denise cerro: Getting it all Down…

… On Paper!

Those who have followed me for a while know I have embraced the practice of doing something creative every day.

For the year 2017, I will be keeping an art collage journal. What better way to combine assemblage with a daily routine?

A chronicle of this artist's life.

The idea isn’t new. Even this Psychology Today article talks about the benefits of daily creative expression.

Collage is an accessible medium, even for those who don’t believe they have creative talent.
We can all tear pictures out of a magazine and use a glue stick!

I originally thought I would make a book-style journal, with a collage on each page, one for each day of the year.

I have decided to interpret the idea of “Journal” loosely, adapting the idea to fit me better, using loose pages instead of a book.
That way I’ll have more flexibility, and I can frame the ones I like! (And chop up the ones I don’t, to use for another collage!)

Plus, I will be making the individual pages available for purchase in my Etsy shop!

I approach this practice as exactly that, practice. A daily warm-up to get my creative heart pumping.

Are you feeling up for the Daily Collage Challenge?

Here’s how to begin.

Each day, let your mind unwind onto the page. Let it happen, try something new. No judgment! This is your subconscious having a little free time.

Step #1

Decide if you want to do a book journal that’s bound and collected all in one place, or loose pages that you can frame, give away, hang on the fridge, or sell later.

If you want to use a book, find a good hardcover or spiral bound sketchbook at an art store, or punch holes in the pages and use a three-ring binder.

Of you’re playing it loose, collect some sturdy papers you’d like to use as your blank canvas to work on,
so you have them handy and ready to go each day.

You can use anything:

old calendar pages,
a cereal box,
junk mail,
or beautiful papers from the art store.

You can cover them with paint, or let some of the original paper show up in your collage.

Step #2

Gather together elements you can have ready to work with:

paper shapes,
cutouts,
paper napkins,
gift wrap,
greeting cards with inspiring messages,
tags,
photos,
magazines,
rubber stamps,
washi tape,
buttons,
book pages,
and of course, scissors and glue.

Step #3

Set aside time each day for you, for your art.

You’ll have all your supplies ready to go when the time arises…it doesn’t have to take long…a half hour, an hour. It can be a warm up for you to create more art in a day, and it can be time you set aside to explore new ideas and techniques.

The pieces below are only 5”x7” and didn’t require a lot of time to do, just the desire to do art everyday.