Collage Day at the Studio

One of the things that has caught my attention most during my time in the art studio is the surprising sense of ease people experience when making a collage for the first time. Instead of standing in front of a blank canvas and feeling the pressure of wondering, “What am I going to draw from scratch?”, you embark on a journey through dozens of magazine pages, old book pages, pieces of fabric, and colorful wrapping papers laid out before you. Derived from the French word meaning “to glue,” this technique is essentially the art of cutting and combining found materials to tell an entirely new story. To me, collage is less a painting technique than a visual puzzle or a freely played game. It is a fascinating space where there is no possibility of making a mistake, only unexpected and beautiful discoveries waiting to be made.

When we gather around the collage table in the studio, I love incorporating an element of surprise into the process. Rather than simply gluing papers together, adding small touches with oil pastels or using watercolor washes to connect different textures can give the work an incredible sense of depth. As we choose from the newspaper clippings, handmade textured papers, and patterned fabrics scattered across the table, the process itself can suddenly feel almost therapeutic. With every layer, the atmosphere of the work changes; two pieces that initially seem as though they could never belong together may suddenly become the focal point of the composition.

If you would like to try creating a collage on your own, my advice is not to rush into gluing the pieces down. First, move the papers around on the table, create layers, watch how the colors interact with one another, and only reach for the glue once you feel comfortable with the composition. In this space, where boundaries completely disappear, the more freely you allow yourself to explore, the more personal and original the resulting work becomes. If you ever find yourself at our studio, I look forward to discovering this layered world together over a cup of coffee—and getting lost among the papers.