Collage adjacent activities?

August 9, 2022 11:00 PM

I am looking for a new hobby/pastime and have been partial in the past to activities that feel similar to creating collages, but seem to have exhausted the options that I could think of.

I would really prefer things to do that don't cost money and especially things that can be done on a laptop or without acquiring any outside materials. These are some of the things that feel like what I am looking for, and any activities similar to these but not precisely the same might also scratch that itch if you have any in mind:

• Making physical collages, i.e. cutting out magazines and pasting onto canvas / digital photo collages
• Making collages with videos (snippets taken from different films, etc)
• The above but with music, or with audio in the style of Ruttmann's Weekend
• Making playlists/mixtapes
• Text collages (?) - kind of like this - web weaving on Tumblr seemed similar but with less of a visual component, I feel
• Pretty much any sort of physical collection activity, e.g. stamps, coins, religious paraphernalia
• Blackout poetry

Even though the things I'm looking for would mostly rely on me having access to other material to start with, am still looking for an activity with a creative/artistic (and thus emotional outlet) component in it, I guess - i.e. doing jigsaw puzzles or similar does not really fulfill the desire in the same way. Would also be open to anything that might require more artistic skill/that someone can become adept at with effort, but am primarily looking for something that fits the collage description in the sense that anyone can churn out something passably decent on a first or second try.

posted by mnc to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (18 answers total)

Letter writing and envelope decorating falls into this for me — mini works of art. If you don't know him already, check out Austin Kleon's work, not just the books. I think it might resonate.
posted by socky_puppy at 12:15 AM on August 10, 2022 [3 favorites]

I also collect postcards - poor quality ones go into the collage material bank.
posted by socky_puppy at 12:16 AM on August 10, 2022

I don't know what the style is called, but the sort of word art that fits related words into a shape or design like some of the ones I've linked?

Could be done digitally or by hand?
posted by stormyteal at 2:10 AM on August 10, 2022

Handmade journals from found papers may scratch the same itch. Often referred to as "junk journals", there are tons of tutorials online but there seems to be some variation in what is considered a junk journal, with some people even buying junk journal kits that consist of art papers, die-cuts and similar things that are not exactly what I'd call junk. But I've seen some very cool-looking ones made out of the kind of actual junk you'd find around your house such as used envelopes, flyers, receipts, old book pages, parts of packages such as cereal boxes, torn-up pieces of your old artwork, etc. You assemble the various pages into a booklet and bind them, and then use whatever art supplies you have to journal on or decorate the pages. Even if it's just sharpies, pencils and ballpoint pens. You can make them as pretty or grungy as you like. Here are a couple of videos:

Junk Journals from Real Junk
15 Junk Journal Page Ideas Using Basic Supplies
An interview with Sabrina Ward Harrison about how she creates her journals
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 2:37 AM on August 10, 2022 [5 favorites]

Mosaics feel conceptually similar to me; tessera would cost, but cut-up squares of paper wouldn't.

Decoupage also comes to mind.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 3:01 AM on August 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

Junk journal but make it small. (And expensive.)
posted by phunniemee at 3:50 AM on August 10, 2022

I’ve thought before it would be enjoyable to make animations of poetry using something like Canva, that could then be shared on social media - maybe just a few favourite lines or maybe the whole thing, with words and images moving/appearing/disappearing. I think you can record voiceovers directly into Canva too, if you wanted to read the poem as it was illustrated.

I have the paid version of Canva, which has more functionality and makes things easier, but I’m pretty sure you can get a 30 day free trial if you wanted to give it a go and see if you take to it.
posted by penguin pie at 4:18 AM on August 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

Kurt Schwitters

Joseph Cornell

El-Anatsui

Paul Klee

Bruce Conner

Tim Hawkinson

Here are a couple of inspirational links to different artists. You might want to consider picking up a great materials and techniques book called "The Artist's Manual" by Angela Gair, 25 bucks, available on Amazon that has a great range of easy to understand materials applications of wet and dry media, including collage. I hope this is helpful.

Also check out Aboriginal Dreamtime paintings which can be done with a pencil eraser for dot stamps and a simple color palette. There's also the Rock Painting Addicts group on Facebook that has a bunch of projects with mandalas and other motifs.
posted by effluvia at 5:07 AM on August 10, 2022 [2 favorites]

It's definitely possible to use a computer to create art by assembling snippets collected from the internet and the world at large. The snippets can be audio or visual, the output can be moving or static.

