Try Collage for Design Ideas

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop run by collage artist Christine Echtner.

Her artwork combines acrylic paint and collage techniques to tell stories about her characters. Character development is something I've been thinking a lot about this year so I was interested to learn more about her process.

Collage is a great vehicle to create ideas. Printed text, discarded books, ads from magazines all provide material with which to play. Ideas can be generated quickly, some discarded, others layered or painted over. For someone who works in the deliberate and time intensive field of tapestry weaving, this is a freeing experience.

The process is simple to do at home, but the advantage of the workshop is the ideas multiply as you see the work others are doing. Possibilities for future weavings abound.

Find some friends and give it a try.

P.S. The portrait in my Pensamientos series continues to grow. Next, the face.