How to make a collage on wood?

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I found this electrical bobbin on a building site and transformed it into a cool “Object d’Art” which is now on display in a funky studio in Shoreditch…All thanks to a fabulous technique of collage on wood!!

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You can make a collage project with almost anything: wooden furniture, a canvas, a glass mirror, etc…your imagination is the limit.

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Look at these cool collage tables, made using the exact technique I will show you in this tutorial…Lovingly hand-made by my friend Marion using vintage Jazz magazines, they are called the “Jazz lovers tables”

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OK, let’s get started!
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You will need:

1. The object  you wish to collage
2. Black and White newspapers
3. Magazines
4. Personal photographs and images
5. Coffee (for staining paper)
6. PVA water based glue
7. Craft knife and scissors
8. Paint brushes
9. Foam brushes in assorted sized (look at the London Graphic Design Centre site)
10. Varnish. I love the Montana Gold Spray Varnish Matte (the product code for this is T1010)
11. Sandpaper, go for wither the Very Fine or Extra Fine grade

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Step 1

Choosing the object (therefore the surface)

I have chosen wood and cardboard…This bobbin’s “body” is made of very hard cardboard and the flat round disks are made of plyboard wood.

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Step 2

Cleaning your surface

With a cotton cloth, clean the dust and dirt off your surface. If you are using wood, sand the surface with the fine sandpaper to remove splinters and render the surface smooth.

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Step 3

Decide on the theme

I went for a “Bike” theme. this bobbin was made as a birthday present for a friend who adores bikes. He now uses it as a decorative item in his studio in Shoreditch.

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Step 4

Gather your material

This is a long and fun process!
You need to spend a considerable amount of time gathering your paper material. These can be collated from various sources:

• Personal photographs from your photo library.
• Newspaper cuttings of words, letters and funny headlines.
• Newspaper writing in black and white, which will make the background of your collage.
• Magazine pictures and cutout letters in funky fonts.
• I used a lot of arabic script printed off the internet, which makes the whole thing look very wacky and cool
• etc…

Note: If you are using personal photographs, you need to print them on normal paper using your home printer (or photocopy them). Photographic paper is too thick and not really suitable for collage.

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Step 5

Seal your surface

In a glass jar, mix PVA water-based glue with clear water. The ratio of glue to water is half and half (50% glue + 50% water). with a Large brush apply a generous layer of glue to every visible surface of your object (in my case, it’s the bobbin) and let it dry thoroughly.

This will seal the wood, which will allow you to paint in any medium on your collage.

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Step 6

Cutting your images

Start cutting your images and laying them out in front of you. I tend to find it easier to make many piles: newspaper black and white text in one, personal printed photos and images in another, letters and headlines in another, magazine images in another, cutout letters in one, and so on and so forth…

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Step 7

Coffee staining

I tend to stain some black and white imaged with coffee to give them an aged antique look. Simply pour some coffee in a cup and with a paint brush apply a thin layer of coffee (liquid) onto your image. Let it dry thoroughly before using it for your collage.

I coffee stained these black and white printed images of henna hands.

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Step 1

Layout and Composition

Now that all your “paper material” is in various piles on a table, start playing around with ideas and make any changes you want to your collage until your get the “composition” that you like the most. You can make a few drafts before applying your materials to your main surface. Be patient and take your time.

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Step 9

Gluing

Start gluing the black and white newspaper around the body of the bobbin first. Overlap them so that you cover every single surface. This is your background, which you will overlap with images at a later stage.

How to glue:

Be VERY generous with the glue: Soak the back of your paper image and smooth it over your surface making sure you press out trapped air bubbles. Do this gently, the paper is wet and will tear easily. Once your image is glued onto your surface, give it a ONCE over layer of glue with your brush to seal it.

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Step 10

Paint Wash

Once you have completed your collage, wait until it is thoroughly dry. You can then white wash parts of your images with paint…To do this, dilute some Acrylic paint with clear water and use a large flat sponge or brush to apply rough strokes of paint across your collaged surface. this will give it a cool and vintage feel…Don’t be afraid to experiment and go wild !

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Step 11

Varnish

Varnishing is very important, it seals your artwork and makes it water and damage resistant. you have the option to use 2 types of varnish: Decorator’s varnish, applied thickly and evenly with a brush

Spray varnish, which I much prefer

For my bobbin, I used Montana Spray varnish in Matt. To do this, shake the can well and spray evenly your entire surface. Make sure you do this OUTDOORS (in the garden, on the pavement, on the roof, but NOT at home), spray varnish is very toxic!

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Step 12

Sanding

Wait for the varnish to dry (preferably 24 hours), then with a fine grain sandpaper, sand your wooden bobbin gently by running the sand paper over the surface in light circular motion. This will smooth the irregularities in the glued paper and will make the surface look like one smooth layer…It looks pretty cool!

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Step 13

Varnish and Sand (…again…and again…)
You can repeat the varnish / sand process as many times as you wish. The more you do it, the smoother and more even and “integrated” your collage will look. For this wooden bobbin, I varnished and sanded twice.

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Et voila, you have a fantastic piece of collage artwork!!!

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