A Few Hearts from Collage Challenge #4

Check out the Heart Collages on our Flickr Group here. I have added a few of my own. See the challenge in the previous post, and please participate if it sounds like fun.

Here are a few from the group. As you can see, some of them made use of the collage papers I made available for download (which you can do here), and some did just fine without.

Here are a few heart collages I did on Friday:

This is the only one in my group in which I make the heart the center image. In the others, the heart is simply part of a larger collage. I like playing with both approaches.

This one came out of left field. End of day, fooling around, did not even expect to put a heart in this one. Maybe it's a heart perched on an outhouse.

Even if hearts are not your thing, I hope you will find inspiration in the work posted on Flickr.

Collage Challenge #4 for the month of May

Collage Challenge #4 Part 1

For Collage Challenge #4 we are making hearts. Yes, hearts. Here is the most recent post on collage hearts, with links to previous posts. The rules for this collage challenge are:

• The hearts should be collage only. No painting or drawing in these. 
• Make one heart per piece. That is, don't make repeating hearts in one piece.

Download a few collage papers here. Using them is optional.

 Join our Flickr group and post your heart collages there.

You could just cut out a heart and glue it to a background, but to make it more fun and challenging try creating the heart shape out of several collage pieces, and/or same with the ground. Here are a couple of examples from the previous posts:

 Part 2

Send me collections of collage papers that you would like to see made into heart collages. Six to ten pieces is plenty. Send to:

Jane Davies Studios
PO Box 45
Rupert, Vermont 05768

I will choose one or more winners and make collage hearts for them.

Also, send me a self addressed envelope with postage if you are in the US, and not if you are outside the US. I will send you some collage papers.

Winners of Collage Challenge #3

Thank you to all who participated in Collage Challenge #3! What a great collection of collage papers with TYPE I received from so many participants. Be sure to check out the fabulous work on our Flickr group here. It is inspiring to see such diverse and creative work from so many of you.

I will post the next challenge, Collage Challenge #4, on Friday. For now, here are the winners of Collage Challenge #3. 

Jo Murray sent me this collection of papers, all the way from Australia.

Joyce Francis sent these papers.

 I will send these two 9"x12" collages to the winners.

Meanwhile, here are a few contributions from the challenge that are posted on the Flickr group:

Check out the whole group here.

Collage Challenge #3

For National Poetry Month (my uncle says, "There is a reason it's called 'the cruelest month'"), both parts of my collage challenge involve collaging with type. Or text. Could be handwriting or printed. The stipulation I want to make is that the text and type be used as an abstract element, for its visual content, not its verbal meaning. You may be able to read bits of words, but the shapes of the letters or texture/pattern of text is the visually meaningful aspect.

Magazines and newspapers, as well as junk mail and flyers, are great sources of type and text material. Look for a variety of scale, font, color, and spacing. To get you started I made a five-page pdf of nonsense type that you can download here. Print what you like and add it to your own stash.

Part 1: Make collages using type as a primary element (include other elements if you like) and post them on our Flickr group here. I have created a Pinterest Board with examples of using type as an abstract element. Take a look for inspiration!

This is my collection of type.

The beginning of a collage that I will sand.

Detail shot of work in progress

Detail shot of work in progress

Another collection of found type

Part 2: send me collage papers with type on them. You can make them using letter stamps or handwriting, or stencils, or send me found text. Please include any other collage papers that you think will go well with the type. Send to:

Jane Davies Studios

Collage Challenge #3

PO Box 45

Rupert, Vermont  05768

I will choose a few winners and make collages for them using the text they've sent.

Send me a self-addressed envelope with adequate postage (if you are in the US, no postage if you are not in the US), and I will send you a little collection of papers from my own stash and previous challenges.

Winners for Collage Challenge #2

I know it is not quite the end of the month, but I am posting this to coordinate with my every-other-Friday newsletter schedule. Don't forget to check in on Monday for April's Collage Challenge #3.

Here are two monochrome collages going to two "winners" from Collage Challenge #2. It was hard to choose winners because there were so many great collections of collage papers all in one color.

This one goes to Rosemary in Devon, UK. She sent me these gorgeous papers in RED.

This goes to Linda in Kansas. Her color was orange, though here on the screen it looks so similar to the red. I did not actually give preference to this color range.

Check out the Flickr Group, where people have posted collages made with Collage Challenge #2 papers, and Collage Challenge #1 papers.

Works from Collage Challenge #2

Here are a few of the pieces posted on our flickr group, Jane Davies Collage Challenge, for Collage Challenge #2:

This one has friends! An installation.

