This four-hour studio lab explores collage as an act of discovery, disruption, and reconstruction. Working with an eclectic mix of materials including gel-plate prints, street poster fragments, painted papers, and found ephemera, participants will build layered visual compositions that balance intuition with design.

The session begins with a short demonstration of gel-plate printing, where students create a library of unique textures, marks, and transfers. These prints become the raw signal for the rest of the process. From there, participants will combine their prints with street poster scraps, magazine fragments, painted paper, and other mixed media to explore rhythm, contrast, and narrative through collage.

Through guided exercises, artists will experiment with tearing, layering, obscuring, and revealing imagery to create unexpected visual relationships. Emphasis is placed on process over perfection, encouraging participants to respond instinctively to color, texture, and composition.

By the end of the session, each participant will complete two finished collage panels, mounted and framed, ready for display.

No prior collage experience is required. All materials are provided, though participants are welcome to bring personal paper ephemera or imagery they wish to incorporate into their work.

Duration: 4 hours
Format: Studio lab with demonstrations and guided exploration
Outcome: Two framed mixed-media collage panels created from gel-plate prints and found materials.