The Art of Paper Collage [Paperback]

Susan Pickering Rothamel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2008

With their splendid array of colors, textures, and patterns, collages have an alluring beauty unlike any other artform. One of today’s most outstanding collagists has produced an indispensable guidebook to the vast assortment of tools and techniques available: grounds and supports for the work, paper layering, faux-lace embellishing, assemblage (which incorporates found objects for a three-dimensional effect), and more. Impression lifts yield an unusual image that duplicates an original picture—but resembles a transparent stained glass window. Rubber stamps, with either dry pigment or heat embossing, work wonderfully too. And look into products like webbing spray, mica tiles, crackling medium, and crystal gel. Lushly illustrated with the author’s masterpieces and an artists’ gallery.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Susan Pickering Rothamel has been teaching art classes since 1979 and is experienced as a national lecturer, writer and product and marketing consultant. She has spread her excitement for the arts through workshops, classes, articles and instructional videos. Susan lives in Michigan. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Sterling/Chapelle; 2nd edition (September 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402756135
• ISBN-13: 978-1402756139
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #993,474 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

109 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not so much art as craft, April 4, 2000

By 

sarahbellum (MA, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Paper Collage (Hardcover)

Although this book does have some good ideas, it was disappointing. It might be called "The Art Of Paper Collage," but clearly the author comes from the world of scrapbooking and rubber stamping, not from the world of collage as a fine art. The examples she includes of her own work tend either toward Biblical themes or toward family memorabilia (ex: one collage is called "My Dad").

The writing style is oddly stilted. For example, instead of saying "You will find..." she chooses "It will be found that..." That kind of writing gets old very quickly, and should have been edited out.

Explanations tend to be sparse. In the section about doing an acrylic underpainting,for example, there is very little information about how to do one, or about how to mesh the underpainting with the collage elements. There is also a strange lack of information about some tried-and-true elements of collage art, such as archival tissue and the many types of acrylic medium and acrylic modeling paste, and only a cursory look at Oriental papers, while an entire section is devoted to some new products that are of dubious value, such as glitter spray. I was dismayed, furthermore, to find that most of the products featured in that section just happen to be sold by a company the author is associated with. I ended up feeling like I had just spent a lot of money on an elaborate ad. Not only that, there is some misinformation: she claims that water-soluble polymer glues are considered archival "because they are reversible." That is NOT what makes a product archival--if that were the case, kindergarten paste would be considered archival.

There are other, much better, books about the art of collage out there, if you are serious about the artistic aspects of it. Look for the ones by Nita Leland and Virginia Williams, and Gerald Brommer. Both are far better written, represent a much broader range of styles, and are not nearly as commercially self-serving.

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational and Beautiful, May 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art of Paper Collage (Hardcover)

I was so inspired by the beautiful art in The Art of Paper Collage that I not only read Susan Pickering Rothamel's book cover-to-cover twice but I studied her stunning work and technique and then used them as guides to do my very first paper collage. The result was spectacular and I give Ms. Rothamel all the credit. She gave just enough direction and instruction so that I could actually construct my collage but more than that she gave me plenty of samples so that I could take a little from here and there and create something I am proud to own. I've had her book now for some months and it still sits on my artwork table so that I can wander through it when I need ideas and inspiration. I was really pleased that she included other artist's work - it gave me the opportunity to see a wide variety of styles and techniques. This book stands alone but now that I've also seen her terrific video on collage I'm even more confident of what I'm doing and am ready to tackle a more intricate piece. Wonderful book. Just wonderful.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creativity unleashed, March 25, 2000

By 

Margaret Schryver (Phoeniz, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Paper Collage (Hardcover)

I bought this book last Saturday on my way to a housewarming party. I was very rude and spent the whole evening holed up reading this wonderful book. I hardly talked to anyone at the party! It is a wonderful collection of collage. As a beginning collage artist, the first section about materials will really help me correct some of the mistakes I've made. The examples of Rothamel's collages sparked my creative juices so much I spent the next day (at work!) brainstorming and sketching out ideas for future collages. I loved this book; not just for the great information and the beautiful photos, but because it reinforced my desire to create beautiful collages. The gallery section was great, all the different artists with all their different styles are great examples of the diversity of art and collage. Gotta go...need to start tearing up paper.....