A Collage Story

Horst Arts | Main Street, Manheim PA

My collage story starts with my college story. I pursued a degree in Fine Art that led me to a class on collage history during my senior year. The knowledge I gained from that class opened my eyes to the medium I love working in today. I found the history of this art genre fascinating, and it stuck. The four years of learning I received in art college provided the time and experiences I needed to learn what was creatively possible. It built my confidence in handling the arts.

When I graduated, I was not experimenting with mixed media art as I am now. I wasn’t sure what direction to take my art career. I loved to paint, draw, and make images by layering with printmaking techniques. I was also grappling with a big question: “What am I trying to express to others?”

My newly graduated self set out to stay creative. I was working through what parts of me were the most important to share with a mixed group of viewers, from family members to strangers. I knew my need to share beauty was important. I settled on creating art that was inspired by landscapes and rooted in my love of nature.

I wasn’t ready to paint, and I didn’t have tools for printmaking. I remembered how much I loved my collage course in school, and knew I had some unwanted drawings and prints from my classroom days. I began rooting through old notes, drawing pads, and books I had sitting around. The more I painted on used newspapers or ripped from a page from old magazines, the more my excitement grew. It became a scavenger hunt every time I sat down to work at my easel. I enjoyed using recycled “junk” to make something new.

My First Collage

My first collage was a house made of thick paper and rope set in a shady forest of dead trees. The colors all around the house are muted, but the paper inside of it is bright. It is burning from the inside out. I saw the house symbolizing a human body with a burning heart. The title “The Warmth Lies Beneath” talks about a spiritual awakening and a fire of faith being ignited in this forest of death. I enjoyed the paper and the ideas. I made a few more pieces that used nature as a way to talk about human life, death, and even my Christian faith through metaphor.

My Art & Faith

Aside from my passion for all things creative, I have a love for Jesus. I’ve been a Christian most of my life, and it influences all my choices. I’ve wanted to put my Christian faith into my artwork but struggled with figuring out how to represent it. There is a lot that we can explain about who God is and His relationship to humanity with pictures versus words. These pictures can enhance the words found in His ultimate truth, the Bible. I knew then and know now that I wanted to incorporate God’s Word in my creative pieces. How I include my faith in my art has changed over the years. I now use paper with words or Christian images to add faith-based elements more than making the whole artwork around a biblical context. Including Christian elements gives the collage a chance to be a scavenger hunt for the viewer, too.

Since we’re talking about me for a moment, I wanted to share another way my art and faith come together. I am a very social person and need the connection of others for my mental health. I know now that the need to connect is God-given and important to follow. I see my creative side as an opportunity for that social need of human interaction to be filled. I seek out relationships with other creative people. When I make a friend through my art, I can share not only about my collage but also about my passion for the Lord’s beauty in my life. My “mission field” is to share my belief in Jesus with my art society. We can start talking about the landscapes we reference, but there’s room to talk about deeper convictions once the door opens. 

My Top Collage Tips

Here are a few tips I learned from my 8+ years of making collage.

• Your surface matters! I love using wooden boards instead of canvas or paper. The hard flat surface of wood works great for glue adhesion. I especially love cradled board because it includes an edge like a canvas. 

• After you find the board, you then need to get the glue. There are so many, and everyone has an opinion. I like to use Dick Blick Gloss medium. It can go on top and underneath your collage material when you’re attaching it. It is really strong and can handle lots of layered paper. I have had lots of success with this glue. When it dries, it leaves a clear glossy finish on top of your paper.

• There are so many paper options with which to collage, and I have a few types I really enjoy. Overall, when I am building up my image, I try and stick with thin paper. The thicker pieces are best for the final top layer of your artwork. Here are some great examples to start with:

  • Handmade paper (like rice paper) 

  • Coffee filters (can hold acrylic paint well, so I like to make them colorful first before I glue them on) 

  • Tissue paper 

  • Old wallpaper samples 

  • Old recycled books (mostly those from the 50s-80s because the ink for their pictures are so interesting) 

  • Vintage greeting cards 

  • Lightweight sketchbook paper