Back in February I started doing the above collage exercise with Shelley Klammer – there are no prompts- but if you tag Shelley and sign up for her newsletter she will send you related stuff , which I have enjoyed reading. I wanted to explore art as therapy in a more controlled way and doing this with her 100 days of arttherapy Journalling has been an interesting exercise.
This was the first time that I had signed up to do anything with such a long commitment. I always have stacks of magazines and materials so it was an easy task to do. You scan through magazines with ‘soft eyes’ and pick out images that interest you – to be assembled as collages- pick a title and then post on Instagram.
I really liked the discipline of working with a focus everyday. However life always gets in the way – Shelley encourages you to work as continuously as possible within the 90 days- so when I knew I was busy- at the weekends -I did a few in advance or took small kits with me.
I have worked in a few different ways during the 90 days. I have included my doodles- images from Happinez magazine http://www.happinez.com/
‘Shrine’
Produced very simple ripped designs – images from Flow magazine http://www.flowmagazine.com/
‘Bubbles’
Sometimes I have spent ages cutting out images and producing complicated layered stuff images from Happinez magazine as before
‘Love is us….’
I have really enjoyed working in this way and it has added more skills to my arsenal. I am not sure I would commit to working over such a long period of time again , though I am pleased with my journal when I flip through it and I do feel a sense of achievement.
The course is called ‘collage for self discovery’ I am not sure I have any concrete feeling of self exploration that I can put my finger on – I have enjoyed looking at everyone else’s collages and being influenced by different styles – particularly the simplicity of Uma – ( IG name textilleria) who uses very simple ripped pages to good effect. The 100 days of prompts has been much more thought provoking and demanding and I am only half way through -even though I started them both at a similar time.
Here are some more of my examples over the 90 days – images from magazines mentioned before unless otherwise stated
‘Kites that give it to the wind’
‘Colour therapy’
‘Fragile’ – images from Psychologie magazine
‘Split’ images from ‘Psychologies’ https://www.psychologies.co.uk/
‘Joy’ images from Psychology today and women’s magazines
‘Life in a fish bowl’
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I have enjoyed seeing your collages on Instagram. You create such powerful and striking images. Congratulations on taking on such a large project and seeing it through.
It’s an interesting idea and can get a person to do more artwork/collages once they know they have committed…