Today I’m posting another set of six small abstract collages that I’ve been creating lately. I’m quite enjoying working on these, finally finding a use for all those scraps of tissue and painted paper. Some of these have as an element, scraps from photographs of the seed pods of a wild sweet pea that comes up in our garden every year. I’d taken the photos into Photoshop and upped the contrast and created some interesting lines and textures. Now was my chance to use them. Others have scraps of sewing pattern tissue, just for the lines and colour.
Small abstract collage, mixed media with tissue, pencil crayon, ink pen, various saved and painted papers, 5 x 5.5 inches, Helen Bushell
The fun thing with creating these is the layering of colour, textures and lines, each piled on the other. I work from one composition to the other, loosely and intuitively. I enjoy taking my time, pondering, and often trying the same scrap in each composition, until I find the one where it fits perfectly. Once I have it all laid out as I want, I take quick photos to remind me of where everything went before I go back and slowly fasten each layer down with matte medium onto acid free mixed media paper. It’s quite the process!
Small abstract collage, mixed media with tissue, pencil crayon, ink pen, various saved and painted papers, sweet pea seed photo copy paper, 5 x 5.5 inches, Helen Bushell
Small abstract collage, mixed media with tissue, pencil crayon, ink pen, various saved and painted papers, 5 x 5.5 inches, Helen Bushell
Each collage is quite small, only about 5.5 x 5.75 inches or approx 13×14 cm. I think they tend to have a cohesiveness and would look quite good in groups. I hope to have all of them posted eventually on our Etsy shop FoundMadeArt soon. They’re sold unframed, priced at $60 each and we offer free shipping too.
Working on a new set now, so more to come! The next set looks to be quite different in composition so far. Experimenting again….
Small abstract collage, mixed media with tissue, pencil crayon, ink pen, various saved and painted papers, sweet pea seed photo copy paper, 5 x 5.5 inches, Helen Bushell
Small abstract collage, mixed media with tissue, pencil crayon, ink pen, various saved and painted papers, s 5 x 5.5 inches, Helen Bushell
Small abstract collage, mixed media with tissue, pencil crayon, ink pen, various saved and painted papers, sweet pea seed photo copy paper, 5 x 5.5 inches, Helen Bushell
I was expecting to post the next sets of collages much sooner, but, due to a few health problems, NOT COVID, thank goodness, I had to delay. So although these collages have been done for a while now, there was a lot of scanning and preparation to deal with before I could finally post.
I have also taken a big step, for me, and decided to put the collages in our Etsy shop FoundMadeArt! I’m hoping they’ll fall nicely into that “affordable art” niche, something colourful and small to jazz up someone’s walls. I’ve kept them priced quite inexpensively ($60 Cdn), for a one-of-a-kind art work, and hope that they’ll make a nice gift for someone else or just for yourself. We all need a little treat, right? Although they are being sold unframed, here is a little example of one framed. We love to find frames at thrift stores and really encourage everyone to try that too. Great recycling! We’ll be adding more as we go along.
Small Abstract Paper Collage,5x 5.5 inches (approx 13 x 14 cm)created with paper, tissue, paint, pencil crayon. Helen Bushell
The next batch of 6 collages are again very small, just image size 5 x 5.5 inches (approx 13 x 14 cm), and would work quite nicely framed and hung in groups too. Each composition is created with layers of paper, tissue, painted paper, black and white prints of seeds from the garden like cardoon or sweet pea, even fennel seeds. In some, there is even a bit of tissue from patterns for sewing. Nothing wasted around here…
Small abstract collage, mixed media with tissue, pencil crayon, various saved and painted papers. 5 x 5.5 inches, Helen Bushell
Small abstract collage, mixed media with tissue, pencil crayon, various saved and painted papers. 5 x 5.5 inches, Helen Bushell
Small abstract collage, mixed media with tissue, pencil crayon, various saved and painted papers. 5 x 5.5 inches, Helen Bushell
Small abstract collage, mixed media with tissue, pencil crayon, various saved and painted papers. 5 x 5.5 inches, Helen Bushell
Small abstract collage, mixed media with tissue, pencil crayon, various saved and painted papers. 5 x 5.5 inches, Helen Bushell
Small abstract collage, mixed media with tissue, pencil crayon, various saved and painted papers. 5 x 5.5 inches, Helen Bushell
Here we are, Will and I, basically still at home, staying safe. Making little forays out now and then for curb pick up or quick shops, masked up, sanitizer hand cleaner at the ready. Summer has zoomed by, today the calendar says it’s the start of Fall. But, the time has not been wasted and has been, for the most part, put to good and I may say, even enjoyable, use. The upside of being an artist I suppose. We’re rarely bored, even stuck at home.
I’m taking a short break from the frustrations of dealing my new sewing machine, all that thread changing, stitch setting, constantly reading my instruction manual. Lol. Yes, sewing is not second nature to me. Even though I love playing with the fabric, pushing scraps into pleasing collages. And even though I love zooming around, the feed dogs down, drawing and scribbling with threads and stitches, I said to myself, enough! Time for a change…..
So, I decided to transform my little studio from a sewing studio into a paper collage studio instead. Luckily, I’m quite organized, but then, I have to be. My studio measures about 10 ft by 12 feet (3 x 3.5 m). It’s full to the brim with shelves stacked with dishes for mosaic, a large easel for painting, shelves holding fabric scraps, paints, brushes, glue, tools. All this not to mention, 3 or 4 sewing machines, one new but most rather vintage bargains found at garage sales and thrift stores brought back to life by Will’s talent with oiling and cleaning, So after the work table is cleared, the fabric packed into recycled plastic storage bins, the little ironing board folded and put away, it’s just a matter of bringing up the boxes from under the work table full of folders of paper scraps and voila!, I have the paper collage studio!
Most of my paper collage is made with paper design and textures of my own making. I’m not one for using much from old mags. Lots of mark making is saved. I do like to create abstract collage and for that I need lots of colour and texture. So, every time I paint, before I clean off my plate of leftover wet paint, I use paper from old envelopes, junk mail, whatever and rub the the paper on the leftover paint. It makes amazing one off prints and you get some interesting textures. These are all saved for later use in paper collage. So, before you know it, the table is now piled high with scraps of paper, pencil crayons and matte medium.
I’ve decided to have a bit of fun, work small (around 5.5 x 6in or 14 x 15 cm), do them up, 6 collages at once on mixed media paper. This approach has had the added benefit of keeping me loose and intuitive as I work, each piece is not getting too precious. So I’ve been taking my time, playing with each arrangement, fiddling with details, and enjoying the process. But they’re starting to pile up a bit and I’m planning on putting them up on our FoundMadeArt shop. Some will also be scanned for use on products on our Print on Demand shops too and may become prints, pillows, clothing, furniture, all sorts of things. I’ll be posting each group as they become scanned and ready. Hope you enjoy! Here’s batch #1.
Will often helps me come up with titles for work. To him, it felt like the red pieces were moving or migrating, even. Hence, the title. I’m playing with creating framing within the composition. And I’ve been saving the little blue crosses on my correspondence from Blue Cross and like them much better as little blue X’s. Sort of X marks the spot.
