Spring Lilies

Wow! I am getting good at these quick collages. This one took less time than the last one. I had this image of the yellow lilies and found the back of a handmade paper card.

I cut the paper to fit my sketchbook, glued it down and then affixed the flower image to the top and viola a completed collage. I hate to think that this quickness (or efficiency) in collage creating is a metaphor for how fast the month is going, but well it might be true….

May Flowers

Ok, so I am guessing you’ve figured out the theme for May – flowers! Although, I realize I tend to use them already a lot in my work, I still wanted to dedicate the month of the May to them.

Normally, here in the Midwest, May IS the month when flowers appear. But with the unexpected (and much appreciated) early spring we had here this year, the flowers were all in bloom last month. I am not complaining though because then it will make the summer seem longer too.

So here is my first ode to the flower. I started with an image I’ve had in my collection for years and have tried to incorporate into something, anything. I was happy that my intuition took over this afternoon while creating this collage. Instantly, after rediscovering this lovely bouquet image, I placed some bright turquoise paper, then some cloud paper and knew I needed a hint of yellow and viola found this interestingly odd shaped one. I think this may be one of the fastest collages I’ve put together in a long while. Enjoy!

Purple Swirl

This week officially ends my purple theme month. I skipped the cutesy title this time in favor of a purely descriptive one instead. I’m also quite impressed with myself that I finished 3 collages this month!

This collage features several different shades of purple and two kinds of faux texture. I like how the swirls in the center contrast with the rough knitted patterns that frame the collage.

Lavender Daze

Yes, another cutesy name for my latest purple collage. This time it’s Lavender Daze because of the lovely shade of flowers and also because I am starting to feel like I am in a daze.

This spring has been exceptionally busy for me, and I feel like I can’t keep up with everything I have to get done. This weekly collage creation was initially intended to be an enjoyable way to spend a little time with my creative side, but has instead turned into one more thing to check off of my never ending to-do list, hence the daze part of the title.

I am hoping this soothing lavender collage will serve as a reminder to slow down a bit. While creating it, I was drawn to this image of purple flowers overlooking the ocean. It seemed like such a peaceful and relaxing setting – just what I need in my own life now!

Purple Haze

This month’s theme is purple. I bet you already guessed it from the cheeky title I chose for this post. April is here and Easter has come and gone, but I’ve still got purple on the brain, which is why I selected it for this month’s collage theme.

Below is my first collage of the month. Ok, I realize it’s a little late but we’ve been having some gorgeous spring weather here, and I just had to get out and enjoy it.

You’ll also notice that this collage features a large purple flower, albeit seated in lovely lavender cupcake holder, and surrounded by other shades of purple.

Irish Spring Collage

Ok, I realize that St. Patrick’s Day was last week, and while I’ve finished the Irish cheese and soda bread, I can’t get the green theme out of my mind. It probably doesn’t help that today it is raining here, which also makes me think of Ireland and vividly green grass.

For my latest sketchbook collage, I found this lovely image of a castle among the green grass and decided to incorporate more shades of this springy color into the composition. And it only seemed fitting to include the large scale four-leaf clover into the collage.

New Collage Challenge

Earlier this year, I started my collage challenge. The goal was to create a collage a week. Well, we've all seen how that has gone!

So, I decided to create another collage challenge for myself for the rest of the year. Instead of forcing myself to create a random collage each week, I will assign a different theme to each month to keep me on track and inspired.

This month the theme is SPRING. March is a month with so many beginnings. For me, it starts out on the first with my birthday. Then there is daylight savings, the day when we set the clocks ahead and are greeted with longer days and more hours of inspiring sunshine. This is followed by the actual first day of spring, when everything is new again.

My ode to spring this week consists of cheery pink tulips and bright yellow butterflies, because to me spring is all about the rebirth of nature and all living beings. What does spring mean to you????

My New Muse

Over on Creative Perch, I've started writing a column about being everyday creative. The first week of my challenge I was supposed to make creativity my religion and come up with a ritual to honor that commitment.

I decided to incorporate my weekly collage making into my ritual of celebrating creativity. But first, I needed a muse to inspire me.

I found an image of an actual muse, "Seated Muse" to be exact. It's from a family guide at the Walter's Art Museum, where I visited earlier this year while on a brief trip to Baltimore. I placed her to the side with a mystical background and plain blocks of complementing colors to the other side.