Collage Discovery Workshop

In Hellmuth's hands, collage is not child's play but an artistic endeavor. Instruction in 15 different techniques, from glazing paint to creating a verdigris patina, form the core of her work, preceded by introductory pages on tools and supplies. The text is casual in tone and sympathetic to foibles and failures. What's even more impressive is the way she explains something nearly impossible to articulate--that is, how to transform a ho-hum collage into an aesthetically pleasing composition. The emphasis, in fact, is on the journey to art, on learning how to see better, to tell stories, and how journals can be used to capture ideas. A gallery, hints, and safety tips help focus readers on the possibilities of three-dimensional assemblages. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Unlock the Artist Within

Collage is the perfect medium to help you unleash your creative potential. You can gather materials from just about anywhere, glue them down on a surface and magically create a work of art. There are no mistakes, only discoveries. What could be more exciting?

In Collage Discovery Workshop, acclaimed collage artist Claudine Hellmuth shares 15 of her favorite collage techniques and invites you to play with basic collage materials in new and imaginative ways. Along the way, Claudine guides you with friendly advice on how to develop your artistic voice and turn an ordinary collage into something special.

Learn how to:

• Overcome "blank canvas" syndrome with recipes for four luscious backgrounds
• Combine words and images to capture a mood or tell a story in your collage
• Incorporate buttons, old photos, game pieces and other found objects in your art
• Explore the magical appeal of collaging with beeswax
• Layer patterns and images in your collages with amazing transfer techniques
• Honor a special friend with a personal keepsake collage
• Use a written journal to grow as an artist

Don't wait another day to express yourself with collage. You never know what surprising discoveries await!

Collage is unlike any other artistic medium because one can use virtually anything to make an art piece and to tell a story. You do not have to be a great "artist" to create a collage or enjoy doing it! You do not even need to know how to draw! You simply need to open your imagination and let yourself be free to try new things and soon you'll be having a lot of fun.

As beginner’s start to learn the techniques from my book and try collage they’ll begin to see that collage is all about play and pasting materials down and seeing what happens next. There is no way to make mistakes! If you don't like something you can paste over it, paint over and add something else. There is no wrong way to make a collage there is no way to fail! In fact, simply by experimenting with collage, can help you to find and improve your creative voice. I have added journaling prompts at the back of the book to help the reader on their creative journey.

I hope that by reading this book and using some my of "tricks of the trade," the readers’ will fall in love with working in collage as I have. I'll help them discover a few background techniques, that will get their artwork started. We'll do image transfer techniques, beeswax collage and a variety of other methods to get them on their way to working in mixed media collage. Most importantly, I have a section on composition and tips to create artworks with successful compositions.

But most of all I hope that this book will help the reader to discover the magic of collage, the unpredictable and exciting road of working in mixed media. You never know what's going to happen, and that's what makes it so fun!

Claudine Hellmuth is one of the leading collage artists today. Her work has been chosen as fine art poster designs sold in stores such as Bed, Bath and Beyond and Joanne’s Fabrics, included in how-to-books on collage, used as book cover designs, published as rubber stamps, coasters and more. Claudine teaches workshops across the U.S. and Canada and has been profiled in numerous magazine articles, including featured artist in Somerset Studio. She lives in Orlando, FL.