  Family Matters (left) and In The Beginning or The Mysteries of Rudolfo (right) 16" x 20" collage on matboard     Digital Collages using found and personal papers/photos Well, I would say that officially, I am in some unchartered waters here, for me anyway. Starting with the first two pieces in which I got a bit carried away and then on to the digital pieces where I am learning to use a very basic photo storage program called Picasa to make digital collages. It's just all a big learning curve for me.
For the first two pieces, I let my judgement, usually fairly conservative, about editing fly out the window. I just included all of the things that I thought would work. The first piece, Family Matters, was inspired by some recent interactions with my father and brother. I like phrases and words that can have multiple meanings, hence the title Family Matters. The second piece, In the Beginning, is another collage inspired by family. The main image is of me and my parents on the occasion of my baptism (or is that christening?) into the Lutheran church. My parents must be in their mid to late 30's in the photo (it's 1971 0r 1972). The photo represents my first use of colored pencil in my collages. Also, the drawings of flowers are mine as well. I am always looking for ways to use images that I can easily get my hands on. Things that are copyrighted hold no interest for me so if I can draw or take a photo or get something out of the public domain, I will do it. The next series of images are all digital collages made using the photo editing/storage program, Picasa. I like this method for several reasons. It allows me to store my work on a digital file as opposed to taking up space in my studio. It's relatively easy to use and I can complete an idea fairly quickly. I can also manipulate color and size readily whereas with with an analog collage I am limited to the color of the materials that I have on hand unless I print something (in black and white) onto colored paper. I am also learning how to make photo "circles". The program allows for cropping and rotating and diagonal images as well. For something that is free, it's very versatile. You can even work in layers in a way, if you think ahead a little bit or are willing to backtrack. I did something new too this time in that I made "collage" paper. I affixed bits of text to a base piece of paper and then scanned that in to my computer. That image then became "digital paper" that I can use over and over again in lots of different sizes. I can also use this paper directly by cutting it up and affixing it to the collage or by copying it on to colored copy paper and using that piece of paper instead. You can see the examples in Family Matters and the fourth collage, bottom right. I will admit that I am not that interested in artwork solely driven by technology. There isn't anything wrong with it but it isn't for me. I do like using what is at hand and making those items really work in multiple ways through using very basic technology. An example is that collage paper. It can be turned into any color or combination of colors that I want and used digitally. If I was really ambitious I could pay money to have it printed in color. Or I could buy colored paper, which I have done, and print it on that. This method is also a way to use collage papers that seem precious. Copying them on the printer/copier or scanning them is a great alternative. Lastly, I had the digital images printed through Shutterfly. They look great! I mounted them to foam core board which I really like. They can be easily framed too. I also have some images available here in my Red Bubble shop. Anyway, thanks for reading and as always, you are welcome to get in touch. I am really not on FB much anymore or IG so the best way is email: libbyfife@ymail.com Libby Comments are closed.
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