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Blogging from Miriam - Collagery Blog #2
November-December 2011
How
to make a photo collage - Often times people ask me how to make a
photo collage so here are the basics for those who would like to design a collage on your own.
1. Gather the photos you
want for the collage and separate them by the "busy" and "non-busy" pictures. A "busy"
picture has a lot going on, i.e., lots of colors or a group of people wearing multitude of print shirts, etc., while
the "non-busy" pictures can have less colors and have more close ups of people or a serene background.
2.
Pictures have a way to guide you to a great design. If someone in your photo is looking towards their left, then place
that photo on the left side of your board. Same goes with someone looking towards the right, i.e., placing the photo
on the right side of your board. Facing foward pictures can be placed towards the middle. A curve of a mountain
or the direction a car is facing will also help you determine which side of the collage to place the picture. This creates
movement in having the viewer's eye gravitate towards the center of the collage.
3. Cut your subject in the
picture by following the outline of their shape. You can decide if you want to keep the background of the picture or
not. If someone is on a beautiful beach, you may want to keep the background but not so if someone is standing in front
of a non-descript building.
4. Pictures with a sky background look best on the top of the board. Also, if the top
of someone's head is slightly cut off because they weren't focused correctly in the photograph, you can put that on
the top of the board as well. People with think the frame cut off the picture, not the photographer.
5. If you
try to get many pictures in a small area, the collage will be too busy to look at. Gluing will be very very tedious
and there will be so much time spent on overlapping the pictures. Keep part of your picture backgrounds and they will
define each photo better. Besides, backgrounds will relive a memory, like the house you grew up in behind you or that
trip to the Islands, etc.
6. If possible, you should design the collage so that the pictures overlap from
the top down. The picture on the bottom of the board will have the picture above it glued on top of it and so on.
Sometimes your design will not make it feasible to do this so study the collage before you glue it. Before
gluing, make sure all your pictures are laid out on your board.
7.We use a spray glue for the collages for ease
of lifting the pictures if they are not centered right the first time the picture is placed on the board. You will need
a well ventilated area for the spray glue. Glue sticks will work too if you do not have that ventilated area (be sure to
put on a thin layer when gluing).
8. If the collage will be framed, leave a little space around the
border of your collage for gluing, as the frame will block about 1/4" of your pictures. Make sure your board will fit
the frame you have in mind.
9. Enjoy your creative side and have fun!
We wish you the best during the
holiday season and the year to come.
Live life - laugh often - love always.
Miriam
Blogging from Miriam - Collagery Blog #1
October
2011 People always want to know
how Helen and I got started on making our 3-D collages. It began when my closest friend Becky presented me
with an oaktag containing pasted pictures of a few things about me: Guitar playing, Carole King, foods I like, our friendship,
my nickname, etc. It was such a personal gift that Helen and I decided to expand on the idea. We spent countless
hours cutting out pictures from books and magazines, filing them per category, and making collages based on someone's
personality.
We experimented with all sorts of ways to make the collages look "neat".
In the very early years, we cut oaktag to fit inside a wood-framed cork bulletin board, using a spray adhesive.
Finding a coating to seal the pictures was not easy. Shellac and urethane yellowed quickly. We had our share of
disasters as well. Our first outdoor arts and crafts show allowed the adhesive to peel the oaktag away from the
bulletin board, just as a customer was interested in buying the ballet-themed collage! We were disheartened, but never
gave up.
Through trial and error, we improved on our collages. Then three things happened to change the direction
of our collages.
The first major breakthrough was finding our resin coating. Although tricky to work
with, it allowed us to seal the collages without that heavy yellowing we had witnessed with the other coatings.
The
second interesting development came about quite by accident. While working on a collage that contained a magazine picture
of Dolly Parton, the resin coating we used seeped through the picture, causing poor Dolly to look as if she was breast feeding.
Mortified, I had to do something to save the collage I had spent so much time on. It dawned on me that Dolly wore flashy
clothes, unlike the sweater she wore in the picture. I quickly grabbed silver sparkles and carefully put it on
top of the resin-soaked sweater picture. Dolly was transformed, wearing a glamorous silver blouse. At that moment,
we realized we can add items into the resin while it was drying.
The third major change occurred by way of
people who saw our work at art shows. Countless times they would ask, "Do you do photo collages"? Up
until this point, we were working with pictures from books and magazines. I looked at Helen one day and said, "I
think we should look into working with photos". To this day, photo collages are our main source of business.
There are so many things that I love about designing collages but the main thing I learned is everyone is
unique. The collage reflects pictures of their loved ones, personal accomplishments, things near and dear to their heart.
To be able to display it in art form is truly a great achievement for me - for people to see that they truly have a wonderful
life.
As Helen and I love to share quotes we find along the way, I'd like to share one with you:
If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.
Live life - laugh often - love
always. Miriam
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