Exercise 2.4

Collage studies

Collage: Collage Studies

Posted on by Musank

This is the time to play exercise using “the most interesting elements of discovery from the last two exercises in response to color, form, detailing, composition, scale and image.”

It’s all about sketching with ideas. The coursework binder suggests observing and building key characteristics of the object(s) on two A2 sheets. However, I am more inclined in using the objects to convey certain kinds of mood, atmosphere, or story. Finally, it’s now time to use those papers I made!

Drawing #1 (A2 size): Midnight Tea Time
For this first sheet, I use the paper created with three different colored printed tissue-weight papers as the base. Another one, made with layered white paper pages will be what the tea time shapes are cut out of.

I made a rough sketch of how many objects to feature on this colorful sheet, as well as its composition and other accents. I also try my best to control their proportion relative to each other. I like the idea of having uneven lines to break the shapes up into two or more pieces, as well as keeping some objects look like they are floating in the air. It looks good on the sketch, so let’s just do it!

There are three objects I feature on the sheet, and each of them has its own special feature. On the bottom left is the sugar container, and I cut out some uneven sugar cubes on the bottom half of the container. Below is the in-progress photos of the process.

The loose leaf tea container is featured near the top left corner. It’s broken down into four pieces, and the bottom-most piece has layers of used tea bag and loose leaves sandwiched in.

The third object takes the whole right side of the sheet, and it’s the stacked perched-black-bear tea pot and mug. It’s broken up into six pieces and I want its size and lines to speak for itself. So I added just tiny strips of used tea bag for the bear’s facial shading and black paper for its nose.

When the collage is finished, I’m really happy with the result. The masking tape serves as a subtle yet cheerful divider, and all the different elements and textures look really harmonious.

The base notes remind me of the night food vendors in an alley tucked in a busy Asian city like Hong Kong, Tokyo, or Jakarta. Sometimes bright, sometimes vibrant, always chaotic, always dynamic, and sometimes unexpected (good or bad).

And since the overarching theme is tea time, the collage somehow ends up having the vibe of being like having tea time at midnight at one of those street food stalls. The white papers look like those hot peanut wrappers a Jakarta street food vendor hands out, and the whole thing looks really dynamic.

If only there’s such a thing as midnight tea time… it may not exist in my reality yet, but at least the idea exists in my collage!

Drawing #2 (A2 size): In Plain Sight
I really enjoyed working on this one. To expand on the idea of “Hidden Figures” from the last exercise, I use the my handmade papers made with strips of washi and colored papers as base and cut out materials.

This is the base paper (A2 size):

This is the paper I cut objects out from (A3 size):

The idea is quite straightforward: a collage of three objects I drink tea with. Composition is important, but it doesn’t have to be precise. So after putting the three tea cup and mugs in front of me, I sketched the objects using my left hand on a tracing paper laid on top of the A2 size paper.

Once the sketch was finished, I re-traced the lines using a permanent marker with my right hand.

I then flipped the tracing paper and transfer the lines on the back of the A3 size paper, squeezing some shapes together so they all fit in.

Then the cutting commenced. Long story short, all the lines become negative space, and everything else are glued onto the A2 size paper. The vertical lines are lined up as much as possible, slightly blending the objects to the background (base) paper. I think the result is really rad!

I really feel this collage is a great improvement from “Hidden Figures” simply because the cut-out objects have horizontal lines and random printed orange paper tears to further distinguish them from the background. Yet the vertical lines – some of them aligned to the base paper – keep them “chained” to the background.

Hmm, perhaps this collage is a representation of a situation where one has so much talents, yet cannot stand out from the crowd because there’s just so much noise? I think that is a very sensible insight coming from this collage.

OVERALL REFLECTION
Everything that’s done so far built up to this super fun exercise. I’m really happy that all the paper making and impulsive collage making detours make sense now. Experimenting with colors, textures, motifs and patterns, composition, cut, and even adding subtle details like scrap papers or masking tape really deepen my appreciation for collage making as styling, mood / atmosphere / story telling tool.

