Practicing patience
Practicing patience
Building composition and story layer by layer
Hello collage friends!
This week, for “Collage Friday,” I was thinking about the need for patience as we work on our art. In this case, through the lens of constructing a little 5 x 7-inch collage (using materials I selected in last week’s post, “Re-introducing Collage O” )
Each layer of this collage builds upon the previous - filtering through all the material choices to find a viable starting point and then adding and subtracting until a composition and/or story unfolds.
In practice, you can see some of my decisions for this piece in the following shortened process video (40 minutes shown in 42 seconds).
At first, I sort and think about the materials I want to use.
Then I choose a few pieces to make a viable background…
to which I can add a focus.
I then find ways to frame the chosen subjects…
to enhance the story…
ending, for now, with this piece, currently untitled.
I often see new artists stop too soon in the collage process, thinking the first layer is an ending point—unable to permit themselves to cover up the work done with another layer. With more experience, however, each layer becomes an opportunity to invite a viewer further into a piece and refine the story you want to tell.
Like painting, creating a collage involves understanding that art can have many points of entry. Shapes, lines, texture, and color are some of the elements that can draw us into a piece. Building a design that actively uses these elements can keep the viewer engaged. A framing device (such as the textural lines created along each edge in the piece above, can keep the viewer focused within the art. A scaling of images, such as the flying geese in the distance and the dark archway above them echoing the arcs in the foreground, encourages the viewer to enter the piece for a deeper look into the story.
Each layer can add a new entry point or reason to stay - even within the simplicity of the few layers shown here with…
background
focal point(s)
and framing.
Even within the layers built within this 40-minute collage example, patience can be useful when deciding when to build up a piece and when/if a piece is done.
Have I added enough layers?
Maybe.
What is the story I’m portraying?
I’m still not sure…
Is the fox lecturing the goose?
Are the geese and fox performing a play?
Is the goose in jeopardy?
Is the fox being ignored or set up by clever geese for some nefarious action?
I ask for patience in allowing this piece to breathe and exist before deciding whether the story’s fate is complete. It’s remarkable how different my perception of the piece will be today compared to a week or a month from now. I may love it now and less so later. I may be frustrated by it now and not know how to improve it, but I will find the answer with a fresh look down the road.
Like most art, even a little collage requires…
faith
(I can do this!)courage
(I won’t destroy this by covering up work I’ve done…)persistence
(…and even if I do destroy it I’ll find a way forward)patience
(probably the most challenging part for me)
to reach its final destination.
And remember - not every piece of art is a work of art! Sometimes, all the patience in the world won’t save a piece.
But, even more importantly, know that some pieces may become the stories of challenges we’ve overcome and lessons we’ve learned. Even if they are never framed and hung on a wall - these stories quietly build skills, confidence, and patience…
layer by layer…
as we march along our own art and life journey.
Happy collaging,
Jennifer