They Tore It Up!

Sunday I had a wonderful time at a new workshop I've created called, "Tear It Up!" Two of the participants had not done visual art before, though they had other creative experiences like gardening, crafts, knitting, and dancing. All of the participants were bold and inventive. I was truly blown away by all the creations of the afternoon.

The goal of the workshop was to create two or more torn paper flower collages. The participants started each collage by creating backgrounds with papers that appealed to them. They used magazine pages, collage sheets, text, tissue paper, old dress patterns, and more.

Though this process was new to Jan, she got right in there and put down layers of various papers. She soon got the hang of using gel medium as a glue and sealer.

She added a butterfly, some abstract design tissue, and a chicken from a decorative napkin. She then unified the background with ultramarine blue. Then she came up with the idea of making her central flower image a 3-D poppy! (Wish I'd thought of that, but I'm delighted that she did!)

Jan's completed collage with 3-D poppy--Wow!


Closeup of Jan's poppy

Sally begins her delicate background

Sally chose a pink collage sheet for her "feminine" background. She used fragile tissue for the beautiful image on the left of her background. Sally teaches in the PSU Women's Studies Department. (To her I owe my involvement there.) She used anti-feminist text that she found in my collection (left over from an altered book group, I hasten to say.) This gave her "girly" collage a subtle twist.

A feminist collage develops

Sally spent a lot of time on the background for her second collage. She chose small, carefully placed papers and collage elements, then unified them with a blue glaze.

Sally's second background, unified

I'm disappointed that the only picture I got of her finished collage # 2 is blurred. This is such a vibrant and unusual piece. Sally and I initially thought she needed a large central image, but then agreed she didn't and that the proportions of the collage were perfect as they were.

Sally's elegant collage, badly photographed, alas

Jan had so much success with her first 3-D flower, that she made another fascinating 3-D plant.

Jan's second collage with a vibrant 3-D plant!

Nicole used a monochromatic background of neutral and beige colors. She then put tissue over the background creating an even more subtle, aged effect. The tissue layer included pieces of a vintage dress pattern. Nicole then set off the background with a bright blue daisy. Note all the different shades that make up the daisy for an effect of light and shade.

Nicole's gorgeous collage

Closeup of Nicole's collage

Though Francoise was new to collage, she enthusiastically layered a rich background with predominately blue tones. She then glazed the background with ultramarine and lots of glaze medium. She created a bright 3-D poppy and stem which pop right out of the picture.

Francoise makes her first collage background



Francoise's completed collage with 3-D poppy

Closeup of Francoise's poppy with more accurate color

Francoise created irises for her second piece. They are 3-D as are the stems, which she rolled out of green Chinese paper. Here's her completed piece:

Francoise's irises

Closeup of Francoise's 3-D irises and stems

Amazing pieces done by delightful women! It is so exciting to see what creativity is unleashed when we get together with time for ourselves!