Collage: Gathering Materials + Preparations

Making collages may seem like a very fun and exciting activity to do for many creatives, especially for those experts at scrapbooking. Not for me, however. Even though I really enjoy creating simple patterns, cutting, and sewing, I’m not that fond of collages.

I had a mildly traumatizing memory about creating shapes with a pair of scissors when I was in kindergarten. It’s actually not a big deal, but the experience was really upsetting that I still remember it clearly until now.

During an arts and crafts session, everyone in class was given a piece of paper and a pair of scissors to create a circle. The circle was to be used as a paper flower pot base. Being super excited, I wanted to finish fast, earlier than any other kids. I clipped my paper really quickly, but the scissors were a little too heavy to use for my small hands. Long story short, I ended up with an oval shaped paper instead of a perfect circle. Realizing my mistake, I asked the teacher for a new paper so I can create a perfect circle. Alas, there was no more papers, and basically my paper flower pot was incomplete. I was the only person in the class with an incomplete result. I remembered being really upset that my plan went completely wrong. I was crying so much, so inconsolably. Some classmates were also making fun and laughing at me, and of course that didn’t make the situation any better.

Apparently this memory surfaced almost immediately after I started reading the Collage section of the OCA coursework binder. I’m not sure why, but it’s clear my hesitation can at least be partly contributed to this childhood memory.

So I started this section with gathering a bunch of papers I have collected (or given by various people) over the years, as well as a selection of tea-related objects. I needed to get myself excited about this section, and I also put additional pressure on myself to do well after getting a great feedback from my tutor regarding my first assignment.

I always enjoyed looking at my collected papers (there are also some wallpaper sample books that didn’t make it to the photo above). However, somehow looking at my tea-related objects didn’t make me feel inspired. That was odd because I LOVE tea. I drink tea every single day, but these beautiful objects left me discouraged than anything else.

Because of this, I knew I had to do something to lift up my creative spirit. Working on these exercises needs to be an exciting, educationally rewarding, and inspiring experience.

So I turned to my pile of remnant fabrics. I found a bunch of different-colored perforated knit remnants that I can use to make some mismatched colored “skins” for my denim slip-ons. Making those was a great experience, despite having several bloody fingers, a couple of broken sewing needles, and a couple of broken pins. At the end of the day, I am so IN LOVE with how this pair of fabric collage shoes turned out.

Don’t they look great? Mismatched and fun, those shoes look so exciting to look at during gloomy winter days. Hmm, maybe these winter days also contributed to my funky mood…

Anyway, I had some leftover pieces from making those mismatched shoe skins, so I browsed Pinterest to see what I can make from them. I settled on making a tetrahedron bag from a long rectangle-shaped fabrics that I assembled together with the leftover pieces.

Looking at this assembled collage-like fabric pieces, I was starting to get excited. Piecing together fabric pieces with random dimensions was fun, but it was definitely time consuming. I started to anticipate how much more efficient it will be to cut and piece together papers. That definitely sounds fun!

Here’s what the tetrahedron bag looks like at the end of the process. Pretty cute, yet also quirky and a little weird looking. That’s totally alright since it’s all part of its charms!

Working on this impromptu sewing projects did the trick. After I was finished, I got much more confident and spirited in working on the Collage exercises. I shouldn’t have to worry about some childhood memory. Things can always go awry, but I have learned so much in dealing with unforeseen circumstances and make it work whenever and however possible, instead of being upset and crying.

Making collages may be a rather unfamiliar territory on a first glance, but I have no problem doing that with fabric pieces! So I have nothing to worry about, and now it’s time to research some collage artists. Now that’s a story for another day 🙂

Thanks for reading,
Mira