Moreover, I can now clearly see them as an effective visual tool to convey psychological concepts, ideas, or understanding. Because of that, they can be a great conversation starter. Collage is really amazing!

Thanks for reading,
Mira

Collage: Paper Preparations for Next Exercises

Posted on by Musank

While working on Exercise 2.2, an idea of creating my own papers struck me, and it’s stuck with me ever since. I was getting bored working with plain white cartridge paper and simple colored papers; it does not feel natural to me.

My interpretation of collage revolves around creating atmosphere and mood using colors, textures, and shapes to convey wholesome quality. With each exercise, I gradually think of them as opportunities to create a moment, my own interpretation of what the exercise is. It deviates somewhat from what the coursework binder instructs, but these opportunities serve as personalized, creative, and inspiring learning stages.

Why not work with the many varieties of paper I have on hand and create something texturally and colorfully exciting? Why not use the results for the next exercises and see how they look like? With that in mind, I set up to create several sheets of paper to be used for the next Collage exercises.

Sheet One (A2 size)
On the previous post, I mentioned about not liking the tear marks of the cartridge papers while attempting to create a block silhouette. Rather than having fuzzy block silhouette edges or lines, why not incorporate the tear marks of various papers onto the actual papers themselves?

So I took out three almost-paper-napkin-thin printed papers in green, black, and blue (representing my favorite tea types) and tear them in random shapes. On a piece of A2 cartridge paper, I arrange them column by column from left to right, using Mod Podge as adhesive. It’s a rather straight forward process, except for the mini-crisis of almost not having enough blue papers at the end. But it’s all good, and I really like the result.

Sheet Two (A2 size)
The second sheet has much more elaborate work. I have a book of yellow pages (that I would never use), several pieces of transparent papers in yellow, light green, and green, as well as several pieces of washi-like white papers.

So first, I tear out several yellow pages from the book, tear them some more, and arrange them randomly on the A2 cartridge paper. I made sure they completely overlap each other without gaps. Mod Podge was really handy for this process!

Next, I create half-inch thick strips of the colored papers, and I separate them by colors. They look like pasta strips, and my desk started to look really messy.

Then, column by column starting from the left, I lay down the strips, their edges overlapping each other. The only rule I made was that each color should be next to a different color. On halfway point, the effect of the overlapping textures and prints started to show up beautifully!

After the glueing and sealing process was done, I laid the paper to dry. The next morning, I woke up to see this beauty. After taking this photo, I trimmed the excess color strips, but I did not put them in the recycle bin.

Sheet Three (A3 size)
As it turned out, I had quite a leftover of “pasta” strips. So rather than throwing them away, why not create another one and make sure every single strip is used? So that’s what I did.

When I was contemplating what to do for Sheet One, I actually tear up one more sheet of paper: it was an orange printed paper, a little bit transparent but thicker than any other papers I used in this impromptu exercise.

So first, I glued them down randomly on a piece of A3 paper using Mod Podge. Then I noticed they started to wave around the edges, and that is quite an interesting added texture to see. Combining that with the natural textures and lines of the “pasta” strips, it’s quite a visual delight for me!

As you can see from the photo below, I did not have a balanced selection for each colored strips. That’s why for this sheet, I decided to create new variations by laying one strip over another colored strip randomly.

Moreover, since I still have a little bit of strips left, I decided to do the strips horizontally as well, in a seemingly random manner to give the paper a more rough, rustic look. I’m really pleased with the result!

Sheet Four (A3 size)
Last but not least, I wanted to have something more simple. How about tearing some white pages of F and T directory (to hint the Time For Tea theme) from the Yellow Pages book? And then tear them into triangle shapes, some neatly with scissors, and the rest manually with hands? Lastly, arrange them randomly on top of a A3 size paper with Mod Podge?

OK, that’s not too simple, but it’s definitely simpler than Sheet Two and Three. So here’s what the last sheet look like!

Wow, working on this Collage part of the coursework certainly has made me undergo many impromptu detours! No matter, the discoveries and excitements generated from all the work has been absolutely priceless. And I’m really looking forward to use these papers for my next exercises.

Thanks for reading,
Mira