Paper Question and more (noobie)

[MaryThompson]

I'm completely new to collage and mixed media, although for years I've wanted to do more of it. The few pieces I've tried, however, I've been very unhappy with, probably because I don't know what I'm doing.

My main problem has been with paper. I know ordinary paper wrinkles when wet so I've been avoiding that, but even the Mi-Teintes paper I have for pastels buckles when I apply gel medium or matte medium to it. (I glued it to the gessoed support. I knew I couldn't use the Mi-Teintes as a support.)

Must everything be printed on cardstock only? A particular weight of paper?

Also, what about fabric or ribbon? Must they all be paper-backed? I tried some ribbon and the gel medium came through and uglified it.

I've tried to find these answers online, but haven't been able to find out exactly what papers are usable. The claim seems to be that anything can be used for collage, but I haven't found that to be the case in my few attempts.

I appreciate any advice, or just link me to the info that I couldn't find either on wetcanvas or elsewhere.

Thanks.
Mary.

[ZQ2011]

Hi Mary,

I just ran across this from another thread and remembered one of your questions.

Hi Clode, welcome to the mixed media forum Brian asked me off-list about how to keep his images from wrinkling. I told him about the method of applying a thin coat of acrylic medium to both the front and back of the image, letting each side dry. Applying it to one side will cause it to curve and wrinkle, but when you apply it to the second side it straightens back out. This is a method developed by Jonathan Talbot, and is very helpful with delicate images and papers.

I work a lot with thicker papers so usually don't have too much of a winkling problem. Handmade papers, ect.

As far as your ribbons, I have found that they and even some papers, will deepen their color even after drying. If I'm in doubt how a piece will look afterwords, I'll do a small test piece first and keep the finished color in mind.

I feel you can use just about anything in a collage, you just need to adapt it's "personality" to how it will work into your piece.

[Cyndi L]

Mary, I have been trying to post a reply to you for two weeks now. For some reason I 've been locked out. I was also going to suggest Jonathan Talbot's method to you, but in addition to suggest that you learn to love texture

[Cyndi L]

Here's part one of my original reply:

Hi Mary and welcome to the MM forum! People who say that anything can be used in collage are right, but each material has its own properties. Most of us don't worry about gel medium seepage or some wrinkling...we're going to add another layer of medium to the top anyway, so who cares? Many folks would also probably think that your "uglified" ribbon ribbon was pretty cool

[idylbrush]

As an added thought. I do a quick soak in water before using acrylic medium to attach some papers. It relaxes the fibers and reduces the wrinkles. I use this when I want a paper surface on hardboard as well. Be sure to sponge excess water off the wet paper and apply to surfaces while still damp.

[CandAlArt]

Hi Mary, A couple ideas came to mind. I have seen "wrinkle-free" glue stick products for sale, and rubber cement might work & is acid free. Another way to beat the wrinkles and soak thru of mediums- try sewing. I have seen MM stitched pieces that are pretty cool. Ribbon, etc., will not be altered at all by glues that way. Good luck!