5″x3″; sardine tin, paper, beads, dried flowers, faux flowers, stickers, magnet on back; 2023. Courtesy of the artist.
WORKSHOP AT KOLAJ FEST NEW ORLEANS 2024
Scaling Down: Miniature Collage and Assemblage
Friday, 14 June 2024, 2-3PM
New Orleans Healing Center
Jamie Tara
EVENT WEBSITE | REGISTER
Kolaj Fest New Orleans is a multi-day festival and symposium about contemporary collage and its role in art, culture, and society, 12-16 June 2024. Visit the website to learn more, see an overview of the program, and register to attend.
How small can we go? Tiny collages are an intriguing undertaking for artists new to collage and those who’ve been making for years. The method can be adapted to most any theme or form of expression. By using repurposed items and very small amounts of materials, this downsized format has the benefit of being extra affordable and portable. It can also be a good way to use up those small but beautiful bits. In this making workshop, Nova Scotia-born, Boston-based artist Jamie Tara will lead the crafting of collages and assemblages on a miniature scale. Participants will start with a variety of 3D substrates (e.g., cardboard jewelry boxes and sardine or mint tins) and then layer in decorative papers, magazine images, paint, ephemera, and found objects. Materials will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring a selection of 3D trinkets or baubles as well as any favorite small-scale visual elements.
Jamie Tara sees collage as a medium that bridges folk and fine art. She writes, “The beauty of collage is that it can be made with whatever is on hand, and we all have easy access to many images and paper goods lately. Collage can be a very low-risk entry point for those of any age who want to explore art. Because we do not generate our own images, we are free to play and create new things from what is already there.”
ARTIST BIO
Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Jamie Tara is an art teacher currently residing in Boston, Massachusetts. She holds a BFA from Ithaca College and an MA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has been exploring collage since the 1990s. Her dreamscape collages and landscape oil paintings have been exhibited in group shows in New England and beyond. The artist shows work in her studio at the SoWa Artists Guild in South Boston, Massachusetts. Kolaj Magazine Artist Directory and www.jamietara.crevado.com.
Kolaj Fest New Orleans is a multi-day festival and symposium about contemporary collage and its role in art, culture, and society, 12-16 June 2024. Visit the website to learn more, see an overview of the program, and register to attend.