Back to Basics
Preparing a rainbow of collage papers
Hello, Collagers!
Welcome back to the collage table.
With the New Year, I continue my quest to organize my studio and create a functional collage corner. To keep myself motivated, I’m focusing on the prep work I can do while sorting through my many collage piles.
Generally, when working on a collage piece, I haphazardly wander through my piles and pick out pieces that would be interesting to use for my current collage session. When I’m done working for the day, the leftover pieces create another new pile in my studio. After months of operating in this less-than-efficient creative chaos, I’m slowly taking back control of the space and materials.
Organizing and Preparing Collage Materials
Today, I’m working to create meaningful collections of materials that can be labeled and stored to enable quick access and easy return.
And what’s easier or more fun than making a rainbow of paper pieces while I’m at it?
For each pile of paper collage materials I encounter, I decide:
Is this a material I want to keep as a whole and can categorize? (e.g., a vintage postcard or book)
Is there an image or text I want to cut out and keep? (e.g., a magazine or vintage photo of a person, wildlife, flower, or other specific object, landscape, or text I might find interesting - see previous post about collage with text: Focus on Text, Part I)
Is this something I want to add to my scrap papermaking supply bin?
Is this something I can tear up and add to a color pile? (as pictured above)
So far, I’ve identified a need for the following storage labels/areas.
Storage Labels
vintage postcards
vintage books
notions
fiber
photographs
text
flowers and foliage
people
animals
birds
reds
pinks
lights
yellow-orange
light blue
purple
darks
light green
dark green
collaged embellishments (from 2025 collage prompt #1)
collage supplies (glue, tape, scissors, etc.)
Next, once I know the extent of materials I have (or want to have) for each label, I need to decide what kind of containers/drawers/systems I want to set up for storage. (My current random unlabeled bin/box/bag/heaping pile system isn’t working. Huh.)
For my sorting activity today, though, I’m simply focusing on creating a rainbow of paper pieces as I re-organize my piles based on my four questions above. (Keep whole? Cut out? Papermaking Scrap? Rainbow?) I tend to always have one foot in the world of practical action and one in the world of creative play. It’s not always the most efficient way to operate, but it’s fun!
Collage Prompt
Prompt 2025 #2 - Prepare a Rainbow
Instead of working on a particular collage, use your supplies to create a rainbow of paper pieces. Think about the edges. Do you prefer torn, cut, deckled, folded, or stitched edges? Maybe some of each? (As you can see above, my preference is torn edges. I love the texture and spontaneity this gives the edges. Many collage artists, however, will prefer a precisely cut edge. There is no right or wrong way - it’s simply a matter of what you like.) Once you have a collection of pieces of one color scape, store and label them to easily add a splash of color to future collage projects.
To a world full of rainbows,
Jennifer
Community Collage
2025 Skills Challenge
2025 Collage Prompts
#1 - Simple Collaged Embellishments
#2 - Prepare a Rainbow