These are some steps I wrote down to remember my process, and what I do and how I think when I make a collage composition. Maybe it can be of interest for someone else? If not, just skip it and scroll down to the pictures!

1. Plan! Size of the project? Do I have something I want to use on this project? Collect and pile everything up next to my work surface.
2. Chose paper, colours, stencil (stencils?). Make the background!
3. Oh no! What do I do now? It looks horrible! Calm down! Take a step back!
4. Ok now, what was the problem? Do I need to make some doodles? (Remember, most of the background will be covered anyway. I’ll always cover up some stuff I like! I think that’s a rule. It’s like the advice for writers: “kill your darlings”. If I keep it, it will make the whole project unbalanced. Of course, once in awhile I can pull it off, but most of the time – let it go. New good stuff will happen, that’ll be good too – and probably work much better.)
5. Place everything where it’s supposed to be on the board. Don’t glue yet!
6. Stamp words if I can, if not, do that at #11 or when it works – from now on.
7. Ground the images. (I need to make them stand on something! Otherwise they’ll appear to float around in air!)
8. At the same time as #7: Do I need something more in the background? Add it and balance it up!
9. Do I need some kind of frame for the composition? How do I achieve it this time? It can be a proper frame, but it can also be just two straignt lines for the eyes to make the balance needed. (Ribbon, chipboard, row of buttons, twine, stamped area, more stenciling?)
10. Glue everything down!
11. Stamp words now, if I didn’t do that before!
12. Fancy stuff: Buttons, chipboard, flowers, ribbons, metal pieces… What do I have in my stash? What fits? (Do I still have the old typewriter keys?)
13. Glue everything down!
14. Add finishing touches! (Fix chipped paint, add something that I think it missing, tie twine/ribbon or such as a hanger, add bling, add some extra colour accent or such.)
15. Done! (Make it dry properly! Go to bed! Don’t look at it for 8 hours!)

During the process, be open to change the direction whenever. (That will make the project much better.)

One thing that really surprised myself, when I think about it: I’ve never done anything in Tim Holtz’s style!

It was my husband who actually said:

“How often do you make anything ‘Tim Holtz’s style’?”

I said:

“Ehhh… Never!”

It’s crazy! I never tried. I love Tim Holtz. I remember when I first found his work, in some of my old Design Original books, probably one sent to me from a dear friend in America, before Tim Holtz was known. I have been a fan ever since.

Tim Holtz seems to be so nice, so encouraging, so friendly – but he’s (at the same time) absolutely brilliant… Hmm… I think I understand myself a bit. I’m intimidated!

“You think you need to be good immediately”, my husband said.

Yes, that’s true. Very true, when I dare to admit it.

The tricky thing with mixed media is that it’s a process. Finnabair says that you have to go through that “icky stage”. I feel like I am in that icky stage all the time! Mixed media is not like painting. I feel I’m in control when I’m painting. Mixed media is not like that. At all. It’s chaos. For a long time. Then it may clear up. Just may. But the scary thing is that I never dare to believe it does.

But it does. At least it become much better.

But it is scary!

Still, the process is mesmerizing!

I started with the stuff I thought I’d use. Picked my stencils. Got the paper out. Embellishments. I picked colours. Buttons. Flowers. Painted, stencilled, glued, painted, sprayed, painted, glued some more, inked, stamped… over and over… Well, that’s pretty much it.

Anyhow. It cleared out after hours. I don’t know how many.

 

The most important is to:

1. Let go!
2. Don’t overplan!
3. Dry everything before a new layer is started! (This is tricky!)
4. Fix stuff in the end.
5. Don’t worry if it’s too flowery. Tim Holtz may not have made this, but actually, I did!

 

I don’t know why I love mixed media. It may be because it’s so hard to control. Maybe it’s because I feel it doesn’t come so easy. It’s challenging.

Maybe that’s why I need it!