Loving Collage and Assemblage

Yesterday, two year old Gracie made her first collage.

In my humble opinion, there is nothing better than colored construction paper, Elmers glue, and bowls of colored feathers, sequins, rainbow glitter and foam butterflies, ladybugs and flowers.
Gracie agrees with me, because all she has talked about since making her collage... is making another one.
And another one.
But who can blame her? I was so impressed with the attention she paid to where her glue was placed. She didn't kid around. And every single object she placed upon her paper was placed with tender love and care. She even layered objects (sequin upon glitter, upon foam flower, upon another sequin, upon foam butterfly) to get a very cool effect. She's a natural.

I hadn't made a collage since grade school, and had forgotten just how fun it is. I am, once again, hooked. I think tomorrow we will go on a nature walk and collect pebbles, twigs and leaves so that Gracie can begin again.

There are quite a few artists on Etsy who sell their collage/assemblage work and they are just wonderful! Of course, their work is a little more sophisticated than mine, so if you are looking for feather/construction paper, Elmer's glue creations, look elsewhere!
I have a few favorites to share and I hope you all love them too!:

The first shop I am excited to feature is Synchronicity 313. I found this shop on Etsy when my own shop was marked as a favorite, and I am so glad, because now I have a favorite shop. The Alice in Wonderland series is so cool, and I just have to have a few of these digital prints to hang in my girl's room as soon as we move into our next home. I have several prints hearted, but here are two of my favorites:

Who Stole the Tarts? by Kenneth Rougeau

A Mad Tea Party by Kenneth Rougeau

You can find these prints at http://krougeau.artfire.com

Another shop I just love is Art Girl X, and below is my personal favorite piece. If you haven't guessed by looking at my Tootsie and Grace shop banner, business cards, thank you notes, and myspace page, I just can't get enough of the lime green, black and white color combination. Throw swirls and flowers in the mix and I am happy as a clam. I just fell in love with this acrylic and mixed media painting titled "Lost Garden Green."


You can find this piece as well as other wonderful collages (several others in this series as well) at www.artgirlx.etsy.com

This assemblage print by Stoopid Gerl is so cute! It is called "Swim Cap" and is part of a fun series on hair. I just love it. I think it would be just adorable in my bathroom!



You can find more assemblage prints like this one at www.stoopidgerl.etsy.com

If you haven't made a collage in awhile, I strongly recommend doing so. There are so many types of collages to make and materials to use. I look forward to buying from Mata Art 42's shop which has an excellent blend of stamps, ephemera and collage sheets that are just so cool.
You can find her shop at www.mataart42.etsy.com. I marked this seller as a favorite the same day I signed on to Etsy and just can't wait to buy some Italian and Parisian collage sheets (as soon as I find the photos I took when I was there. Hard to make a scrapbook without the pictures, no matter how cute the scrapbook embellishments are!)

I hope you enjoy either making your own collage/assemblage or appreciating the collage artists featured (hopefully both!).
Happy crafting!