'Precious Time' Magazine Collage

'Precious Time' Magazine Collage

This upcycled magazine collage 'Precious Time' was inspired by my artist statement

It is intentional that when viewing my work that the method used is not instantly obvious. At first glance it is often assumed that I have used paint and only on closer inspection does it become apparent that the piece consists entirely of ripped and cut magazines. The intention is to challenge our perceptions. Highlighting how small changes in our methods and materials can enhance our work while reducing impact.

I purposely depict precious moments in time, capturing in essence my main drive in pursuing environmentally friendly practices. What is precious to us is worth protecting and the greatest motivation is working for the those we love.

I wanted to create a piece that captured my philosophy, I had previously taken many photographs of my children blowing dandelion clocks specifically for this piece. Unfortunately none were quite what I wanted so I was very excited when I can across this picture of my nephew on Facebook.

Image used for 'Precious time'

Although this piece was never intended as a portrait, I didn't stray very far from the original image. When I sketched this out I decided to add in the floating 'wishes'.

Rough sketch for 'Precious time'

The main challenge for me with this piece was the face, I have yet to settle on a technique that I am happy with. I plan on spending some time experimenting with different approaches. For this piece I decided to keep things simple. This was also the first piece where I began to cut as well as rip the magazines.

Detail from 'Precious time'

I receive a very mixed reaction to the pieces containing text. I don't always make a final decision as to whether I will include in a piece until near the end. In this case I went for a subtle use by including the collage title in the 'wishes'

Detail from 'Precious time'

This collage was framed by Alan at Roaring Tree in a reclaimed wooden frame for the Banks' mill open studios exhibition. This piece is now available for purchase, please contact me for details

'Precious Time' framed

'Splish, Splash, Splosh' Magazine Collage

This magazine collage 'Splish, Splash, Splosh' was a revisit of an earlier project. It was created in October 2014,  made entirely of ripped and cut magazines using non-toxic adhesives on recycled board.

Splish, Splash, Splosh

In 2007 I created a magazine collage called 'Rainy Day' which is where I first introduced the concept of the falling letters to represent the rain. The rain spells out related words such as 'drip drop'. Although to my eyes it looks a little crude now it was an important transitional piece that firmly established me on this creative path.

The piece was sold at the Trash Revamp launch exhibition I organised with fellow Trash Revamper Heather, the exhibition was also the first collaboration I worked on with Charlotte, who is now my partner at EcoCreate.

'Rainy Day' 2007

I have made huge changes to my technique since then, one of the most noticeable to me it the way I tear the paper to avoid white edges. When I first start tearing a magazine I first check to see which way it will tear. It one direction it will tear easily into even sized strips. If I go against this it will become jagged and change direction as I tear giving me little control. The direction of the tear can also effect which side the white edge will appear.

For 'Splish, Splash, Splosh' I already had a clear idea of what I wanted to produce. I wanted a dancing in the rain piece, adding an element of fun to the original concept. I asked my daughter to pose in a series of images until I discovered the pose that would work best. I only used these images as a guide to form, it was never intended as a portrait.

Inspiration for form

I made a very rough sketch to work with prior to collaging.

Rough Sketch

I liked the colour pop of the red in 'Rainy Day' and so carried this over to this piece. I also wanted to capture the feeling of movement by adding a more pronounced splash than I'd used previously. I also deliberately left a white edge on the road and pavement magazine strips to give a 'wet' feel.

Puddle detail

The piece was framed in a bespoke reclaimed wood frame by Alan at Roaring Tree for the Banks Mill open studios exhibition in November 2014. I have submitted to another exhibition opportunity for 2015 and am currently awaiting  response.

Reclaimed wood frame

This piece is currently available as an eco friendly print and I hope to add to my card range this year.
Available here

New Magazine Collage 'Whizz, Bang, Pop'

This is my latest magazine collage, 'Whizz, Bang, Pop'. I was first inspired to create this collage last November while watching fireworks with the children at the 'Fox & Hounds' at nearby Coxbench.

Whizz, Bang, Pop

This piece comprises of several images that I used to create my own composition.

Inspiration for Whizz, Bang, Pop

This was quite a tricky one to do but I had quite a clear idea of what I wanted to create. The biggest challenges were the fire and fireworks as this is not something I'd tried to represent before. I used my main ripping technique to create the main shapes. I then cut out tiny pieces of magazine sprinkled on to represent the sparks. I was really pleased with the effect.

Section of Whizz, Bang, Pop

For the launching fireworks I used small cut pieces of  magazines again, this time applying them with more accuracy. This is the closest I come to 'painting' with my collages.

Applying the cut magazines for the launching fireworks

I had intended to incorporate text it the fireworks initially but felt that it wasn't needed and would be too much.

This piece has sold and has gone off for framing. I hope to add to my card and print range later this year.