I've always had a great passion for materials, textures, stencil and collage. As you know, a 'collage' is a painting created by adhering objects onto a surface. The one I use is wood panel. And the objects can be whatever you wish. As you may see on this picture below, I stick all kind of them: cardboard, Japanese decorative papers, coins... and thick paints too.

Making collage is great fun. In fact, all my current works are collages, which I create in an entirely Abstract style. Abstract art and Collage are very much related, although the technique of applying things onto a surface comes from long, long ago (*).

* The term collage derives from the French "coller" meaning "glue". This term was coined by both Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the beginning of the 20th century when collage became a distinctive part of modern art. The origins of collage can be traced back hundreds of years, but this technique made a dramatic reappearance in the early 20th century as an art form of novelty.

Techniques of collage were first used at the time of the invention of paper in China, around 200 BC. The use of collage, however, remained very limited until the 10th century in Japan, when calligraphers began to apply glued paper, using texts on surfaces, when writing their poems.

The technique of collage appeared in medieval Europe during the 13th century. Gold leaf panels started to be applied in Gothic cathedrals around the 15th and 16th centuries. Gemstones and other precious metals were applied to religious images, icons, and also, to coats of arms.

Text source: 'Wikipedia' (www.wikipedia.org).

Some years ago, I was deeply impressed by a collage that I saw in Japan. Much unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the author. It was a black cardboard on a black surface, with a small red sealing wax on top. If I had to use one word to describe the spiritual effect that this piece of art caused on me, I would say 'Balance'. To me this is the key to success in the making of a collage: achieving a balanced composition.

Collage making is a fun art project that you can try. It's about combining different things in such a way as to create a feeling.