Altered Magazine Bird Collage

When it's time to choose an image as a focal point for a collage, I often decide to put a bird on it! I love to work with vintage papers, but magazines can provide a wealth of text and imagery for collage art. When I first started using magazines for collage, I was a little concerned that the glossy finish of the pages wouldn't meld with the aged papers I like to use. I soon discovered that a bit of paint and ink can completely transform a magazine image and make it blend right in with the other collage elements.

I found the image for my most recent collage in the pages of Birds & Blooms magazine. As the title indicates, it's filled with colorful pictures of birds, flowers, and other nature-inspired images and text. I often find back issues of this magazine at library sales, so it can be an inexpensive and bountiful source for collage material.

Some of the other fun elements I included in this particular collage were vintage wallpaper from an antique shop, and some Chinese calligraphy paper I found at a wonderful store in Portland, OR called CARGO. I used a white Uniball Signo pen and a gold Uniball gel pen for the lettering and the pen work that added the finishing touches to this collage. If you have a favorite subject for your artwork, don't hesitate to hunt for magazines on the topic. You'll be sure to find lots of great images that you can easily alter and use for your collage and mixed-media projects.
Have fun cutting and pasting!
Kimberly