If You Can Cut You Can Collage: From Paper Scraps to Works of Art

by Hollie Chastain

If You Can Cut, You Can Collage is specially designed for people who feel like they can't make art. Want to know a secret? You can! You just need a little inspiration, instruction, and confidence.

Collage is a wonderful creative outlet, particularly for people who want to make art, but don’t feel they have the skills or confidence for other endeavors. You can still explore and experiment with color, composition, and various themes and end up with exciting and often unexpected results.
 
If you Can Cut, You Can Collage takes some of the mystery out of collage through easy illustrated pages that show you the basic techniques of collecting and cutting imagery, composing and adhering compositions, and then provides a wealth of exercises that get readers going on their own creative projects.
 
We’ll get you started with simple, focused, projects like making a collage with only circles, where you’ll learn important concepts like how to create a focal point, how to use repetition successfully, how to achieve contrast, balance, symmetry, and more. You’ll be incorporating vintage ephemera, typography and lettering, and even urban and found materials in no time!

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Crafts, Art Design, Reference

128 pages, Paperback

Published November 7, 2017

About the author

Hollie Chastain is an artist living and working in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Following studies in both fine art and business she spent several years in marketing and graphic design before returning to the studio to launch a career as an artist and illustrator. Hollie uses mainly paper, mixing found images with modern colors and compositions to create work full of originality and narrative. Influenced by her love for found ephemera, she has become best known for her works created on the covers from vintage, tossed-aside books letting the scribbles, stamps and history found there contribute to the composition. She works in her home studio as both a gallery artist and illustrator with clients such as Warner Music Group, Smithsonian Magazine, Gestalten Books and Spirituality and Health Magazine as well as many others. Her first book, If you Can Cut You Can Collage, is available now through Quarto Publishing.

Reviews

[Tracy Shephard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books proves you can collage with almost anything..

If like me you love paper and other textiles, then If You Can Cut You Can Collage is a must have book.

In clear, concise an simple steps the projects in this book are beautiful and inspiring. Every step is covered, from choosing your paper, techniques, balance and depth. The author has given us a masterclass in collage.

The detail and presentation are perfect, and all artists will benefit from this beautiful book. It would be an ideal gift and what i loved was that all kinds of techniques are given a two page spread.

Drawing, stenciling and monoprinting to name a few, but there is so much more. It is really like having a private tutor at your fingertips. 

The book has some fabulous paper at the back to start your craft, and this paper is of good quality, The designs are fun, plain and pretty and are ideal  for getting started.

[Jeannine · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you’ve never done collage before, you may like this. Otherwise, skip it.

Better options: Claudine Hellmuth’s Collage Discovery Workshop or Collage Techniques by Gerald Brommer

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chastain's various collage styles are fun and whimsical and she covers a nice range of tricks and ideas.

[Am Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of inspiring ideas and projects to try. I liked that some of the projects featured a "before" and "after" so you could see what difference doing something made: e.g. adding lines to a collage of 3 shapes. Definitely a book I'd invest in and keep referring back to.

[Phyllis · Rating 3 out of 5]

clear. basic principles of design that hold true for other mediums also.

[Natasha Sud · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for people learning to collage or people that are already collage artists like myself. I love Hollie’s work and this book is full of ideas and techniques! So excited she can share them with everyone! A must have for anyone who loves making things and creating images. Been following the author’s work for some time so really excited that she released this book.

[Nadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

"In my history with collage, the materials came first. Before I had even considered collage as a medium, I had boxes and drawers of found paper and ephemera that I collected because I loved the look of it. Whether it was color combinations, graphics, typography, or a clipping from a magazine, all of the scraps in those boxes and drawers spoke to me in some way. All of those were distinctly me. So, when I started using these scraps to make work, the work became distinctly me." Materials - pg. 11

A well laid out and very accessible book. Holly provides a breakdown of all that you need to get started, followed by specific techniques such as, embroidery, image transfer, plexiglass layering, all with images and diagrams. Rounded off with the principles of composition and eighteen exercises, which include, mirroring, juxtaposition, and using type to let your Collagist loose. Especially useful for the beginner and a good refresher overall.

[Sigrun Hodne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"If You Can Cut, You Can Collage" offers a delightfully simple introduction into the basics of collage.

[Tim Chmielewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book if you are just starting out and want more ideas of how to go. If you are already doing collage you would have your own sources already and would be looking for old books and publications to source materials from.

Bonus having the figures to cut out and the papers at the end of the book. You don't have to use them but I am sure a lot of people would. The figures did remind me of the stock figures in Terry Gilliam animations from Monty Python if you like that sort of thing.

I did not know about using the clear plastic to make layers for an image but had heard of the other methods.

One of my Facebook friends is a collage artist and has been in group exhibitions, but I still recommended this book to them as you can always learn if you keep an open mind. The same reason that I always flick through "learning photography" books even though I have been doing it for 16 years.

[Virginia Pulver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chastain's book is an excellent resource for exploring various techniques used in collage. I also enjoyed the information on the principles of composition. The advice and examples provided give readers the opportunity to elevate their work from merely playing with paper and glue to creating artful collages. It is an attractive, well-organized guide. A good resource to have on hand.

[Jana M · Rating 4 out of 5]

very inspiring

[Lu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beginners might like it, otherwise nothing new but pictures nice to look at

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am FULL of inspiration. 🎉

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good beginner book about the subject. If/when they come out with a second edition, I hope they correct some obvious errors which were in this edition. Recommended.

[Stephanie]

Now I want to sit down in pile of paper and make some art!

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting projects!

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. It gave practical and attractive ideas on doing collage. And the samples are wonderful. I am definitely inspired. This is one book I would like to purchase instead of read from the library as it is a great reference source.