art from my current class

Here are 5 of my 6 collages that I completed today. I've been taking a class from Laura Lein Svencner. She uses the Jonathon Talbot method of collaging, which I had been introduced to before, but had not used since. I don't think I was really ready for it before, artistically. This one went together rather easily.This is the first one I started in class yesterday. The focal point are tree roots, from a photo I took years ago while boating on the Illinois River. It's ok, but my word (these) didn't come out as well as I had hoped, even with darkening it after the transfer. This one is my favorite. I did it totally differently from the rest. I used the text as the basic background, then layered tissue papers on top, so you can still see some of the text. After transferring the bird, I went back in with yellow acrylic and filled in the white areas. Simple, yet effective. I like the tissue papers for their transparency. I already had a stash of stained tissue papers that I did after viewing Carrie Ann Brown's video, so I got those out and coated some of them with polymer to have more tissue paper that I can use with this method.
This one is a bit whimsical. I didn't even realize it until after I scanned these that the candles appear to be coming out of his head! Just part of his imagination, I guess. By now, you can tell which papers are my favorites, cuz I've used them over and over.
And this one has no border; Laura calls it organic. Again, the word is a bit hidden, but once you discover it, it's interesting.

Once you get going with this method, it's hard to stop! But it's a beautiful sunny day, and I am going to take Shasta for a walk and then try to stay away from the papers and the tack iron!