When faced with the task of collage-making, my mind was buzzing with ideas. The problem was, I had too many ideas. I decided it was time for a mind map.
After looking at Jelle Martens collages, I thought about using shapes within my own collages. I thought about obscuring my object ‘The Raincoat Girl’. I drew quick sketches to get my ideas down onto paper:
From my artist research, I found I prefer the more simple collage designs. I didn’t want to over-complicate my collages and have them look visually noisy.
I used some magazine images but found it easier to source images from the internet and use my own photos.
Printing photos from my computer also meant I had the option of editing my pictures to suit the artwork and contribute to the message I wanted to create. I could also resize the images and therefore use more creativity. Magazine images can be restrictive but also trigger new ideas due to the spontaneous process of flicking through unknown pages.
All collages are A4 sized.
I used Microsoft Word to edit the photos. For the image of the repeated figure, I clicked ‘Picture Format’ > ‘Artistic Effects’.
I wanted to use words within a couple of my collages. I wanted to see if words would strengthen the message, compared to a collage where I use no words.
For the collage below, I experimented with printing onto sugar paper. I placed pink sugar paper in my printer and printed the black and white photo onto it. I think the sugar paper created a softer looking image. This was what I wanted for the subject of flowers, as petals are soft. In this collage, The Raincoat Girl echoes a flower.
In my final collage of the day, I used blue card as a backdrop and magazine images in the foreground. The glossiness of the magazine paper complimented the mat quality of the blue card. I wanted to play with the idea of optical illusion. An image that can be viewed in more than 1 way.
Placing the window in place of her heart, symbolises her emotional openness. The brick walls are her emotional boundaries. On the other-hand, we could be looking at a house who has a personality. The feeling of arriving home and feeling like you are being hugged by your house.