Collage is the combination of images, text, and personal art creation to meld together art materials, found objects, and text to create works of art.

Collage relies heavily on the process of composition as you learn to incorporate objects that already have their own sense of color, pattern, tone and texture. The artist’s process involves bringing these items together into a cohesive artwork along with the artist’s own style and point of view.

Some of the most common art supplies used in collage include:

• cutting tools
• paper
• photographs
• printed material
• adhesives
• found objects – fabrics, feathers
• traditional art materials and mediums

Your cutting and adhesive tools will be your most used tools in collage as they help you prepare and adhere your collage items.

Collecting printed materials from magazines and newspapers was popular in pre-digital eras with collage, however, with digital access, you can now use a variety of prints available from the internet that you can download and print.  For example, you can source beautiful vintage images from the internet to print out on your home computer.

As with any image on the internet, be mindful of copyright restrictions. You can also use your own images by cutting up old artworks that may have striking patterns and colors.

Once you have your materials collected, plan out your composition on your work desk. Take this opportunity to move items around and see where they fit. Notice if any elements get lost in the composition. Do you want to create a focal point in your overall composition?

Create one focal image using a collection of different art materials through the collage process. An example is creating a house image using various papers and materials.

Create a figurative collage using various materials to create an overall story or picture containing meaning. An example is creating a scene of a person interacting with nature using various printed materials.

Play around with complex color stories or a monochromatic look.

Use part images to create a ‘frankenstein’ image of another object. An example might be the top of a house sitting on a vase.

Once you’re happy with your composition, take a photo on your cell phone and use that image as a reference image as you begin to piece together your final composition.

Below is an example of collage using a central image of a woman cut from a magazine.

Elements of color, pattern, and text were added to reinterpret the image into an artwork.