A Journey Called Collage

Week 6: April 22, 2007

Taking Your Collage To The Next Level
Paper Texture
Adding Visual Elements

The Process:

I created a list of what I might include in the collage...did not gather all the things because as I gathered, my idea changed a bit and made it unnecessary to do things like scan the scarf or the sweater. I had thought about including some of the photos when she was in her very last days but could not bring myself to look at them yet. I decided to go with the idea of her life as one I n which she gathered many friends with her outgoing nature. Her address book with her handwritten thoughts and ideas she gathered was a great source for the collage.

I chose the central photo, taken when we vacationed one year in Cancun, because it shows a kind of free joy! Gloves, to show her battle with RA, earring to show her love for jewelry, her highschool yearbook excerpt to characterize her! I have given it the title "Dear Friends".

ICollage for Mother
August 19, 1916 - August 9, 2001

Background Possibilities
Seasons Banner
Gold and red scarf
Sweater with the flowers
Pocketbook?
Victoria magazine?

Elements
Earrings
Makeup
Bracelets

Written elements
From the Dear friends address book

Photos
Baby photo
High school yearbook
Thumbs up at seventy
From Xmas gatherings
Last photos...difficult to look at

Ideas
Show a progression through her life?
Show just the ending years?
Show relationship to her family...or just as she was as a person

Process:

Creating paper textures and using them with Chalk, Conte crayon or any type of grainy brush is so interesting to do! I used the idea for the address book, pencil case and banner. I found that increasing the contrast and brightness in the paper palette could bring them out a bit more. Also, the inverse could result in filling in the parts left uncoverd by the opposite of the inverse. The handwriting pieces were easily blended by using the Multiply composite mode.

Click the collage to see it in a larger view.

Here are files used in creating the collage: