Collage « Collage Your World

Canadian Gharana Arts Festival Photo Album

Michelle Casey, Canadian Gharana Arts Opening, Ottawa, June 2012

In June I was pleased to participate in a group art exhibition: “Inspirations of India” held by the Canadian Gharana Arts Festival here in Ottawa. The event was a celebration of arts being practiced by Indo-Canadian and Canadian artists alike inspired by India. For […]

Changing the World, One Collage at a Time

Recently, I assisted elementary school teacher Catherine and her grade six students with a collage project. After working throughout the year on a social issues theme with her class, she asked them to create a collage of the “footprint” they’d like to leave in the world: things they wanted changed for the better.

Now, […]

Collage Tip #10: Coffee Table Collage

I’d like to invite you to shake up your collaging by thinking outside the box. Collaging doesn’t necessarily have to involve papers, scissors and glue. You can expand your collage repertoire by layering all kinds of materials. Today I propose we collage with books! Fiction or non-fiction. It doesn’t matter; the only tools you’ll need […]

Collage Journaling at Charlotte’s Place

Students, Brenda and Charlotte, sharing their journal pages, May 2012. Having students share their reflections about the process and discoveries they’ve made during collage journaling is a vital element of the workshop.

On a gorgeous afternoon last Saturday I held a collage journaling workshop in Carleton Place, Ontario. Charlotte, a former student, loaned […]

The Collage Artist Goes to Back to School!

Since April, I’ve been volunteering at an elementary school. It’s one of my business goals to research working with children because I’d like to offer workshops for them at schools or through my studio. This year, an acquaintance/teacher friend, Christine, a great collage enthusiast, guided me through the appropriate administrative channels to be able […]

Embossing the Day Away with Wendy Southin

Arranging different textures together with metal embossing is so much like collaging. One can arrange and affix them onto a canvas or a small wooden frame with heavy double-sided tape.

Recently when my good friend artist Wendy Southin asked me to assist her with a metal embossing workshop for teens, I jumped at […]

Student Spotlight: Connie’s Journey from Quilter to Collagist!

Connie Howes-Davidson’s second journal page (Collage, 5 x 7 inches, February 2012) which was inspired by a favourite quilt. Quote: “A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.” Arsène Houssaye

Connie Howes-Davidson was lured to my Collage Journaling Workshop by her friend Ruby who caught my show at the […]

Life through the Arts: Surviving the Impossible Dream

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how art helped me survive family turmoil during my early years. We had a lovely house, clean clothes and good food at the table, but at the heart of our home something was terribly wrong. By the age of 10 I began to sense how important communication and expression […]

April Showers Bring… My New Mini Book Portfolio!

Mini Book for Elaine, Collage / Mixed Media, 5 x 7 inches per page, 2011

As promised in my spring newsletter, I’ve just posted a new portfolio of a few mini books I made last year. It includes a couple of the books whose stories (Kevin’s and Gillian’s) I’ve shared with you already […]

Me, Vanessa, Marilyn & John

This week I watched a concert* on TV given by French singer/actress Vanessa Paradis. I sat spellbound by the star’s stylish looks, lithe figure and wavy blonde hair as well as what emerged from her lips (along with the familiar gap between her two front teeth): a voice like no other: childish and sultry […]