Collage Discovery Workshop [Paperback]

Claudine Hellmuth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 2003

Unlock the Artist Within

Collage is the perfect medium to help you unleash your creative potential. You can gather materials from just about anywhere, glue them down on a surface and magically create a work of art. There are no mistakes, only discoveries. What could be more exciting?

In Collage Discovery Workshop, acclaimed collage artist Claudine Hellmuth shares 15 of her favorite collage techniques and invites you to play with basic collage materials in new and imaginative ways. Along the way, Claudine guides you with friendly advice on how to develop your artistic voice and turn an ordinary collage into something special.

Learn how to:

• Overcome "blank canvas" syndrome with recipes for four luscious backgrounds
• Combine words and images to capture a mood or tell a story in your collage
• Incorporate buttons, old photos, game pieces and other found objects in your art
• Explore the magical appeal of collaging with beeswax
• Layer patterns and images in your collages with amazing transfer techniques
• Honor a special friend with a personal keepsake collage
• Use a written journal to grow as an artist

Don't wait another day to express yourself with collage. You never know what surprising discoveries await!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In Hellmuth's hands, collage is not child's play but an artistic endeavor. Instruction in 15 different techniques, from glazing paint to creating a verdigris patina, form the core of her work, preceded by introductory pages on tools and supplies. The text is casual in tone and sympathetic to foibles and failures. What's even more impressive is the way she explains something nearly impossible to articulate--that is, how to transform a ho-hum collage into an aesthetically pleasing composition. The emphasis, in fact, is on the journey to art, on learning how to see better, to tell stories, and how journals can be used to capture ideas. A gallery, hints, and safety tips help focus readers on the possibilities of three-dimensional assemblages. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Author

Collage is unlike any other artistic medium because one can use virtually anything to make an art piece and to tell a story. You do not have to be a great "artist" to create a collage or enjoy doing it! You do not even need to know how to draw! You simply need to open your imagination and let yourself be free to try new things and soon you'll be having a lot of fun.

As beginner’s start to learn the techniques from my book and try collage they’ll begin to see that collage is all about play and pasting materials down and seeing what happens next. There is no way to make mistakes! If you don't like something you can paste over it, paint over and add something else. There is no wrong way to make a collage there is no way to fail! In fact, simply by experimenting with collage, can help you to find and improve your creative voice. I have added journaling prompts at the back of the book to help the reader on their creative journey.

I hope that by reading this book and using some my of "tricks of the trade," the readers’ will fall in love with working in collage as I have. I'll help them discover a few background techniques, that will get their artwork started. We'll do image transfer techniques, beeswax collage and a variety of other methods to get them on their way to working in mixed media collage. Most importantly, I have a section on composition and tips to create artworks with successful compositions.

But most of all I hope that this book will help the reader to discover the magic of collage, the unpredictable and exciting road of working in mixed media. You never know what's going to happen, and that's what makes it so fun!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (December 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581803435
• ISBN-13: 978-1581803433
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Arts & Photography > Other Media > Mixed Media
  • #34 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Remodeling & Renovation

More About the Author

Claudine Hellmuth is a nationally recognized collage artist, author and illustrator. She combines photos, paint, paper and pen into quirky, whimsical-retro collages that she calls Poppets'.

Her artworks have been featured on The Martha Stewart Show, in Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine, on HGTV's "I Want That!" and on the DIY Network's program, "Craft Lab."

In addition to creating her artwork full-time, Claudine teaches collage workshops in the US & Canada, and she has written 2 books about her techniques, "Collage Discovery Workshop" and "Collage Discovery Workshop: Beyond the Unexpected." She has also produced three instructional DVD workshops.

Claudine's studio and home are in Washington DC, where she lives with her husband, Paul and their very spoiled pets - Toby the wonder dog and Mable & Stanley the cats.

web site: http://www.collageartist.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Instructive and Inspring, January 13, 2004

By 

Jennifer Shoup "jennifer" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Collage Discovery Workshop (Paperback)

Feast your eyes on Claudine Hellmuth's collage style!

Not only does this book include beautiful (and instructive) photographs of Claudine's collage work, but the reader is also treated to many versatile techniques, all presented in Claudine's engaging and thoughtful conversational style, along with very helpful discussions of design issues.

The first part of the book focuses on adding several techniques to your artist "toolbox". For example, Claudine offers explanation and instruction for several different types of image transfer techniques, from transfers using common tape or laminate to more unusual transfers using heat or even Elmer's clear caulk material. And forget about messy glues and decoupage mediums -- Claudine suggests an interesting way of using beeswax in assembling and even coloring your collage. Several other techniques i.e. peeling paint, will lend themselves to applications in many other media. There is also an interesting lesson in assembling a "frame" for your finished pieces that is both simple and effective. I found all of her instructions to be exceptionally clear and easy to follow.

Finally, I found Claudine's collage style to be refreshing. These days it seems that collage means seeing how many interesting or artsy things you can pile onto a canvas or paper. Yet Claudine's style is refereshingly spare, proving that it isn't quantity that counts, but quality. And there is plenty of quality in this wonderful and inspiring book!

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!!, February 20, 2005

By 

merrymousies (Waterford, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Collage Discovery Workshop (Paperback)

When I first started playing with Altered books I was also brand new to collage. The neat thing about this book is that it has two parts - it has a techniques part and then the second half is the collage part. There are techniques for doing transfers, glazing paint, peeling paper, stamping in wax, and creating textured paint. Then in the collage part she steps us through how to build a collage - add a picture, then some words, etc. She shows us how to do those altoid tins too which is fun. Wonderful images throughout the book to inspire and the instructions are really clear and step by step. I'm looking forward to Claudine's next book and her DVD!! She's such a terrific teacher.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars COLLAGE DISCOVERY WORKSHOP-CLAUDINE HELLMUTH, December 9, 2003

By 

alyce d mcdonald (Louisville, Kentucky United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Collage Discovery Workshop (Paperback)

I ordered my copy of this book from the prepublication site. I have anticipated the arrival of it and was thrilled when my copy arrived. I have read and reread the pages and am more than excited at the instructions within.
Rarely do you find an artist of Claudine's talent who is willing to generously share the knowledge of her particular craft and tell us her secrets. She has done exactly that. The book is written in excellent step-by-step concise and very understandable instruction with complete lists of what is needed in order to achieve the looks for the collages. All of the items needed are easily obtainable, not items that are impossible to find, most at our local craft and art supply stores. This is the very best workbook on collage I have had the priveledge to read. I can hardly wait to try every single technique.