patterned papers. These are all bumps and circles, sitting and awaiting the magic on my green desktop. 

Arrange them in different ways. You can overlap. You can put them in their own area touching nothing. Take pictures of the arrangements, in different light. 

That's the same green desktop, just in a new light. 

Set the shapes on a new background,

or another background.

Put colors together that you like together. 

When you know it's right, affix them onto the surface. I use Alene's Tacky glue mixed with water and brush a light layer over the surface, lay the paper down, then brush a light layer over the paper, often smoothing it with my fingers. (I keep a wet washcloth or sponge handy to wipe off my gluey fingers). 

Start over with new shapes and a new background. 

The shapes are solid colors this time, on plain white canvas backgrounds.

What do they look like to you?How do you want them to be? You're in charge, here.

Once you've made them, zoom in and take more pictures.  Then zoom back out and show the whole. 

More than anything, collage is about play, about putting things together in new and different ways, and eventually, about making a decision about where the shapes will stay and what you will create. Once it's created, you can have fun zooming in on parts of the collage that are interesting. For me the bottom left corner here keeps grabbing my eye.