Inspiration
I spent most of the day working in the studio and managed to get quite a bit done. I prepped a new canvas, and layered in more color on another work in progress.
As I was working, I kept thinking about the meaning behind the word “inspiration”. To inspire, bring about the arousal of the mind to unusual activity or creativity. What inspires creativity? Is it learning something new? I’m not sure what inspires creativity, however, when it strikes I feel excited and passionate about expressing it through color and line.
This evening the inspiration bug hit, and I worked on the digital collage below. The background was created by laying in some watercolor on a blank canvas, then I began painting the figure on a separate layer with watercolor & pastels. Next I merged the painted layers and added text.
Divine Mother by Rose Arizmendi (C) 2008 – Collage/Combined Media
“Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air – explode softly – and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth – boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn’t go cheap, either – not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with their imagination.”
Images For Collage
I love making my own collage images with my digital camera and photoshop, because it’s easy and fun to create a one of a kind image. I also love using commercial rubber stamps but sometimes I need something unusual or a little different.
The first place I look are thrift shops and antique stores, usually it is there that I find a treasure trove of objects to take home and photograph.
As soon as I return home, I grab my camera and take a photo of whatever it is I want to make a stamp of, then I take it into photoshop to retouch and clean it up.
Here is an example of an antique watch I just made for a collage I am currently working on.
Antique Watch Photo Retouch #1
Antique Watch Process #2
It is at this point I decide on just how much more I want to add or take away from the image. If I like what I see I go on to the next step.
Antique Watch Stamp
Once everything is finished you can either print the image and add it to your collage or make a rubber stamp.
Scarab Paper Mosaic
Working on a paper mosaic scarab. I began cutting many tiny little pieces of paper for the body, wings, and the sun. I had a great time, although it was a bit messy. I am already dreaming up more projects using this technique. Below is a photo of this work in progress. After it dries I will begin work on the next process.
Paper Mosaic Collage
I love creating collage out of waste materials, giving new life to the junk mail we receive on a daily basis. It’s my way of recycling catalogs, magazines, flyer’s, calenders, etc. Currently, I am creating mosaic collages out of little pieces of paper and other materials.
These cut pieces of paper can be as small as the size of a brush stroke, so therefore one needs hundreds of these little bits of cut paper. There is a sculptural quality to this type of collage, with an interplay of areas of color, texture, and detail. I glue these pieces onto a canvas or poster board in which I have sketched a general outline of the subject to be portrayed.
So grab some magazines, scissors, acrylic gel (gloss) medium, tweezers, and begin creating your own paper mosaic collages.