Yellow Brick Road
An Oscars inspired collage prompt
Welcome to this week’s collage prompt!
But first, as promised in last week’s post, “Prompt = Green.”
… a studio facelift!
Studio - Before and After
For the past (almost) three years, my studio has primarily occupied one small spare bedroom in our house. As I continue experimenting with mixed media and fiber art (along with my painting), it’s been getting harder and harder to contain my piles of materials and projects. It eventually spiraled out of control during my painting auction at the end of 2024 - to the point that I couldn’t even find a place to set foot inside the door. Since my computer desk is in the closet of the room (which I use for shipping orders, among other things), I needed to take time out and figure out how to make the space functional again.
In January, I removed everything from the studio, measured the walls and furniture, went on an IKEA shopping spree, and then put everything back.
I now have dedicated bins for all my collage supplies, sorted by type and color. I also have a table dedicated to my sewing machine. Books now have a “currently in use” space and are organized by type when not in use. Paint supplies have their own cabinet. And most importantly - there are no more random piles!
It’s not perfect, but my priority is to be functional until I can build a backyard studio.
And I love that I finally hung my eclectic little art collection on every available wall space!
Now back to today’s collage prompt!
Yellow Brick Road
Prompt = Yellow Brick Road
Collage a scene inspired by the phrase, “Yellow Brick Road.” Choose a literal or narrative interpretation.
Narrative art: Art that tells a story. Used throughout history, from cave drawings to hieroglyphics, visual storytelling continues to touch every form of contemporary art.
I don’t know about you, but in our house, we enjoy the challenge of watching all Oscar Best Picture nominees before the awards event. We still have a couple more movies to catch, but we thoroughly enjoyed watching Wicked and were happy to see it received 10 Oscar nominations:
Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
Best Sound
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Best Achievement in Film Editing
Best Achievement in Production Design
Best Achievement in Costume Design
It’s no surprise, then, that seeing a castle silhouette as one of my available collage pieces made me imagine taking a trip down the yellow brick road. What would I wish for? Who would make the trip with me? What obstacles would I face?
In the end, I decided that home is where the heart is, so I’ll stay here, dreaming under the old olive tree, leaving the mysteries and magic of the road (and OZ) for another day.
This piece uses a vintage stamp, postcard, botanical book pages, bird book pages, fairy tale book spine, gouache, embroidered stitches, and machine stitches. Personally, I love leaving threads strewn about.
Want to take a more literal approach? Now’s a great time to refer back to your rainbow of collage pieces and grab all the yellow bits to cut or tear into “bricks” for a patterned background or abstract collage piece!
Happy collaging!
Jennifer
Want more inspiration? Check out this clever, simple embroidered photo collage on Instagram, “Emerald City” by artist Jamie Laurence Rawlings.
2025 Recap
Collage Community
Skills Challenges & Learning Opportunities
Collage Prompts
#4 - Yellow Brick Road