Collagraph Prints- Mariella Beaurpere

This first collagraph represents proximity. I started with the collagraph on the right and was trying to find a way to have it include proximity, so I simply made another collagraph. One collagraph on either side represents proximity. It is simple yet doesn't fail to achieve unity. 

This is the final result of my collagraph after being printed onto the paper. It is clear that once seen, there are two groups of shapes on either end of the page.

The second collagraph I made was based on repetition. I started with this piece and wanted to achieve repetition with it. With the help of teachers I was able to do so. Also, the materials I decided to place onto the printing paper consisted of glue and cardboard cut into different shapes and designs.

 The final products looks like this. The one piece was used to print multiple images of the same thing on a page, creating a repetitive collagraph. The elements of the image are repeated such as the lines and circle in the middle. Also to add a little more I added different colors to each part. The shape, texture, line, direction, angle, and size are all similarities among each part that unites them to form repetition.

The final simple collagraph I created was based on continuation. For this particular piece, I used pieces of cardboard and attempted to unite them to form continuation. This simple part of the piece would have easily formed continuation, because ones eye would follow the line or shape formed from one side to the other, however I wanted to add more to it. So, just like the previous collagprah, I printed multiple parts of this onto one paper to add to it.  

As seen below, the one image was made into multiple in order to further achieve continuation. They are connected because they are grouped by continuation and can be followed from one end to the other when looking at it. 

This last, and most intriguing piece was amusing to create, because I was adding multiple elements to the piece, making it mixed media. The image below was what I added to the mixed media, as the collagraph. For the materials I simply used tissue paper, ripped it up, made circles, and glued them to the printing paper. 

The final result looked like this. The incorporation of the collagprah can be seen on the right side of the image. And the use of an image from a magazine is the volcano on the left. The other parts I simply added to it to make it flow better including acrylic paint, cutting parts of the portrait, and the scratching tool to reveal color underneath the black. All of the these tools made the two parts fit together as one.

To summarize, this project was challenging yet truly enjoyable. Creating a collagraph is simple if you understand how to do so. You start with really any material, being cardboard, yarn, tissue paper, bubble wrap, or even glue from a hot glue gun. Then you simply add to your piece using these materials, paint over the materials by using a brayer, and print the image onto a new piece of paper with a barren. While doing all of this however, you have to keep in mind how each of these will achieve harmony/unity. Repetition, continuation, and proximity are all ways of doing so. I believe the hardest part for me was creating the image with the materials provided. I believe with more thought and imagination I could improve my pieces and add more detail to them. However, I also have many successes, one being my mixed media piece. I like the look of an explosion occurring seen through the cut up paper and the small elements I added to help it achieve unity.