I have been collaging since an early age. It wasn’t until an assignment in one of my costume design classes where we had to make costume renderings through collage, I fell in love with this medium. From there, I realized that this was the best of both worlds for me; collaging and fashion.

Below, you will find examples of some of my collages throughout the process of making them, as well as examples of some work in progress pictures.

I almost exclusively use high-end fashion magazines for my collages due to its thicker paper that keeps the image clear, instead of becoming see-through when glue is applied. When I get a new magazine, I look for usable or interesting items to be turned into collages. I cut them out and begin to construct the figure with my stock pile of organized magazine clippings.

Each figure takes shape through cutting out and taping together different body parts, clothing items, and other items like flowers and fruits to create the full body of the collage.

Proportion is one element I care most about. I want each figure to feel balanced and as if this could be a real person and a real outfit, despite the floral heads! Lighting is also taken into consideration. I make sure that the lighting of the clothing items is similar to get a sense of where the light is coming from, rather than it being arbitrary.

The collage is then glued together and so begins figuring out what type of background would be the best fit to support the collage.

Usually my backgrounds are on watercolor paper or on wood canvases that have been stained and finished.

The backgrounds can include collaged text, watercolor paint, acrylic paint (either on its own or through block printing), sewing thread, pen or pencil, and with the use of wood burning tools and proper wood finishes.