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| Bluebird Collage BJ Douglas |
Paper, Scissors……………and Glue.
Last fall I came across some collages I made many years ago and thought them pretty cool. So I picked up a magazine and started to look for interesting images. At first the pieces were therapeutic in theme as I was (and still am, of course) dealing with the loss of my Most Wonderful Husband the year before. But to my surprise, what emerged were not all images of darkness and grief, but rather images of healing, of moving on, even images laughing at sorrow. It seems my unconscious mind was way ahead of me.
And it’s that spontaneous, intuitive, aspect of collage that has fascinated me ever since. As a painter I always know what image I want to capture on canvas (and sometimes struggle mightily to make that happen.) As a writer I know the basic story before I begin. But as a collage artist I am always surprised---and often delighted----by what emerges.
All the elements of these pieces are cut from magazines and books I find at thrift stores. Each usually begins with a single image I find intriguing. I then look for its “home”--- a landscape or skyscape or other objects that seem to work with it--- and somewhere in that process a “meaning” of some sort emerges. Some pieces come together very quickly. The bits and pieces of others may hang around on my work table for a week or two (or more) as I try this, that, and the other before finding whatever it is that’s needed to complete the idea of the final piece.
I hope some of these will make you smile. Some may make you sad. Whatever, I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I (and my subconscious) enjoyed making them!
The Scoop At Walter's
