86 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Creating Your Own Repertoire of Collage Skills, January 5, 2010
This review is from: Collage Lab: Experiments, Investigations, and Exploratory Projects (Lab Series) (Paperback)
This is the first book in the publisher's new Lab series, and its format provides an experiential and experimental approach to building your own personal and unique repertoire of collage skills and techniques.
This book is a combination of prompts, step by steps, tutorials, techniques, material lists, and examples - all put together on each full spread (book laid flat for full view of two pages) to provide a comprehensive, but not necessarily exhaustive, view of each of the building blocks. It would be nice if it could be bound with metal coil or plastic spiral instead of glue so that it could be laid flatter on any surface.
There are 52 laboratories in this book, grouped in 12 units with four or five labs each. Going through each lab is like laying brick by brick to build a pyramid-like wealth of knowledge and experience in the art of collage. It provides ample opportunities to try out different ways of using a specific technique, and encourages the learner to allow room for mistakes - instead they can be viewed as accidental discoveries.
Even thought this book seemed to be focused primarily on the beginners or anyone's first foray into the art & craft of collage, it does provide new ways or ideas even for the most advanced students. For example, I learned a new way to convert a colored photo into a pencil drawing by printing it out in black & white, gessoed it, and then fill in by hand with pencil strokes.
In summary, having this book open in front of your art projects is like having a private tutor sitting next to you as you develop and build your own wealth of knowledge in the mixed media world.
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45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow & WOW !, January 19, 2010
This review is from: Collage Lab: Experiments, Investigations, and Exploratory Projects (Lab Series) (Paperback)
Sometimes you can be pretty disappointed when buying a craft book... especially on the art of collage! Wellllllll.. not with this beauty!
I am so glad that I went for it and bought it because this will be a book I will go to time and time again for inspiration and design technique.
Just starting out, getting your feet wet? This is for you!!! Collage to your hearts content all the time? Well this will breathe new life into techniques that you already do!
I highly recommend this book it's great quality..covers ALOT of terrain for the buck!
Happy Collage Art everyone GET IN THE LAB!!!
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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most Welcome Addition to My Library, January 6, 2010
This review is from: Collage Lab: Experiments, Investigations, and Exploratory Projects (Lab Series) (Paperback)
Bee Shay has written a seriously useful and inspiring addition to the collage/mixed media technique genre. I can't recommend this book highly enough. If you have any interest in collage, or in mixed media or just love to look through creative and entertaining books stuffed with great art and clear, inventive tutorials, this is one you will want for your personal library. I have been drooling over the projects all evening and plan to get out my art supplies and put into action some of the great ideas Ms. Shay puts forth in her projects tomorrow morning.
Collage Lab has me jazzed up and bubbling with new ideas to try. I bet is will plant many artistic seeds in your psyche, too. Try it, I think you'll love it!
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