SIMPLE COLLAGE DEMO by Jeanne Dunn

eBay: jeanze*art

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Like most people, I had opportunities to collage during my early school years, and I also dabbled in decoupage, but I've only been creating mixed media collage art as an adult since October 2006. I consider myself a relative newcomer, but I've fallen in love with mixed media and altered art!

Materials Used For This Project

• 2.75” x 3.75” 146 lb. watercolor paper for base of card (to be trimmed)
• White Craft Glue (permanent bond)
• Water
• Bristle and Sponge Paint Brushes
• Tissue Paper
• Paper Cutter
• Mulberry Paper
• Variety of Images and Paper/Flat Items
• Scissors and Exacto Blade
• Cutting Pad
• Distress Ink Inkpad
• Krylon Matte Spray Finish
• Delta Ceramcoat Indoor/Outdoor Varnish

Primary Image or Theme

The first step in any collage is selecting a primary image or theme, to select your color palette, and pick through your ephemera to find complimentary pieces.

One of my favorite aspects of collage is that I can combine two loves… vintage imagery and humor… with pleasing results. I collect vintage photographs that I find in local antique stores for a few dollars apiece. Those I buy are the ones that inspire me to smile and/or make a creative idea pop immediately into my head… like the ACEO collage I'm creating for this demonstration.

I never want to cut the original vintage photos, so I scan and print them on acid-free papers with archival inks for my collages. This also gives me an opportunity to tweak the color a bit, too, to keep in the palette I have chosen.

The Base

I started with a base of 146 lb. watercolor paper cut about ¼” bigger around than the standard 2.5” x 3.5”. I love watercolor paper as a collage base. It is sturdy and provides excellent adhesion with glue washes and straight glue.

Background

I made a glue wash of 1 part white craft glue and 2 parts water.

I painted the base with the glue wash, then set the tissue over it and pressed it on with my fingers. I wanted some texture, so allowed creases, but smoothed out bubbles.

Then I painted a light glue wash over the tissue.

By this time, it was pretty wet, so I gently pulled away the excess tissue paper, then set aside the base to dry for a couple of hours. During this time, I would check the card, and if there was curling, I could gently work it back to being flat. (This is another reason I love working with the watercolor base for collage. It is strong, but flexible when wet.)

Because the base was larger than the final size, the tissue adheres quite well all the way to the edges when it's trimmed down.

When the base and background have thoroughly dried, I trim the card to the exact ACEO size of 2.5” x 3.5”.

NOTE: I often make many of these bases with backgrounds at the same time. It's frugal, because I'm not wasting glue, and because it does take time for them to dry, making several is a sensible way to have a batch on hand when you are inspired.

Trimming, Effects and Lay Out

Next I trimmed my primary image and secondary elements. I find that cutting with an Exacto blade rather than scissors gives me better results.

After trimming them, I gently go around the sides of the image with appropriately colored ink (India ink or art markers) to hide any white show through. I use brush-style markers for this. You have to use a light touch so the ink doesn't bleed on to the image, unless, of course, you want that bleed effect.

The vintage image for this card was a photograph of three rather stern-looking young men. (For those who remember The Little Rascals/Our Gang series, my first impression was that these men were card-carrying members of the He Man Woman Haters Club.) The theme for this card is “No Women Allowed.”

My secondary elements include a whisky bottle label (vintage, scanned, printed.) and a cigar ring. I also found an Admit One ticket in my ephemera box, and a small bit of cork skin. I created the No Women Allowed sign on my computer.

Effects included burning some edges (hard to photograph that process when I was home alone!).

Originally I intended the card to be portrait-style, but after playing with my pieces, I opted for a landscape lay out. I got all of the pieces set (not yet glued) where I wanted them. Don't worry about overhang, because you can trim off any overhang after your pieces are glued down and dried.

To add color and dimension, I worked with mulberry paper (burgundy, black, taupe and ivory). The young men are the top of four glued layers… the image, then black, taupe and ivory mulberry papers. The whisky bottle label was backed with burgundy mulberry paper. I used my Exacto blade for trimming.

Finally happy with all of the elements, I began gluing them down in their final positions.

I smeared an ink pad over some pieces on the card to create an aged, vintage effect.

Once the collage is dry, trim your overhanging bits and pieces. I trim them with the card upside down on my cutting pad, with my blade against the edge of the base. (Sorry I didn't get a photo of this!) You need to do this with good pressure to get through layers and assure an even edge.

Finishing

Once my elements have been glued down, I allow the card to dry overnight.

The next day, I begin the finishing process. First, I gently use a brush-style art marker to go over the sides of the card. (If you want the color you use on the edge to bleed over or show on the front of the card, you can be a bit more heavy-handed with it.)

Next, I very lightly spray the card with a matte finish sealant and allow it to dry.

The final step is varnishing. I love the look of a gloss varnish finish on these wee collages. It protects. It makes colors pop. And depending on the type of brush and stroke you use, you can create some nice effects.

For this card, I used a sponge brush to put on a light layer of varnish. I washed the brush and squeezed out the water while card dried for a minute or two, then ran the cleaned brush over the varnish in one direction, being sure to hit any pooled varnish. (Varnish can pool up next to images that are slightly raised.)

I let this coat of varnish dry, then I use the same process to varnish the sides of the card very lightly, and after doing the sides, I go over the top one more time.

Voila! A completed collage! This is a simple collage, which didn't need extra bits and pieces like ribbons and metallic elements or jewels. My next demo will be something a little more frilly!