New Passion- Collage Art!

I've done collage art in the past- (think decoupage and modge podge) but I never really knew what I was doing or why. There was no meaning or knowledge behind my creations instead I just pasted  images on a page.  Until recently.  A week or so ago, I started an actual  2 hour a week collage class with an outstanding art teacher (and writer), Mickey Waring who teaches art classes in my area and also at the http://classes.artscouncilofprinceton.org/
 Not only is she an amazing artist but she thinks like an artist. Not stuffy, not rigid, not  too structured. Instead her ideas and methods are free flowing and inspirational. There are only 4 others in our class so not only only are we getting lots of individual attention but we also talk non stop and bounce ideas off each other.  It is an awesome group and an amazing  treat for me to hang out with other artists.

So. here is my first piece: " The Tree of Life and Death" (click on the image to enlarge -see if you can read the small text and get the connection) The theme of this project was Food.

I am working on my second piece now which will include the theme of music. (will post soon)
I found a great way to organize my material too.  Hello- Ziplock Bags!  They are perfect for storing all your papers etc and keep them separate from other projects:

I am having so much fun playing with art!

I'd love to hear your thoughts too.

A collage (From the French: coller, to glue, French pronunciation: [kɔ.laːʒ]) is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from anassemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole.

A collage may include newspaper clippings, ribbons, bits of colored or hand-made papers, portions of other artwork or texts, photographs and otherfound objects, glued to a piece of paper or canvas. The origins of collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but this technique made a dramatic reappearance in the early 20th century as an art form of novelty.

The term collage derives from the French "colle" meaning "glue".^[1] This term was coined by both Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century when collage became a distinctive part of modern art.^[2]