What I learned about the creative process...

The brainstorming phase of any creative process can seem very challenging at times. One technique that the artist found to be very useful was the mind-wandering technique (CPSA250 lecture, 2/14). However, even the mind-wandering technique was difficult before I had done more creative research. This was my first time working formally with collage, so I had a limited set of ideas. I learned that for my mind to generate new ideas I needed some influences to draw on. For this project, I researched the history of collage and looked at how past artists have conveyed their respective messages through their work. I also looked at more modern collage artists, who may not be largely recognized but have still created great pieces. This research propelled my ideas, enabling me to come up with various iterations until I developed my final concept. However, not every idea was a great one. One other skill I had to learn to do with this process was to kill my darlings.