Collage (more Pam Project)

I've been trying really hard to do this correctly. People will say things like "There's no mistakes in art" and "happy accident" and "don't think too hard about it" and blah, blah, blah, but those are NOT things I believe. If I make a mark I don't like in my art, I erase it. Sometimes I have to "erase" using paint. No problem. Lots of people can collage fast and furious and things look wonderful or if they DON'T look wonderful, they have a way to make it look wonderful. One of the reasons I suck at collage is because I'm not interested in those strange, unsmiling old people. I'm just not. Sorry. You don't scrapbook strangers, why would you make art out of strangers? I also don't understand the obsession with eggs and birds and butterflies. My word is trains and legos and How to Train Your Dragon and Mr. Men books. Not butterflies and eggs. So working in this way is difficult for me. BUT if The Tessha Project taught me anything, it's that if I don't give up at the first sign on "this makes me uncomfortable" then I can sometimes make something I like!

These first two I painted under Kelly's careful instruction - at her house, with her guiding me every step of the way and in Pam's colors.The bat is (naturally) my favorite part. But I'm pretty OK with the rest of it, too. It's not horrible. (Maybe you think it is, but I'm sort of liking it.)

So far, just a door and a butterfly here. Baby steps.

Here I have a clock and a car - probably not what Pam would do, but it's still her process, right? And in the upper right corner, that's a napkin from Caribou Coffee.

This is Rylee, she lives next door to me and I gave her a flower, a butterfly and a piece of music paper torn out of a church bulletin (no the church did NOT burn down while I was inside it).
Pam says "collage around the edges until you're happy with it" but I'm too nervous to collage anymore today. It's ridiculous, I'm a grown woman and you'd think the matte medium was going to attack me I'm so nervous about collaging. Really, what's the WORST thing that's going to happen? But I just get really nervous! AFTER I had all these little tiny things in place I remembered that Pam usually places all of her collage, THEN glues it down. Maybe next time I'll try that.