Get Creative with COLLAGES!

I was introduced to Collage Art years ago by a dear friend, she gave me a big journal and some tips on how to create and to put my imagination on paper by using magazine images, textiles, paints and anything I can think of and see my thoughts come to live. Collage is one of my favorites art mediums because it is forgiving, until I glue the images to a surface, I can change my mind, experiment with composition, and add subtract pictures until I get it right.

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In fact, these days Art Therapists are using Collage Art as part of their curriculum to help children and adults cope with their emotions. Therapist often use magazine photo images as a projective technique-that is, as a means to simply get an individual to tell a story in response to visual stimulation.

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Collages are another easy art therapy idea to implement. If for some reason you’re not familiar with collages or you need a quick refresher on some different types of collages, here’s a little explanation as to what they are.
The term collage originates from the French word coller, which means “to glue.” The collage is a form of the visual arts and is created by gathering many different pieces or chunks of things. After you’ve gathered a variety of pieces you can then assemble the pieces into one, collective piece of art. This usually achieved by placing the individual pieces and gluing them onto a canvas or piece of paper, for instance, essentially creating a unique piece of artwork.
Some examples of things you can include in a collage:

1. Pictures or photographs
2. Bits of newspaper
3. Ribbons and/or bows
4. Other pieces of paper – can be different colors for example
5. Pictures or images from magazines
6. Pieces of other artwork
7. Old clothing or fabric
8. Comics
9. Food labels
10. And many more!

Collages of a certain type can include the following:

1. Paper collage – One of the more basic forms of collage. Various pieces of paper gathered and put together to create a unique collage strictly from paper products.
2. Photomontage – whether done by hand or with the help of a computer, a photomontage is a collage of pictures or photos.
3. Painting collage – Gluing pieces to a canvas and then painting over and/or around those pieces on the canvas, thus creating an original and unique painting.
4. Collage & architecture – Less about the technique, more about the concept of infusing different ideas into architectural design…probably not as much use in an art therapy sense as some of the others.
5. Wood collage – Create from pieces of wood, whether it be from scraps, old furniture, crates, barrels, house parts, driftwood, branches, sticks, bark, etc.
6. Digital collage – Using a computer to gather the visual pieces and put them together.

Here are some of my COLLAGE ART COLLECTION:

Card stock, recycled drier sheets, embossing powders, silk leaves, etc.

"Metaphorical World" on canvas- acrylic paints, images, spray paints, stencils, embossing powders and colored paper.

 "Senses" on paper- glue and images

Domino Table Top on wood- glue, images, digital photos, papers and resin.

"From my rose garden" on paper- tissue papers, glue, images, textiles.

"Bella Mia" on canvas- acrylic paints,squares of plywood, digital image, embossing powders, medium gels, pouring gel, molding paste and glass beads gel.

"Road To Redemption" on paper- glue and images.

"Puerto Rico me encanta"-Digital Collage Art prints