latest collage--getting there

My studio looks fantastic! I've been making an effort to tidy it up. Now I can pretty much walk in there w/o risk of tripping. I have been working on my 22 x 30 collage for my art marketing assignment. We meet Saturday so I have some more opportunity to work on it. I don't feel as though it's finished, but it is getting there.

I have an awesome magnetic strip (scrap of roofing material) in a well traveled hallway, and it's where I put work that needs review. Sometimes I get stuck and don't know how to proceed, but know that the work isn't finished. So the magnetic strip will hold work in progress for however long it takes. Often the spark occurs at the most random of times. I'll be walking into my bedroom for instance with a pile of laundry to put away, and I'll see the work out of the corner of my eye and boom! I know what's missing. So this is where my collage will move to after this post.

Collages are easy and fun. I jotted down my materials for the curious. Most of this stuff is personal preference. The main thing is to have a good time moving elements around and experimenting.

• Rives BFK for the base paper
• Gesso
• old papers, old Lettraset letters (these are from my first job out of college, so 1990)
• Cretacolor Graphit Aquarell pencil for awesome graphite washes
• Golden Gel Medium Soft Gel (matte). Great for gluing heavier papers. 
• Liquitex Gloss Medium and Varnish. Great for gluing tissue paper. Though I did recoat with the Golden because I wanted matte vs. gloss
• Heavy books and parchment paper to put on top of glued papers that are in the process of drying, to keep them from getting all bumpy.
• Winsor & Newton India Ink.
• Brushes. Good ones and cheap ones. Cheap brushes are reserved for gesso and the mediums. I tend to leave the brushes in the glue while I'm working, which is a good way to turn a good brush into a lousy brush.
• Drafting dusting brush to keep work clear of eraser residue and cat hair. Especially important before gluing. :)