hints on collaging or

things learned along the way

i used to think of myself as having collaging issues.

by this i mean the papers dried lumpy or there were

pockets in the center of the collaged piece were bubbles

appeared after the adhesive dried or a section of the 

edge would lift.  you understand.  while i love to 

collage, these 'issues' took away from the pleasure.

here are a few things that have been helpful. 

the adhesive choices

glue stick

i learned from kelly kilmer that it is important to

use glue sticks that say permanent  on them.  in my

rush to glue down a piece of paper, i did not always

thoroughly check to see that glue was spread over every

section.  this is key.  no glue, no stick.  it seems logical,

it is logical but i missed this for years!

acrylic mediums

matte medium

most artists love matt medium as an adhesive.  it 

doesn't work for me.  i have tried to analyze why to 

no avail.  i have just accepted that it doesn't work for me.

and i also stopped mentioning this because inevitably i would

hear, 'why? it always works for me'

what i use

in my hunt for the perfect adhesive i have resorted to mixing

a personal acrylic medium.  here is what i use.

soft body gel gloss

matte super heavy gel

nova  super gel

1.   the ultra matt medium and the nova gel are the thickest.  i put equal 

amounts of them in  a small plastic container with a lid.  

2.   i add the about a quarter of the amount of soft body gel gloss 

if i have some.  this ingredient is not essential.  

3.  then i add in the fluid matt medium a little at a time

and stir well until the mixture is like butter that has been

left out of the refrigerator for an hour, in other words soft and creamy.

as you can see, this is not scientific but there is some logic...

i don't like the  mixture to be glossy because it tends to show when it dries.  

the ultra matt medium is very thick, too think for my liking.  

mixing it with a soft gel gloss equalizes the shine.  

the matt medium brings the mixture to a nice consistency that makes 

using brush, finger or palate knife application easy.  

as with the glue stick, apply on the back of every bit of the paper to be glued down

AND add a thin layer to the substrate to insure bonding.

in a future post i will explain the next step that insures a flat, smooth

surface.

other adhesives i often use

these are applied to the surface and will show 

transparent  scotch tape

various masking tapes

roller tape

enjoy your collage project!