In order to do something fresh and original with our art sometimes we first have to steal.  Do you know the book

Steal LIke an Artist by Austin Kleon?  His first item, in a list of ten things nobody told you about being an artist, is "Steal like an artist."

This month in the Saturday and Sunday Muse Groups, in honor of Valentine's Day, we stole collage ideas from other artists and made them our own. 

The first artist was Romare Bearden (1911-1988), recognized as one of the most creative and original artists of the twentieth century.  In particular he was known for his richly textured collages which combined abstract art with real images to give a powerful sense of the lives of people, especially the African American experience he championed.  His collages were stylized with geometric shapes for body parts, sometimes out of proportion to the rest of the figure to create impact.

For a look at Bearden's concept development and collage application style watch this video interview.

A contemporary artist from whom we also borrowed/stole ideas is Ariel (yes, just one name), whose collages appear in the book

Master Collage:  Major Works by Leading Artists.  Her work has been described as "intentionally tentative, purposely awkward, and with a discordant quality which reflects the disjointed nature of modern day experience".  Since we are always trying to push the envelope, stir things up, and go against the grain in Muse Group in order to invite true originality to surface, Ariel is a great inspiration.  

If you'd like to play with some of these ideas yourself, try this month's Art Play lesson.

Are you feeling romantic love or the longing for spiritual union?  Have you given your heart over to your grandchildren or best friend or even your favorite animal(s).  Begin by picking one of these themes for your love relations collage, remembering to put yourself into it in some form.

Assemble photos of faces, bodies, body parts from a variety of styles and time periods. Your collection could also include love poetry, mythology, Greek and Roman sculpture, artist renderings, your own figure drawings/paintings, hand painted papers, lace, fabric, etc.

Start by painting a background in a color scheme that fits with your theme. Glue on a copy of the body shapes you will fill in with collage.  Alternately make a rough drawing as a guide or transfer a drawing to the paper.

In the example above I started by roughly copying in my own hand a line drawing of Picasso's.  I chose the pink and flesh tone colors to illustrate the romantic sentiment of the piece.  

Next find collage pieces for body parts, either picture images  or paper shapes.  Move them around on the piece until they find their place.  Add some discordant parts, outsized hands, feet, or facial features.  In my piece above I found an outsized hand of an old man, which added the sense of security to this otherwise romantic image.

Find another collage element to add a sub-theme to your piece: an image from the zodiac or music from a songbook or a picture frame, etc.  You may also want to add text or other design elements in collage and paint.

Now integrate your collage pieces onto the paper surface with glazing or balancing of the design elements.

You might feel an opening to be more connected in your love relation. What are the other love relations you can collage now?