Plenty of freedom is afforded when you create collages. Basically you can use anything you like to make up your collage, and not only that, you can express your feelings on it in any way you choose.

Collages can consist of many different types of textures. Some people cut pieces out of magazines, you can use fabric scraps, cardboard, string, wood jewels, silver paper, there are no bounds.

You could make a start by having a hunt around and collecting items you think you could use. You will need a base to work from, so whatever you are using for a background will maybe be needed to be painted and an outline sketch drawn on it. Then you can start by positioning bits and pieces to fill in your sketch and other parts.

Bear in mind that your whole picture does not have to have collage pieces on it. If you are using pieces of paper you will probably need to cut them, or tear them, to obtain the right colours and shapes. Actually, crepe paper is pretty good for collages.

You want your pieces to stay affixed, so one of the important issues here is, that you need the correct glues for the materials you are using. For example, for fabrics, you need a glue to handle this. If in doubt, read my article on adhesives which can be found at my website.

The collage I have described here is a pretty basic one, but really, if you want to take this a step further, you can use pastels, leather, metal, gravel, buttons etc. Most things can actually be affixed to a flat surface. The rule is really that you can use any items to support what you have in your mind visually.

School children do this regularly, perhaps first of all pictures simply made from silver or gold paper, magazines, or even felt and bottle tops. Interesting collages too, can simply be made consisting only of black and white newspaper print to achieve quite stunning effects.

Recent trends seem to lean towards collages made up from assorted photographs. Students and children like doing these to include their friends, family members or family pets.

First of all, you need a base of one kind or another, for mounting all your treasures. You may have to apply paint and let it dry on this first. It may be you are using fabric or paper that does not need this. Next step is to sketch it all out.

So, you have all your bits, but you will not be using them all. Decide now which ones are conducive to your work and elimate the remains. This may be the weirdest selection of items you are going to work with, but hey, who cares? They can be as uneven as you like on your mount.

Move them around your collage, placing them until you are satisfied with what you have. Then glue each piece very carefully and wait for it to dry. Once it has dried, you could put a coating of a sealant on it, just for protection purposes.

There are then various types of collage, it could become a wall hanging, a framed picture or a mount on a shelf. There are so many possibilities!

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