Creative Collage Art Combinations

Inspiration for Your Creative Collage Art

By Chris Dunmire

In Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, I showed you how to make a magazine collage, assemblage, mixed-media collage, book cover collage, and experimental collage textures. To wrap up this beginner's collage series, here's a few more "experimental" examples demonstrating a combination of background texture with magazine collage or other found elements to produce interesting collage art effects.

Remember, anything you can glue down, paint over, or affix to your canvas support is fair game in collage. Don't be afraid to experiment. If it doesn't work out, that's okay, you can always try again. Let your imagination run wild and just enjoy yourself!

Copyright Reminder: If you intend to create collage (or any other) art for other than personal, experimental learning purposes, I highly suggest that you create, photograph, or design your own original elements; or use items in the public domain so infringing on someone else's copyright will never be an issue.

Part 6: Collage Combinations

Additional Materials Needed:

• Open to a variety of papers, fabrics, and techniques.

Collage Piece: "Hands On"

This collage was constructed from origami paper, newspaper, and acrylic paint on a wood support. Real palm prints were added over the top by using two hands in a rubber stamping fashion: dipping them in paint and gently pressing down.

Collage Piece: "Fishbowl Freedom"

This collage was made from torn magazine pieces, tissue paper, and acrylic paint on an illustration board support. Notice how the tissue paper is crumpled and painted into a background texture behind the lone fish outside of the fishbowl. It's always fun to create "new stories" into collage art from existing sources. The fish were originally part of a magazine advertisement.

Collage Piece: "Eye Am Be You Tiful"

This self-affirming collage was made from tissue paper, torn magazine pieces, and acrylic paint on an illustration board support. It features a two-tier message ("I am beautiful", and "be you") that begins in the orange fish's eye and continues down toward the bottom under the other two fishes.

Collage Piece: "Chocolate Pollock"

If Jackson Pollock could do it with paint, why can't we do it with chocolate?! Actually, even though it looks real, the "chocolate syrup" on this collage is a chocolate-brown acrylic paint that looks amazingly realistic. Other elements include a colorful assortment of name brand chocolate-bar candy foil wrappers and a wood support spray-painted white.

The best thing about creating this collage was eating all of the chocolate beforehand. Well, how else was I going to get those wrappers?

Collage Tutorials Summary, More Projects, Further Reading

There is so much more to learn about collage and plenty of room for experimenting. If you want to seriously pursue the art of collage, I recommend that you do some further reading of articles, projects, and books by experienced collage artists who will give you good advice about creating collages that are durable and lasting.

The above book widget has some of my hand-selected book recommendations from Amazon for further reading and definitely swing by collage artist and author Nita Leland's Web site How to Collage Information pages which features a collage gallery and several collage project ideas: magazine collage, working with rice paper, and nature collage.

Finally, visit Creativity Portal's own how-to collage projects and Websources pages for more collage inspiration. •

About the Author | More by Chris Dunmire
Chris Dunmire is the founder of Creativity Portal®, a Kaizen-Muse™ creativity coach, artist, and writer who works with creative clients through overwhelm, procrastination, perfectionism, and other blocks to their creativity (personal or professional) while holding the space to experience more joy, humor, and ease in their lives and work. Contact Chris to explore how creativity coaching can open and enhance your life!

Updated 3/22/09