Collage Journaling at Charlotte’s Place

Students, Brenda and Charlotte, sharing their journal pages, May 2012. Having students share their reflections about the process and discoveries they’ve made during collage journaling is a vital element of the workshop.

On a gorgeous afternoon last Saturday I held a collage journaling workshop in Carleton Place, Ontario. Charlotte, a former student, loaned […]

Student Spotlight: Connie’s Journey from Quilter to Collagist!

Connie Howes-Davidson's second journal page (Collage, 5 x 7 inches, February 2012) which was inspired by a favourite quilt. Quote: “A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.” Arsène Houssaye

Connie Howes-Davidson was lured to my Collage Journaling Workshop by her friend Ruby who caught my show at the […]

Life through the Arts: Surviving the Impossible Dream

"The Impossible Dream", Mixed Media Journal Page, June 10 2011

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how art helped me survive family turmoil during my early years. We had a lovely house, clean clothes and good food at the table, but at the heart of our home something was terribly wrong. By the age […]

Anne’s Vision Board: Words to Live By

"Words to Live By", Anne B.'s Vision Board, Collage, 16 x 20 inches, January 2012. Anne's board is composed of 50 images; 48 of which are words or phrases!

My first few email discussions with Anne B. led to a flurry of misunderstandings on my part. When she described herself as a retired, […]

A Snapshot of Your Life Workshop: Student Journal Pages

A Student's Collage Journal Page, 5 x 7 inches, February 2012

Last week I gave a Collage Journaling Workshop to a group of local high school students. Generally I teach adults, so it was great to be able to expand my experience to include teens. It’s been a while since I was in […]

My Valentine’s Day Collage Mini Book

Valentine’s Mini Book (Cover), Collage/Mixed Media, 3.5 x 10 inches, February 2011.

Valentine’s Mini Book (Inside), Collage/Mixed Media, 3.5 x 10 inches, February 2011. Text: Panel 2: “here’s a photo of us”; Panel 3: “filling the space”; “between the stars”; “so bright and constant”.

Valentine’s Day is approaching and I thought […]

Daily Ephemera Journaling

As promised, here are some daily ephemera pages I made over the last couple of weeks. I started by creating single pages, then I found I rather enjoyed making two-page spreads. Single pages took me about half an hour to make and double ones about an hour. I have to confess that I started out […]

Student Spotlight: Leslie Ross – Ready for Adventure!

Leslie Ross, Vision Board, Collage, April 2011, 16 x 20 inches

It’s time for another student spotlight… Leslie Ross discovered my vision board workshop in April through a mutual friend, Maggie Jordan. I had a feeling when she participated in the class that she seemed a bit shy and perhaps a little intimidated […]

Defying My Comfort Zone: A Plein Air Class with David Kearn

In this journal page I have used magazine fragments of drawings and paintings including one of Vincent Van Gogh's drawings in the top centre and right side of the page.

After months of collaging, I decided to try my hand at something new. I love to add bits of imagery from drawings and […]

Molly Peacock’s Book Unearths Mary Delany’s Paper Garden

Michelle Casey, "Body Talk", Mixed Media/Collage, June 7 2010 features Mary Delany's embroidery work in the background.

With several projects on the go, I haven’t had much time to read this year. Even still, I’m slowly ploughing through several books. One is Molly Peacock’s: The Paper Garden; the true story of eighteenth century […]