Collage with Color: Create Unique, Expressive Collages in Vibrant Color [Paperback]

Jane Davies (Author), John Polak (Photographer), John Polak (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2005

• Popular craft with a fabulous new twist


• Color theory for crafters, plus appealing
projects glowing with color


Collage is a favorite with crafters at every level—it’s fun and easy. But sometimes the results can be a little…drab. No more! Collage with Color shows crafters how to create brilliantly colored collages by decorating papers with acrylics, watercolors, and watercolor dyes. Author Jane Davies explains color theory in clear, straightforward terms, then moves on to step-by-step demonstrations of such exciting techniques as spritzing and blotting, wet-in-wet, and free-form dripping. Then it’s time to create stunning collage projects packed with dynamic, exciting color, including scrapbook pages, cards, gift bags, journals, altered books, and more. Collage with Color will add color to every crafter’s life!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

As beautiful to look at as it is practical, Davies' colorful book takes a fine artist's approach to a craft by using hand-decorated papers to fashion cut-paper collage projects. Separate chapters on papers, paints, and brushes lead off, followed by an excellent section on color theory. The instruction on making patterned papers is, all by itself, worth the price of the book. Crafters will learn how to create gorgeous designs using sgraffito, drip transfer, stamping, masking, stippling, and more. The projects, ranging from gift tags and boxes to lampshades and earrings, are each presented with a separate materials list and abbreviated directions, clarified by a few sharp, full-color photos. These clever ideas buttressed by excellent background material will supply both artists and crafters with plenty of inspiration to go forward with projects of their own. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Jane Davies, a ceramicist and designer,
is the author of A Glaze of Color:
Creating Color and Design on Ceramics
(0-8230-2119-X). She lives in Rupert, VT.


John Polak is a commercial photographer based in Chicopee, MA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823007979
• ISBN-13: 978-0823007974
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 0.4 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #87 in Books > Arts & Photography > Other Media > Mixed Media

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As Much About Decorating Paper as Collage, May 10, 2007

By 

Picfactory (California, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Collage with Color: Create Unique, Expressive Collages in Vibrant Color (Paperback)

What I like most about this book is that it is a refreshing break from all the Somerset Studio look alike and same-looking altered book stuff out there (yes, I was surprised--this also has a few altered book things in here, and they're different and mildly interesting). Wow. Originality. Getting ever harder to come by in the modern paper art/craft publishing world.

This book is actually more of a volume on paper decorating, with a bit of collaging principles and craft ideas included. This isn't bad. I read a lot of paper craft and art books, and I still found plenty in here that made me want to break out the paints and paper. And, as the title says, this is about color--how to decorate paper with it, how to combine it, how to make patterns with it. Unlike the previous reviewer, I didn't find the examples too bright. This is, after all, a book with "vibrant color" in the title. And here it is demonstrated by someone who truly understands it and is passionate about it. These examples sparkle.

This is refreshingly different. No faux edginess which just looks bland the thousandth time you've seen it, or works featuring people wearing pasted dunce caps. You will instead find a nice basic, lucid overview of color concepts; great ideas for using acrylic paints to make interestingly decorated papers; and some ideas for combining these papers in aesthetically pleasing ways.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars lots of techniques to try, October 27, 2006

By 

Ellen Etc. (Northern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Collage with Color: Create Unique, Expressive Collages in Vibrant Color (Paperback)

The author covers a lot of ground quickly here. While not as in-depth as Traci Bautista's "Collage Unleashed," Davies touches on many techniques and applications. The examples were way too bright for my tastes and didn't personally inspire me, but they work well as examples to see what's going on with the technique and provide a nice change of pace from the muted Victoriana that's so prevalent elsewhere. The photos also show the hand models with paint on them, which I really enjoyed after seeing many impossibly clean hands in other books. Yes! You will get paint on your hands and it's OK! I particularly enjoyed the Prayer Flags project, modelled after Tibetan prayer flags, and the Book Page Collage & Letter Stamps ideas.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic book, January 7, 2009

By 

JML "Artist at heart" (NH, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Collage with Color: Create Unique, Expressive Collages in Vibrant Color (Paperback)

Great book, with excellent techniques clearly demonstrated. Would recommed it for beginners to expects in collage technique. Very inspiring use of original paper for collage. Jane covers everything from the color wheel to creating you own collage paper. I borrowed the book from my local library until I decided I needed to own it. Jane has a new book Collage Journeys: A Practical Guide to Creating Personal Artwork that is fantastic too.