Collage exploration #5

Series: Collage exploration #5

This was most definitely fun to make. Hard work at times and not a quick process, but I love the result.

This “layer and tear” décollage piece was inspire by a technique in the Project Collage book. I lost count of how many layers of magazine papers I glued to base card — I think it was around ten in the end. I left it to dry overnight and then began the process of removing parts of the layers.

I chose the bottle image as my top layer because it was a strong, simple shape that would still be recognisable once the surrounding papers had been distressed. The other papers were chosen for variety of both colour and pattern.

In some places I started the removal process by wetting a small area and rubbing at it until edges started lifting enabling me to peel away some paper (this was quite hard on the fingertips and I soon decided that wearing gloves would help). In others I used a scalpel to cut and lift an initial piece. Depending on how well stuck down the papers were, some pieces peeled more easily than others and I had to be careful not to remove too much — these are only 6″×4″ (with 5″×3″ visible through the mat).

Knowing when to stop is a real problem with this technique as you never know what could be revealed by tearing just one more bit off. Even now it’s in the mat, I do have to resist the temptation to pick at it some more…