Collage Unleashed by Traci Bautista
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Book Reviews of Collage Unleashed
Book Review: Not for the faint of heart
Summary: 4 Stars
If you are a beginner or not a serious collager this book is not for you. If you have been collaging for some time and looking for new techinques this book is great. If you are looking to find your true style or adding some fun to an exisiting style this book is for you The color explosion is worth buying the book.Book Review: Highly recommended.
Summary: 4 Stars
Great techniques clearly spelled out but not in way that makes you have to make art like Traci's. Traci's style is very far from mine (ha, as if I have one yet!) and that doesn't matter because she doesn't want you to make art like her, but like you!Book Review: Interesting ideas for collage artists
Summary: 4 Stars
This was the first collage book I purchased when I found I was really interested in this art form. She has some really creative, interesting ideas for lettering etc. REALLY neat mixed media ideas in here.Book Review: My daughter loves this book
Summary: 4 Stars
My daughter, an art major at Marymount University, has found this book to be extremely useful and loves it. This was a birthday gift to her from me.Book Review: Plenty of Pep and Sparkle, but . . . .
Summary: 3 Stars
Traci Bautista is clearly a tremendously imaginative and energetic artist. I expect her book will help to fire up many inhibited or hesitant young readers -- or will at least give them plenty of new ideas with regard to tools and techniques. As other reviewers have noted, the sheer number of ideas the author introduces is prodigious. The photographs of her own work reveal a plethora of fanciful, upbeat productions which may well have wide appeal.
On the other hand, I can not think this book will be a good "fit" for everyone who works with collage. In fact, I expected to like the book much more than I did. It is hard to put my finger on just what disappointed me -- possibly the whole unleash-yourself tone. Do I really want to incorporate lots of randomly dyed paper towels in my collages? Will my art truly benefit from the addition of crayons melted in my oven?
I suspect the book may appeal more to younger (post-
Boomer) people who value fast, fun creative experiences -- and who like the idea of accumulating whole stockpiles of colorful materials (such as the aforementioned dyed paper towels) to incorporate in future scads of collages. I guess I am more the stodgy, plodding type of artist -- the type who is currently studying a completed nixed-media collage (no crayons or paper towels) over a period of several days, trying to decide whether to add one more acrylic glaze. Frankly, I am also the type who tends to cringe ever so slightly when confronting instructions for, say, doodling "girlie glam faces"--"My journals are filled with doodles of these girls; they're fun, feminine, and pretty," writes Ms. Bautista on page 49.
In fairness, those who are into sewing and needlework may appreciate some of the projects requiring a sewing machine or a penchant for tying macrame knots. The directions for experimenting with book binding are also interesting and quite accessible even to the interested beginner. Ms. Bautists is clearly skilled in this area, and she offers up some interesting possibilities for combining stitchery with other modalities.
Moreover, in the interests of full disclosure, I did decide to experiment with a judicious pinch or two of glitter after perusing this book. I liked the result. It definitely pepped up my latest collage.
I would suggest paging through the book before purchasing it and seeing whether Traci Bautista's own creations, choice of materials, etc., appeal to you at least as much as your own. If so, go for it! I am still, for the most part, inordinately content with my traditionalist-media. I will probably stay back here on the leash for a while longer.