Cabin Fever Handicraft

This year I thought I’d join in the Februllage challenge. Each February daily prompts are given and you create a collage inspired by the prompts. Anyone can join (@februllage on Instagram) and it’s awe-inspiring to see so many interpretations and so much talent!

I’m still finding my voice in my collage work so I thought it would be a great challenge to push myself. And it is! At first I struggled. I came up with some great ideas for each prompt but had a difficult time finding images I wanted or interpreting the idea into a paper image.

I love surreal collage but I’m trying to marry that style (usually combining various book or magazine images into a new image) with my own dyed and painted papers. I was feeling self-conscious on day 1, liking my collage but felt immediate imposter syndrome once I saw everyone else’s interpretations.

I knew right away what I wanted to do with the prompt “toast”. I had been saving a pile of various vintage papers, all at different stages of foxing (turning color) and I knew I wanted to tear them into bits and create the image that way. Great idea but I was unhappy with the result. I’ve come to like it now, but again, I was feeling embarrassed in comparison to the brilliant work being turned out by the collage community.

On day 3 I struggled again, knowing what I wanted to produce by not being able to find or create images I wanted. I decided not to be so literal on this one and decided to depict a ballet instead. Swan Lake immediately came to mind and an image formed in my head. I couldn’t find and swans or ballet shoes in my books or fussy-cut stash so I resorted to the internet for both. It felt like cheating so I dug into my stash and found the beautiful blue cyanotype for the water, with the pattern reminiscent of seaweed or pond plants.

I love the colors and it makes me smile so I like it even though I feel like I cheated.

Day 4 was another frustrating day of first coming up with an idea, then spending a frustrating afternoon hunting for the right images. While I’m not happy with the result I do love the components- the vintage letter covered in green paint, the text and the woman. I tried to get back to the style I have been practicing in my art journal and I do feel I accomplished that.

I finally started to feel better on day 5. I realized I was going about the process wrong. Rather than brainstorm ideas then search for the papers, I began by letting my papers inspire the idea. I came across this paper pebble collage I created and it jogged a thought I had about these collages. Wouldn’t it be neat to make the collage then cut shapes out of them? Ding! I cut a star shape from the collage and used both the positive and negative shapes with a failed cyanotype (gorgeous blue!). I like the way it turned out and has inspired me to explore this idea further!

The jellyfish prompt excited me and I knew I wanted to do a silly play on words, inspired by one of my favorite ugly food images (gross glistening salmon mousse in a fish mold). So I got distracted from my new found resolve and spent the day hunting for this image. No dice.

I reeled in my excitement and started over, going through papers to see what inspires. Suminagashi jumped out. The flowing lines of this technique often invoke water so I settled on a simple image. This is another idea that has potential to be expanded on.

I thought this prompt would be so easy. I love rain (I live in the PNW) and had a million ideas. But again, I wanted to stay true to my goal of making the images “me”, not someone else’s style. I make a lot of quick daily collages in my art journal and thought I’d make one for this challenge. I don’t feel like it’s finished but I like where it’s going. Except for the bottom left looks like a boob and a waist line and I can’t unsee it!

This challenge has been harder than I anticipated but it’s been an excellent exercise. It’s pushing my comfort zone and explore while also trying not to lose sight of my own style and aesthetic. And it’s all in good fun so I’m trying not to be so critical. It’s also nice to see progress and look back at your own development.

Stay tuned for week 2!