A couple of years ago, I braved registering for a collage course at the Toronto School of Art, facing my creative desires and working through my fears and negative experiences with this kind of an environment. I learned a lot about collage, about myself and about the stories I had about art school. This summer I am returning for a second class: paper-cutting and collage. I feel free, inspired and at home. It helps that I’m working with the same teacher. Let me share with you a little of what I’m learning.
The first exercise we did was adding collage materials to abandoned paintings. Our focus was the face. It is admittedly a rather unnerving experience to cut the face down into component parts. (I talked about this a bit on stART.) It had me thinking about the nature of collage, the messages of deconstruction that are inherent in using this art form.
Then we created another portrait, this time using the offcuts, making use of negative space. It was magical to see characters come to life as we built them up from scraps that might have been left behind, papers that would normally have been be put into recycling.
Next we created geometric collages. I made this one based on the Three-Part Harmony Quilt taught by Anna Maria Horner on Creativebug. I loved its strategy of creating with a tonal palette of lights, mids and darks. I completed two collages, one with the darks being predominant and this one, where the lights are.
Our next assignment was paper weaving. We chose two images, making slits in one and strips out of the other and then brought them together with weaving. This process takes patience and a bit of dexterity but it is fascinating to discover what emerges when the piece is complete. I experimented with a gradual expanding of both the width of the strips and the the amount of space between them. I wondered if this would create a sense of growing expansion.
My favourite unofficial activity during class is scanning the room for found art. You won’t believe what this piece is. Take a moment and see if you can guess…. It’s the art school sink after a good cleaning and scrubbing.
Some beautiful boards tucked away for student use.
And my favourite: the well-used tabletop.
Once again, I thank you for taking me on this walk. I remember dreaming of going to art school and even finding a loft in Paris, but those dreams were exchanged for hope. Now I appreciate the agility of youth, without arthritic joints, much better eyesight, and the will to express. Thank goodness I still have the will, but schlepping art supplies with my walker, and needing to use a smaller substrate keeps me at the hope level. Your exquisite desire to continue to learn and grow and evolve your art is a delight for me to witness.