Fast and Furious Collaging

For several weeks, true to the promise I made myself, I have been working and experimenting once again with Stacked Journaling. As valuable as that work has been and will continue to be in the future, completing a finished piece of work is equally valuable.

So this week, I allowed myself to just let go and use all the bits and pieces I've been working on to come together in a couple of fun collages. 

Collaging allows me to shut down the logic centers of my brain and just feel my creativity as if it was a physical force moving my hands. I don't think too hard, I don't correct myself, and I especially don't try to methodically direct what I'm doing. I just cut, paste, pay attention to the process, rinse, and repeat until something coalesces. It truly is fast and furious making, and it's a joy to my soul.

I started with this piece, a stretched canvas measuring 12"x18". I painted the background rather simply to allow the chaotic Stacked Journaling collage bits to pop.

Contained in this piece are bits of fabric, canvas, deli paper, printmaking paper, and watercolor paper. Many began with colorful paintings, others with gelli plate prints, and some even contain some old thermofax screen printing.

After cutting and pasting all those lovely bits of collage material (an activity that makes me feel like a grade schooler again) I had a lot of leftover bits and pieces.

Not content to give up the freedom of expression I was experiencing, I grabbed one of my handmade journals and began using up some of the pieces laying around my work table.

I started with this three-page spread, itself a study for a later piece of work.

Without altering the background colors, I started cutting and pasting again.

Here it is stretched out on my work table, drying.

Fun, fun, fun!

This weekend, I will tackle mounting paper onto the two large cradleboards I showed you last week. In the meantime, create with joy!