How a collage is born
Today I want to take you into my studio and share my process for creating a collage—specifically, the oak tree collage shown below. It’s part of my 2022 calendar of art and haiku, which is 15% off through Sunday.
The most time-intensive part of the process is actually painting the papers—this takes twice as long as all the rest. Here, I’m rolling hand-mixed acrylic paint onto a page from an old book, which is placed on a gel press plate. I always start with white paper and then paint it so that the colors won’t fade over time. On my table you can see clear plastic totes of papers that I’ve painted and embellished, one tote for each color.
I've always loved oak trees, and have drawn, painted, embroidered, quilted or batiked them since I was a kid. Here, I’ve torn the shapes of an oak tree with a boulder behind it, based loosely on some photos I took on a hike in the Kneeland hills of Humboldt County, CA. I prefer the organic look of torn rather than cut edges.
In this photo, you can see some shapes I have torn and laid down to represent leaves and bushes. The papers include some textural pieces made by applying paint to crinkled tin foil and rolling it onto painted deli paper. I also used an old map and some lacy paper from Japan that I painted, both of which suggest foliage.
Here, I’ve glued down the background and am tearing a tiny piece of foliage. I think of my collage process as “tearing things together.”
Almost there! Once I’ve laid out the pieces how I want them, I reverse the whole piece onto a separate sheet of paper. Now I can glue them down in the proper order, so the background pieces go down first. I apply archival glue (PVA) with an old paintbrush.
Ta-da! A few weeks after I made this piece, I lay in the hammock at my mother’s home in Mendocino County and brainstormed haiku that could go with it. The final piece reads:
staying balanced
on a spinning globe—
deep-rooted oak
Regarding the lettering, sometimes I paint each haiku individually using sumi ink and a bamboo brush. In this case, I used a custom font made from my brush-painted letters.
The red stamp in the corner is my name seal, also known as a chop or hanko, reading “Makino.”
I learned some of these collage techniques from a workshop with artist Donna Watson and books by Elizabeth St. Hilaire, and I am discovering new techniques all the time. Please let me know if you have any questions about my process!
"staying balanced" is 8x10, made of painted papers, glue and illustration board. The original is available for purchase. © Annette Makino 2020
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Makino Studios News
Sale on 2022 mini-calendars: My calendars of art and haiku are moving so fast that I ordered 200 more! They are now 15% off on the Makino Studios site, just till midnight this Sunday. Use code CAL15 at checkout. They are also sold at stores in Eureka, Arcata, McKinleyville and Trinidad, CA. The calendars feature 12 colorful Asian-inspired collages with my original haiku. Normally $12 each.
Water and Stone: My book of art and haiku makes a great gift! It includes 50 watercolor paintings with my original poems. Cost is $24.99. You can find it online here, on Amazon and in select local Humboldt stores.
Cards: Holiday, birthday, sympathy or everyday… right now there are more than 60 Makino Studios card designs, including seven new or updated designs. Please note that due to increased costs, the price for a single card will rise on January 1, from $4.50 to $5.00.
Made in Humboldt fair: The “Made in Humboldt” event at Pierson Garden Shop in Eureka, CA runs through Friday, Dec. 24. This is the only fair where you can buy my calendars, books, prints and boxed notecards this season.
Art prints at Blake’s Books: This bookstore in McKinleyville, CA currently has a selection of my framed and unframed art prints, ready for gifting. They are also among the local stores that carry my books, calendars, notecards and single cards.
Holiday shipping deadline: The US Postal Service advises that for first-class packages to arrive by Dec. 25, they should be shipped by this Friday, Dec. 17.