Intuitive Mixed Media and Collage Art

Hi everybody,

To me intuitive mixed media or collage art is a great way to explore new materials and techniques. Like usual, I approach a new piece intuitively after taking a moment to clear my mind. Also here I feel that my work is guided by a cosmic source, but in this case the emphasis is much more on the choice and manipulation of the materials than on the drawing or painting of shapes and elements. In a way mixed media and collage feel much more tactile and physically involved than drawing or painting. I love mixed media art and I enjoy creating it.

"Dream, Transformation, Manifestation", Mixed Media on Paper, Intuitive Collage

I also like the idea that recycling can be well integrated with mixed media or collage art. After experimenting with new paints, pencils, papers and tools like punches and decorative scissors, one often ends up with an exquisite stash of scraps. I always think it is a shame to throw them out but keeping them can quickly get out of hand and becomes overwhelming rather than inspiring. So I thought they would be perfect for an intuitive collage and that's how Samsara was born. I turned a watercolor painting that didn't work out upside down and used it as the surface. Then I dug into my scraps of handmade, colored, and metallic papers; punched book pages; paper towels; and papers on which I drew and painted with inks, acrylics, watercolors, pencils and glitter glue. After I saw the mountains appear in the distance I decided to exploit this feature and added a circle sprinkled with glitter to represent the moon. I love the myriad of colors, textures and shapes in this piece and Samsara came to mind. As I understand it, Samsara is the Sanskrit word for the cycle of life, a state of chaos as an opposite to Nirvana.

"Samsara", Mixed Media on Paper, Intuitive Collage

For the next intuitive collage I followed the same procedure but here I wanted to use some of my favorite goodies I bought including punched hearts, metallic flakes, sequins, flitter, gems, acetate embellishments and little birds. I also used patterned paper that I particularly like for the girl's dress and I added a tag on which I wrote the sentiment that came to me while I was creating this piece. The surface is a mixed media background in which I used old book pages and acrylic paint. These give it the texture and aspect of an ancient wall. I first intuitively drew and cut out the girl. Then I adhered her to the background, painted her with acrylics and embellished her with patterned paper, sequins and glue-on gems. I finished the work off with a golden Sharpie for some of the details. I called it Dream, Transformation and Manifestation because this is the thought that came to me while making it.

"Dream, Transformation, Manifestation", Mixed Media on Paper, Intuitive Collage

Please share your love for mixed media or collage art! I would love to hear your thoughts!

Love,

Rika