The premium software, e.g. Photoshop-level apps, are expensive and have long and steep learning curves. Perhaps Mefites can suggest some relatively cheap and easy alternatives. You could start with a simple drawing program like Paint which does give the ability to combine a lot of little images into a bigger construction.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:28 AM on August 10, 2022

Eraser carving - use an xacto knife or linocut tools to carve designs to make rubber stamps, which you can then use to print designs. You can use any old flat rectangular rubber or synthetic erasers you have lying around, or buy sheets of rubber intended for the purpose. It’s very satisfying even as a beginner, because the process of turning a sketch or drawing into a relief carving will make neat looking prints immediately, but there’s a ton of room for improving your technique.

The next step might be linoleum carving, but I really like the lightness and casualness of rubber, and the fact that you can easily cut your stamps into irregular shapes, which is great for collaging.
posted by moonmilk at 5:35 AM on August 10, 2022 [2 favorites]

A combination of collage and junk journals: a stitch book made from remnants of fabric. I’m thinking of doing one from old jeans and t-shirts.

Or paper mache like these lightweight tea cups that she used to decorate a Christmas tree. The top layer can be used gift wrap.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:51 AM on August 10, 2022

You might like paper quilling, though it does require acquiring a lot of paper strips and a couple of small tools. You can do quite basic designs that are very straightforward and satisfying and then there are people like Yulia Brodskaya who turn out crazy fine art pieces.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:20 AM on August 10, 2022

I do digital double-exposure photography (more like triple- or quad-) with an app called Slow Shutter Cam. All the photo-taking is done in one session on my phone, no photoshop other than brightness/contrast/saturation.

The methods I use require me to hunt for complementary textures and patterns in the immediate vicinity of where I am to express the feeling of a moment/place.

Since the app I use has no “undo” button, it feels a bit like working with film or physical media, which I like. Samples of my work are on Instagram under the tag “dxdecmber”

You can also look into forms of experimental/abstract photography and digital collage, or maybe motion design or creative coding with Processing.
posted by itesser at 6:42 AM on August 10, 2022 [4 favorites]

Mail Art is small in size, and you can use any sort of repurposed paper and found objects/bits.

I have made pins from a base of mat paper, layered with magazine cutouts, gift wrap, shaped glitter and have attached tiny objects. It's fun in a group, to chat and cut and glue, then add a layer of poly.

for a couple weeks in Covid 2020, I made tiny pennant banners for mail swaps. I make cards for the holiday card swap.
posted by theora55 at 9:26 AM on August 10, 2022

Stop motion film? (Švankmajer's stuff that uses basic kitchen materials and a cheap camera inspire me. Even if I don't act on it often enough.)
posted by eotvos at 9:34 AM on August 10, 2022

It's physical but there are people who make art using broken pieces of ceramics (sort of mosaics), which strikes me as along the collage line of things. See Norma Ryan, for example. Note that her stuff is on the really busy/elaborate end of things, which this type of art does not need to be (it would be interesting to do this will all white pieces for example). She used to be my husband's boss long ago and whenever we accidentally broke a mug or plate or something we would give her the broken bits to work from.

Also, have you ever tried hand making paper? My mother was an artist, and one of the things she did during one phase was use a variety of found materials to make paper (even dryer lint), and then she would cut and rip up the resulting paper and use it in collages. She added other printed paper stuff to the collages, not just the paper she had made, and also sometimes added pieces of textiles as well, or some painting or drawing.
posted by gudrun at 10:18 AM on August 10, 2022 [1 favorite]

I came in to suggest making paper. It is a newer hobby for me, but I have really enjoyed it. I like holding aside interesting things to make paper out of, and I like mixing in different colors or cut outs to get interesting dappled looks. It has made some awesome stationary, which was the whole reason I started in the first place.

I have a kit from Arnold Grummer which I really like and got me started very quickly. They don't carry the same kit I bought, but the ones on the site have everything you need.
posted by chiefthe at 12:03 PM on August 10, 2022 [2 favorites]

How about 3D "collages" , also known as assemblages (sp?) where you artistically combine things glued onto a canvas, or in a 'shadow box'. I've seen them done with all sorts of materials or objects, including pieces of dolls, store receipts, nuts and bolts, whatever speaks to you
posted by TimHare at 9:05 PM on August 10, 2022 [1 favorite]