Mini Collages

So collages and I have been going steady since high school when I was assigned a "found object" self-portrait. Working with "non-traditional" mediums or mixing "traditional" mediums made me focus less on precision and more on the content of whatever I was making - pushing me towards a much more conceptual style. For this project I had two small (6"x6") wooden canvasses that have been sitting in my room since spring. These two were originally part of a set of six, but four were used in a Father's Day gift, so these little babies have been left art-less for a while. It hit me last night what I needed to use these for - a "night" collage and a "day" collage. 

Supplies:

Two canvasses

Magazines

Scissors

Ruler

Rubber cement

So here we are, my magazines, canvasses and two piles of images, one for each. 

So after scouring my magazine collection for the best images, I got to work measuring out 2"x2" squares. At this point I wasn't quite sure where I was going to take this project, but I just went with it.

All squares cut out (I needed 21 for each canvas but cut more for insurance) and separated into their respective piles.

Next I decided since I had some extras, I'd test out cutting them into triangles, after which I was convinced that all of the squares needed to be triangles. Having graduated from art school I immediately came up with a conceptual reason to back this decision up - it adds to the yin and yang feel of the project; day/night, light/dark etc.

Before you begin, make sure that your supervisor (in this instance, our cat, Mr. Wizard) is in place and attentive. He was getting a bit jealous of Molly's prominence on the blog.

Once everyone was in place I brushed a coat of rubber cement over the whole canvas and let dry. What I learned after completing the first one was that you should really just coat the side you are working on because by the time you get to the last side, it's too dry to stick to.

Then I just started lining those triangles up. At first I didn't have a specified layout, but then I realized that undermines the integrity of the collage and worked out a composition that enhanced the concept. 

I also collaged the sides of the canvas.

Here's a top view of the finished collages.

Here they are up on a wall.

And here is where they will hang for at least a little while.

--Heather