9 Collages by Laura J. Stein

Artist Statement: I make collages out of paper. I use auction catalogs, with displays of jewels, silver, and gold antique pieces or reproductions of paintings and drawings that I repurpose for my own use. Usually, I have some preconceived ideas about the colors and the composition. Sometimes I successfully execute the idea right off. But many times I realize it is not working, the energy is not there, and the picture is stagnant. In those cases I scrape away and try to find an answer in the the sources that are splayed out around me. I am making patterns out of cutouts or paper brushstrokes . The tricky part is when I assemble many pieces together in an actionable way and then have to figure out the mechanics of attaching them to the paper. I use a razor to cut around and inlay the strokes and fragments. I began as a painter, and often I discovered that in the course of painting I would be holding several brushes in my hand at once. Now I do that with cut outs of paper.