Customer Reviews

Collage for the Soul: Expressing Hopes and Dreams Through Art

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2 star:		(3)
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I was really excited to get this book and explore the world of collage. I am a mixed media artist so I am familiar with materials. The pictures are gorgeous, but I found the instructions vague and lacking in detail. There is the collage picture and opposite is the materials list with bulleted instructions. One page per picture. One page for instructions (this is the area that needed more detail) And that is it.

Look at the house shaped box collage called "Crossings". The material list is there but the written instructions don't match the list. I expect to learn in the instructions how the 3 3/4" x 48" birch plywood is cut and used. Forget that. . .there is only vague information about how the box comes together. The pictures are inspiring and showcases great collage artwork. I celebrate that but hey the meat is in the instructions and sharing the techniques with others. If you are looking to learn about collage get another book.

I'm a mixed media book artist and instructor and this book is just simply SUPERB, definetly one I would recommend to fellow artists and to my students. It is one of the best 'collections' of mixed media collage art out there. The instructions are excellent and easy to follow. I love the 'gallery' section of the book though some (a very small handful) have been seen in the magazine "Somerset Studio" and on various online websites before. It is a wonderful collection of artwork that will inspire you to sit down and just 'make something'.
If you're a beginner I would recommend Nita Leland titles for beginning (and advanced) collage students. Collage for the Soul is eye candy for artists! I'm looking forward to more books like this one.

The elegant presentation and richly detailed photographs of "Collage for the Soul" lend it the air of an artful treasure. Its squarish format is pleasingly different, the colors rich, the layout clean, and the instructions for creating similar projects are easy to follow.
For the purposes of this book, the definition of collage has been expanded to include techniques in assemblage and mixed-media, especially valuable to aspiring and practicing artists in these days when recycling has come into its own!
I adore being introduced to the work of artists with whom I am unfamiliar, like Candace Walters, whose piece "Memory of Home from an Island" is striking! She juxtaposes images of animals that look like illustrations from a children's book, with the meticulously painted face of her daughter, then repeats those same animals painted in tiny versions on her daughter's collar. The piece is filled with symbolism, some of which is explained in the written details and some of which is left to one's own interpretation. The book is chock-full of such pieces, with photographs that easily allow for detailed examination.
As an artist, I was particularly intrigued by the in-depth explorations of the creative process. Harrison and Grasdal have put together the perfect book for an artist's library - one that combines practical techniques, inspiration and beautiful graphics.
Whether you are looking for an excellent addition to your own reference bookshelf or coffeetable collection, or in need of a gift, I unabashedly recommend this gorgeous book for anyone who loves unique, colorful, thought-provoking art, as well as for those who simply appreciate collage in its myriad forms.

If you are buying every book on this subject, this could be among them. However, if making a choice, this should not be a priority. The projects are not inspiring, a challenge considering the fine artists composing them. They show some interesting techniques, but who wants to use them considering what we're offered as goals? I would recommend "True Colors", by Harrison," Altered Books Workshop", by Brazelton, and "Making Memory Books and Journals by Hand", (a marvelous compilation of 42 projects put together by Thunder Bay Press) as being FAR more worthwhile.

This is a terrific book for anyone interested in collage as an art as opposed to a craft. There is a wide range of work displayed, covering a number of different styles. Interspersed with the projects in the book are several discussions of such techniques and processes as using encaustics, finding symbols, using different means of transforming papers, transferring images, using collage as a medium for your memoirs, etc. There are also useful and inspiring sidebars throughout that help the artist come up with ideas and techniques they may never have thought of before.

AN earlier reviewer objects to the fact that the directions for the projects are not extremely precise. I consider that one of the great strengths of the book--I am not interested in recreating the exact piece of art displayed, I want to learn new methods to interpret my own ideas. There are some books and magazines out there that tell you exactly what brand name products to use in exactly which colors. Those books are intended for a different audience. This book is meant for those who are not afraid to experiment and learn. It encourages the reader to try new processes and new approaches, rather than handing out exact formulas.

Here are just some of the techniques covered in various projects: assemblage, encaustic, monotype, oil pastels, tissue-paper lamination, using foraged natural materials, making a collaged art doll, paper-pulp casting, transferring photos to different surfaces, sanding back to reveal underlayers... There is a tremendous amount to be learned from this book. It is not quite as showy as True Colors, but it serves a different purpose. True Colors, as delightful as it is, is primarily eye candy, and is limited to altered books. Collage For The SOul covers a much wider spectrum of collage work, and provides much more information on techniques for the artist.

I recommend this book and Gerald Brommer's collage book as THE two to own, if you can only have two. I can hardly wait for the next collage book by the same team, which is due out soon.

Collage for the Soul presents a wide array of handsome artwork and is complete with text on definition, process and technique. Holly Harrison and Paula Grasdal have assembled a stellar line-up of artists who generously share their personal expressions on canvas, in boxes, in book form, with fabric, and beyond. From simple to sophisticated, these pages will stimulate your thinking process on how to approach collage. The clear close-ups of the compositions, next to the materials listing and basic instructions, enables and encourages you to translate into your own individual creation. As a collage artist, I know that my focus and interests change and evolve so this book will be a constant resource of inspiration and information. Not to be missed!

I was thoroughly disappointed in this book. Based on reviewer comments I hastened to buy it, and then found it uninspiring. It presented nothing new, not an iota of soul and seemed like a simple compendium of collage work with some scattered instructions that may not be sufficiently clear.

If you are a collage artist, you will want to purchase this book. It is not a "how to" book but a wonderful resource of images and artists you might not find anywhere else. Many different styles of collage are represented and I find something new and inspiring everytime I look at it! There are many women creating in the collage world today and not enough resources to find them...get this book and see new images and artists! The collages are shown in beautiful, full page reproductions so that you can study the details. Highly recommend!

This isn't your average Artsy Coffee Table book! At first and second glance this book was on the verge of being traded until I actually read the words! After reading the first artist's opening page, I found myself intrigued and excited to see "what's next". The author not only formatted the book in a way that helped build upon existing skills but also increasing new found skills. The contributing artists personal commentary was fun to read and the techniques they shared invaluable. Excellent book not only for the artist teaching value but also for the search for inner "soul" searching.