Day 741: She asked, so I did.

"Blogdoll",  junk mail collage on digital collage,

People sometimes say to me ...

 how are you able to come up with a blog every day?

I respond, in all honesty, I don't know?

I've planned to do it daily and I just hope.

Kind of like the movie, "If you build it they will come"?

Sometimes, like yesterday, 

I type the day & number ...

and it just pops into my head!

So, a while ago, my cousin's son's wife ...

(I thinks that's still a cousin of some number?)

AKA Michelle, the beautiful Indiana lawyer, 

asked me if I could tell her ...

what was needed for her daughter's to try 

collage as a summer craft project?

I said sure, and then was promptly distracted.

Yesterday, it resurfaced somewhere in this cluttered brain.

I sent off an e-mail that looked a lot like this.

Then it occurred to me, there is today's blog!

For many this will be way TMI? Be warned.
You are allowed to pass ...GO

and proceed directly to the smile at the end of this post.

There are many ways to do collage.

I sometimes call it painting with paper.

You will need ...

1.  Paper. All kinds. Tissue, junk mail, magazines,

newspaper, gift wrap, scraps etc. 
I think thinner papers work best.

Avoid National Geographic and similar heavy, varnished, 

glossy papers that are beautiful but problematic. 

Happy hunting.

2.  A substrate. Could be anything. A journal, card stock,

cradleboard, canvas board, canvas, metal, wood.

3. Permanent glue stick for paper on paper, or ... 

gel medium & foam brush for paper on heavier surfaces.

Gel medium is like a liquid, plastic glue & binder 

with UV or fade resistant proprieties. 

There are many brands ...

Golden, Liquitex etc. Modpodge is a similar product.

4.  A ruler for tearing straight lines, torn edge is my preference.

  (I don't provide scissors in my classes ;op )

5.  My favorite collage tool is my brayer, 

it flattens the paper once down, smoothes out the wrinkles.

This is only for paper on paper with glue stick.

6.  You will need newspaper to protect your work surface,

and maybe an apron and gloves to protect you?

I suggest starting in a journal or on heavy paper for your first try. Using glue stick to fully coat the back of the paper to be adhered.

The bigger the paper glued, the more wrinkles. Just play.

I did  this "doll" in my journal today, it's not done ...

and if I had been smarter I would have done the 

background first. It is hard to fit the background in later.

This was mainly to show you that you can use any kind of papers,

and it doesn't have to be exact or perfect.

Also, you can work abstract ... where you play with ...
shapes of paper until you like it. 
Below is a junk mail & papers, done in my journal with glue stick.

Another alternative, below shows three stages of a landscape.
Done with tissue, scraps and gel medium on a 12 x12" cradleboard.

When done, you can add markers, pens, watercolor, pastels, colored pencils, ephemera or whatever pleases you.
If you happen to have an area that isn't working, or ...
you aren't pleased with it ... just collage over it!
As one of my students said, "It's not rocket surgery!"
It should be fun!

One last thing! Okay three! (hints)

1. for glue stick application ... spread glue evenly over the entire back of paper scrap, press down firmly onto background 
& use brayer pressure to roll out bubbles & wrinkles.


2. for gel medium technique ... be careful not to get papers soggy by using too much gel medium, blot the excess with paper towel and skip around, working in different areas to to allow drying.


3. Have fun!

A smile for Wednesday ...

it's all relative ...