"After Matisse"

Check out our Collage Challenge #2 post, and then go over and visit the flickr group.

Monochrome Collage

Here are some beautiful green papers I got in the mail yesterday, my FIRST envelope of collage papers from this Collage Challenge #2. 

I did a scan of some of my pink papers from the last challenge. I have organized the papers into color groups, including single color groups, neutrals, black and white, and multi-color.

And below are examples of monochrome collages.

These are pieces of student work from an online class.

This is one of mine; it does have a little purple and red in it, but to me it still reads as monochrome.

Head over to our flickr group where people are posting collages using the collage papers from Collage Challenge #2. There is some pretty exciting work there.

Keep sending me self-addressed envelopes (stamped if you are in the USA) so I can send you little packets of collage papers.

Collage Challenge #2

Part 1: For this month, I have made you a group of papers to download on Flickr. Cut it up and make a collage (or try several!) Same rules apply: you may add one paint color and one other mark, such as a line or a pattern. Post your work on our Flickr group. It was so much fun to see how diverse the collages were even when they all used the same papers. For links to Flickr instructions, see Collage Challenge #1.

Here is the collage I made with the papers:

I added the orange paint at the top, and the black scribble at right.

For part 2 of the challenge, send me groups of collage papers (6 - 10) that are all in one main color. They can be patterned or textured, but they must read as one basic color. Send your collage papers to:

Jane Davies Studios

Collage Challenge #2

PO Box 45

Rupert, Vermont 05768

Again, I will choose a few winners and make a mostly-monochrome collage for each of them. See yesterday's post to see winning collages from the first challenge. Here are a few examples of groups of papers all in one main color:

GREEN

ORANGE

BLUE

RED

BLACK, WHITE, and GRAY

NEUTRALS: beige, brown, off-white, etc.

My color categories are:  Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Turquoise, Pink, Neutrals (see above), and Black-and-White and Gray (see above).

I will gladly send YOU some of this bounty of collage papers: just send a self-addressed envelope with adequate postage (if in the US), or no postage (if outside the US) to Jane Davies Studios, Collage Paper Request, PO Box 45, Rupert, VT  05768.

Deadline for all of the above is the end of the month.

Collage Challenge #1 Winners

Thank you so much for participating in Collage Challenge #1! I got so many envelopes of collage papers it was a challenge in itself to choose the "winners".  My choices were based on the requirement of variety, first. That narrowed it down a little. Then I had to see which collections of papers spoke to me, which ones I could work with.

Here are the winning collages, which I will send out to the people who sent me these packets of collage papers. There were many many more that were in the running.

Collage for Carol

Collage for Loren

Collage for Peggy

I have been regrouping the collage papers and sending out packets to people on request. All you have to do is send me a self-addressed stamped envelope (if you are in the US), or a self-addressed envelope without postage (if you are outside the US). I find it is as much fun to choose and send a collection of papers as it is to receive them!  Jane Davies, Collage Paper Request, PO Box 45, Rupert, VT  05768.

Here are a few envelopes that showed up in my mail box, beautifully embellished:

This is a scan of six different envelopes.

And another six. There were many more with awesome exterior art on them! THANK YOU!

Collage Challenge #2 will be posted tomorrow, March 1.

Envelopes of Gorgeousness!!

Here are a few more collections of collage papers from the collage challenge. What a treat it is to open these envelopes. THANK YOU SO MUCH! Below are more collections of papers I have received. I am getting some very cool envelopes, as you will see, as well.

I particularly like the variety of black and white pieces in this collection.

LOVE that pattern of bright concentric circles at the top!

The little bit in the top right is a braille text, so it is textural.

This collection definitely has good variety!

As I receive these beautiful collections of collage paper, putting aside the ones that qualify most for the VARIETY requirement. It will be impossible to choose the "best" ones, because so many of them are excellent. I will choose a few from the group, and make collages for the "winners".

However, I am thinking of what I want to do with the rest of the papers. Of course, I would love to use them in my own work, but I'd like to share them as well. I could make groups of them into "collage sheets" for download. And/or I could make them into little re-arranged packets and send them out to you.

Please make suggestions in the comments section! And if you would like a packet of collage papers, re-sorted, send an SASE (regular letter amount of postage) to me at:

Jane Davies Studios

Collage Packet Request

PO Box 45

Rupert, VT  05768

I will send them out in early March, after I've posted the next Collage Challenge!

See the first Collage Challenge here, and please participate until the end of this month.