"I begin with an idea ... and then it becomes something else"
~ Picasso

Sunday 25 February 2018

the weekly collage project

It's been a few weeks since I last posted something here. I've got a little bit behind with sharing work online just recently although I have been keeping up quite well with making weekly collages for the project I'm doing this year with my sister.  I now hope to rectify that with some catch up blog posts over the next few days.

In this post I am sharing my collages for week 5 - following the prompt of "colour plunge" from The Collage Workbook by Randel Plowman.  Colour plunge essentially refers to choosing a colour and creating monochromatic collages using only (or mostly) tones of that colour.

I chose to work with autumn tones with a wintry feel, using pretty blueish greens, greenish browns and ochre yellows to create little stories of walks in the countryside.  I like that my collages have evolved from simply using random papers and bits and pieces already in my collection.

I tend to file my collage papers in a monochromatic fashion so I found this "challenge" quite easy and got a bit carried away.  I ended up with eight collages for this prompt and hope you enjoy seeing my "mostly" monochromatic little stories.


“mediocre”

I call this one "mediocre".  I was trying to create an organic feel with this one.  The skeleton leaf (found in my garden) in symmetry with the statue, the roots mirroring the bare tree branches, lifted off text on vintage paper and some lovely green silk fabric with a frayed edge that looks like soft dark green grass.  It has a wintry feel with the blue green tones and bare bones of the trees, roots and leaf.


“the stormiest of skies”

The colours in this one were inspired by the indigo clouds in the landscape.  It was a paper I was using to paint on.  I enjoyed creating the layers with a piece of my collage work with oil pastels, a piece of my hand dyed silk and a vintage photo of mother and daughter from the sixties out for a walk in the lanes.  Do you think they will they make it home before it pours with indigo raindrops ...


“unsuitable shoes”


“taken in the garden - October 1943”

A gentlemen poses in a garden with a sunlit backdrop through the trees.  I used an image with bokeh and old wallpapers to match and give a nostalgic feel.  I used old fashioned photo corners to attach the photo so it can be lifted off again.  There is some very nice old writing on the back and someone has written "taken in the garden October 1943" in black ink.  I wonder a lot about who this gentleman is, who took the photo and how their life may have been during wartime.  The photo came to me in a random bundle.


“brownish leaves and gnarly roots”

Seventies girl is out for a walk amongst the falling brownish leaves and greenish gnarly roots.  I added texture with dark brown bark paper and real leaves.


“bloom”

I called this one "bloom" which is a play on words and represents the floweriness of the vintage patterns, the real pressed flower from my garden and the pretty bloom in the cheeks of seventies girl.  There are lots of layers on this one and seventies girl came from a sewing pattern.


“I giggled to myself”

I used my favourite ochre yellows and papers and textures from my own artwork such as rusted tissue paper from an erosion bundle, small collages with oil pastel, gelli plate prints and textured/painted fabrics.  The image came from a magazine.


“mermaids singing”

Inspired by the spine of a paperback book.  All background papers are my own work from either paintings, textures created on The Surface Treatment Workshop or erosion bundles.

Thank you always for visiting me today and for all comments here and elsewhere on Flickr, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.  If you would like to follow along with the collage project please feel free to follow the weekly prompts, make and share on your pages.  Also, please do have a look at my sister Evelyn’s page where she shares her beautiful collages and creative journey with watercolour painting.  Her blog is inspirational.

Next post - week 6 - pairings

4 comments:

rtquilter said...

VERY interesting post, Carolyn! Really well done. It was worth waiting for😉

Evelyn Flint said...

Very lovely collages.... !

Carol Rigby said...

Beautiful Carolyn! Love them all but my fave is Mermaids Singing. Looking forward to seeing more.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

So many intricate details to study! I was taken especially with the gentleman in the garden, not only by the collage itself but by you saying that the 'photo came to you in a random bundle'. So sad that so many of the old pictures are simply tossed aside (or worse, thrown away entirely). So many stories are lost.