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Being a relative newcomer to Australia, it’s only in the past couple of years that I discovered the divine picture books of Jeannie Baker. Baker works in collage, creating landscapes that are both stunning in their detail and profound in the depth of emotion they convey.
For example, Baker’s Window is a wordless book that depicts the changes over time to a rural landscape out of one window. It makes the case for responsible environmental stewardship better than any essay of thousands of words.
When I got wise to Jeannie Baker, I fell hard; so when I read the she was publishing a book about the art of collage, it was a quick “add to cart,” calling it a personal birthday present. Playing With Collage is a work of art unto itself, beautifully laying out some of her techniques, ideas, and preferred materials.
The book is divided into sections based on materials she uses: Paper, Out in Nature, On the Beach, and In the Kitchen with suggestions on how to manipulate materials in each category.
Baker never tells you what to make, she merely provides some tools and inspiration for how you might make. Each page of Playing With Collage is so gorgeous, you’ll likely find yourself wondering why you’ve never channeled your inner collage artist before this very moment.
Having a Play
At least, that’s how Miss 6 and I felt. We had a good look through and then scoured our surrounds for our materials. I mostly went with whatever things I could scrounge up in the kitchen. Miss 6 used a collection of nature items, paper cutting, foil, and kitchen materials to create a “unicorn land.” Collecting the materials was just as much fun as the collage-making. We started to see every leaf and spice as a potential piece of art. It was nice to work together but separately on something so open-ended and personal.
If you want to get creating with your kids – especially those who are old enough to work with small materials, Playing With Collage is an inspirational treasure to have in your collection. It won’t tell you what project to make, instead it will give you permission to go your own way and look beyond the craft section to find ideas all around your world.
In Australia, buy Playing With Collage via Booktopia. In the U.S., order from Amazon.
