The Collagist: Artistic Chaos

Collage can be organized or disorganized chaos, meaning you can place the individual pieces with precise intention or work from pure intuition. The collagist takes seperate materials and alchemizes them into a coherent whole; a dreamscape of imagery, and sometimes words as well, that encompasses its various fragments into one unique spirit.

Books on Collage and Altered Art

Too Fat to Fish

by: Artie Lange, Anthony Bozza

Amazon Price: $14.97 (as of 12/02/2008)

Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion

by: Mark Cotta Vaz

Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 12/02/2008)

A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity

by: Bill O'Reilly

Amazon Price: $15.60 (as of 12/02/2008)

IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit

Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 12/02/2008)

Burning Up: On Tour with the Jonas Brothers

by: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, Nick Jonas, Laura Morton

Amazon Price: $13.19 (as of 12/02/2008)

Inspiration for the Eyes and Soul

If you ever feel bogged down, here are a few books that may help get you jumpstarted:

Fearless Creating: A Step-by-Step Guide To Starting and Completing Your Work of Art

by: Eric Maisel

Great tips if you feel stuck or inhibited.

Amazon Price: $10.85 (as of 12/02/2008)

Interior Alchemy: Secrets to Creating Expressive Ambience

by: Rebecca Purcell, Kathy Walton

A book of home decor but I find it very inspirational for my artwork, as well. Layers upon layers of odd collections and ephemera. Collage as environment.

Amazon Price: (as of 12/02/2008)

Fred Otnes Collage Paintings

by: Jill Bossert

Amazon Price: $49.95 (as of 12/02/2008)

The Artful Dodger: Images and Reflections

by: Nick Bantock

Amazon Price: (as of 12/02/2008)

Cabinets of Curiosities

by: Patrick Mauries

Amazon Price: (as of 12/02/2008)

Une Semaine De Bonte: A Surrealistic Novel in Collage

by: Max Ernst

Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 12/02/2008)

Paris Out of Hand: A Wayward Guide

by: Karen Elizabeth Gordon

Amazon Price: $22.95 (as of 12/02/2008)

Cut with the Kitchen Knife: The Weimar Photomontages of Hannah Hoch

by: Maud Lavin

Amazon Price: (as of 12/02/2008)

Bits and Pieces: Around the House

Needless to say, practically anything can be incorporated into collage. Collagists don't look at trash the same way other people do which is why we are often accused of being packrats.

This is just a brief list of some ideas on things others would throw out but can come in quite useful for a future project.

The insides of broken clocks, household appliances, and other gadgets.
Leftover giftwrapping from parties and holidays.
The buttons, zippers, rivets and embellishments, along with the material of old clothes.
Broken toys, playing cards, tarot cards, game pieces and game boards.
The rhinestones, metals and findings from costume jewlery.
Holiday decorations.
Save the scraps from your vacation: maps, ticket stubs, matchbook covers, cocktail napkins, bochures, menus...
Food labels, candy wrappers/boxes, and other product packaging materials.

*And by all means, save those jars - great for holding those multitude of small items you collect.

Bits and Pieces: The eBay Way

Keep your eyes open for found objects; rummage through your drawers, closets, junk shops and garage sales; stash items you normally would just toss out. For even more variety, you can find all sorts of goodies on eBay:

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Bits and Pieces: Storebought Items

Prepackaged items always come in handy. There are some lovely embellishments, papers and clip art out there but also, remember, it doesn't have to be used the way it was intended or as it comes out of the package.

Some Handy Tools to Have Around

Collage Resources on the Net

Collage Art: Loads of links covering all aspects of collage.
The International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction: Website to the musuem located in Located in Fort Worth, TX. Dedicated to all forms of assemblage art.
Collage Town: "A Tribute to the Arts of Collage and Photomontage" Includes a few galleries, some history, interviews, etc.
Altered Arts Magazine: Website of Altered Arts magazine. They provide articles on the site and some fun projects.
Creativity Portal: Collage, Assemblage, and Photomontage: Some tututorials on collage and other assemblage. A large site that covers lots of different mediums.
Cut and Paste Collage in the Digital World: A very nice and easy to do tutorial on using Photoshop as a tool for collage.
Dover Publications: Great place to gather copy-free images. The list seems to be endless and you can sign of for free image samples.