Collage Teaches an Old Artist "New" Tricks

It's been my experience that creative people thrive on inspiration. I know I'm guilty of it. Salvador Dali may have felt creativity itself could be inspired through imitation when he said, "Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing."

I've also noted that creativity dwindles with low energy. Try as I may, every winter gets worse and it's a struggle to find that creative spark or the time to execute the many ideas floating around in my head. I think I can place some blame on the snow our region receives. It takes twice as long to prepare to leave the house and even longer to get to your intended destination. Winter seems to be a giant "Groundhogs Day" where the days of the week are a constant repetition with little extra time to break the routine.

Inspiration is my answer to making it through the winter. I have found a great deal of inspiration in collage. I don't look at what used to be trash the same way anymore. That bottle, it may make a good base for a sculpture; that left over ribbon could probably work well with a feather. I recently read that collage artists were the first recyclers, I can see why. I am keeping it in moderation though. Realistically collecting only a small amount of items that I can picture putting into a project.

Inspiration can come from forgotten skill as well. Much of my art is on a computer these days, however the tactile experiences of working with collage are bringing back old memories and forgotten techniques. It is refreshing to work with what ends up happening to my projects, rather than controlling the final outcome with vectors and pixels.

Luckily I have rediscovered more manual art techniques, and found it theraputic and enjoyable. I have a lot to practice. Learning from my mistakes with paint, ink and glue all over again. I guess you can teach an old artist how to use their old tricks as if they were brand new.

* Collage by Janet Pahlau

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