Collage with WordsCollage need not end with images! Creating a collage with words is a great way to add depth and direct meaning to your work. Words can be either one word that conveys the meaning of the collage or excerpts from poems or quotes. Adding single conceptual words, such as ‘believe’ or ‘love’ will affect the viewer’s understanding of your collage. Adding a poem or some journaling sentences can completely alter the way your art is perceived. There are many ways to collage with words:
Rub Ons are readily available in any craft store. They are words that are pre-printed to a plastic sheet. You lay the words face down on your collage and burnish the plastic backing with the back of a spoon or a popsicle stick (often one is contained in the packet). The only downside to Rub ons is that you are limited by what words and the font that are available in that form. Sometimes I will combine words from different Rub On sheets to make a new meaning or sentence.
Word and alphabet stickers are another great way to add words to your collage. Again you are limited by what is in store, but you can combine different letters and fonts to make new, meaningful words. Rubber Stamps come in either alphabets for building your own words (which can be tedious work) and sentences or commonly used words such as ‘thank you’, ‘celebrate’ and so on. There are also lovely script fonts or even quotes you can purchase at the craft store.
Many collage artists journal on their collages. It lends a sense of authenticity to your collage. You will need a pen that works over paint, such as a gel pen or fine tipped ink pen.
Of course you can add words digitally. Scan a collage into your computer, open it up in your photo processing program and click on the text button and add text right over the image. This finished collage with words can be printed out or simply shared online.
How to collage with words? Once you have chosen the words that suit the style and meaning of your project the next step is to choose the size and placement of the words. At this point approach adding words in a similar manner to how you add images. Consider size, color and other current elements before deciding on where to place the words. Move the words around, horizontal, vertical placements. Perhaps you need to push the words back into the collage, so consider a wash of paint or beeswax, or even sand the words with a fine grit sandpaper. When not to include words? Adding words is like giving a painting or poem a title. It directs the viewer’s idea about your collage. If you want your collage to convey a particular meaning then words are the perfect medium. But if you want to allow the viewer to come to their own conclusions or draw their own meaning, then using words can be detrimental. Images - color, subject size and placement can speak volumes. Sometimes it is best left to the viewer’s imagination.
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Words torn from printed material and glued onto the surface of your collage. Old books, manuscripts, dictionaries, quote books, maps, junk mail, magazines, children’s books, comics, basically any words in print form can be torn or cut and re-positioned in your collage. You simply have to look passed the original intention or context of the words and see the words as your own.
If you have written a poem or know of a quote that goes perfectly with a collage then you can consider typing it out in a word document and printing it onto cardstock, trimming it to fit on your collage. You have a wider choice of fonts that using rub ons or stamps, but you may not like the ‘stuck on’ look. It is hard to disguise the edges of the printed paper. Sometime I will sand the edges to push them back into the collage. You can paint over the printed words, but not too much as the ink may smudge. 