This was a weekend for experimenting with paper collages.
It wasn’t avoidance behavior to put off cleaning my studio for next weekend’s studio tour. Really. I was just pursuing some artful ideas. Really.
And I made some discoveries.
My goal was to use my recently-created leaf stencil patterns to create a few simple paper compositions incorporating leaves and bird silhouettes.
I started with a stash of monotype-printed tissue papers I had created a few months ago.
I made a LOT of printed sheets when I saw that my gelatin printing plate was on its last legs, and was also creating some very interesting patterns. I decided to print on tissue paper. It is so delicate it picks up every little nuance. I printed in subdued and neutral hues to use for backgrounds.
So, I collaged some sheets of water color paper with the monotype-printed tissues and let them dry.
Now for leaves.
The stencil patterns are working nicely. I like overlapping colors and pattern.
But something was missing. The compositions were looking a little flat.
Hmmm. Maybe some subtle geometric shapes to overlap the leaves? Add some layers. Reveal some positive-negative shapes.
That sounded promising.
I’d been using a foam paint roller for the stencils so I decided to use that for the geometrics. I backed way, way back on the amount of paint on the roller, so it put down just a whisper of color, at least at first. In a few places I went back and deepened it up. (MUCH better to start light. You can always add more. But if it’s too much from the beginning, there’s no place to go.)
Here's a section that I thought became interesting.
The large teal square is the more obvious shape. I used a stencil of a square and filled it in. But, behind it, I then used the corner of a paper as a stencil and let it block out the paint. Now I was deepening the negative space, and the rectangle is formed by the background papers.
This picture shows a bit of everything that went into these pieces: Monotype tissue background. A collaged piece of sheer fabric. (Top right.) Stenciled leaves in two colors. Appliqued fabric bird. Rolled paint to create a geometric shape in the background.
Alas, I have completed all the new work I’ll get to do this week. I have to work on displays for the studio tour. And I really do have to clean the studio floor. Really.
……
This is my last chance to invite those near central Florida to attend the DeLand-area Artist Studio Tour. There will be twenty-three artists opening their work spaces. I hope you can visit.
For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating
Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
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