Interwoven Collage Structure: Do/Process Exhibition

Most of my collage ingredients come from materials that are fairly small in scale—magazines, mail, household packaging. I've always been most interested in the abstract portions that I can harvest from those materials, so the fragments that I actually use in my work often become quite small.

In an effort to create larger works, over the years I’ve made multiple small pieces to display as a larger piece of art. This started with my Ruminations series in 2009, works on wood panels, hung in a grid.

Detail from “Ruminations” installation which included 45 postcard-sized collages total.

I've also used scans from my Collage Diaries to digitally assemble Momentum, a larger compiled work.

Close-up of “Momentum,” a compilation of scans from one year of my collage diary, output as a single digital print, 4 x 6 feet..

In my current exhibition, "Do/Process," I returned to an idea that I'd drawn in my sketchbook way back in 2010! (BTW: who knew that Moleskine's sketchbooks would yellow so much?!)

Sketchbook idea for interweaving small collages, circa 2010, finally realized in 2026!

I’d revisited the idea occasionally and finally decided to pursue the concept of weaving together a series of collages. I’ve had a life-long affinity for quilts and weaving… and hoped to make a larger piece that would have a casual, somewhat textile-like feeling to it. It’s all fiber-based after all.

This simple structure uses ribbon or seam tape to cross behind each collage as a support. The collages were made on 7 x 5" pieces of heavy, deckle-edged watercolor paper. Then I made a slot midway along each edge. I used the slots to fasten and weave the collages together with a linen tape (not adhesive). I hoped that when it was assembled, the shadows would enhance the piece. What I hadn't imagined was how much the ventilation system in the gallery would animate the piece, That’s been fun to see.

"Collective Energy" includes 63 small abstract collages and measures roughly 49 x 45" plus the loops for hanging at top and knotted ends. I arranged the collages in my studio and hovered over them on a stepstool to photograph options to study and eventually determine the final placement.

I wove the collages together at the gallery... above is a detail of weaving together the last row plus a time-lapse video of the end of the assembly process. (Big thanks to my friend, Astrid Koch, for her spirited help.)

I refer to the compositions in “Collective Energy” as glyphs and each is influenced by the moments and issues I’ve been concerned about while making them. The linking of the collages acknowledges my belief that all beings have equal value, despite our many differences. I also wanted to highlight the importance, energy and power of collective efforts.

Another piece in the show that uses this same interwoven attachment method is "Gilded: It'd be funny if it weren't so absurd," my riff on the new interior decor elements in the Oval Office at the White House. The gold pieces are all sourced from my late Grandmother's card-making stash... born in 1898, she loved victorian elements and gold embellishments. I've never thrown them away and finally had a perfect use for some of her bits and pieces. The squares are cropped coloring book elements, for that important cartoon-like contrast!

“Gilded: It’d be funny if it wasn’t so absurd,” collage with gold embellishments on watercolor paper, 49 × 15,” ©2026, Janice McDonald. In background: “Tipping Point,” collage on watercolor paper, 30 × 22,” ©2026, Janice McDonald.

I look forward to developing this interwoven format/idea further in the future. At this writing, these pieces remain available for purchase. If you’re in the Denver area, the show continues through April 21, 2026. I’d love to see you there!

VOTE project: collage to campaign

Both of my grandmothers were born in 1898 before women could vote in the United States. American women finally got the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. The majority of women of color were not able vote until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

As a young girl, I listened to poignant stories about what a joy and a privilege it was for Dorothy and Mabel to finally participate in elections. They impressed upon me that I must never take the power of my vote for granted — our vote is our voice.

Photo from a Women’s March, early 1900s, photographer unknown.

I continued those “importance of voting” conversations with my daughter. In 2016, we watched the documentary Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. The history of women’s fight to get the vote is rarely taught in schools—and the film is amazing. I’d seen it before, but that time around I was struck anew by how much art/craft/design went into the costumes, banners and signage that were used during the protests to gain the vote.

Shortly after watching the film, I made the “Vote” collage (shown at top) in my sketchbook in homage to the tenacity of the original suffragettes.

After witnessing the recent erosion of women’s rights, among other concerns, I wanted to find my own path to contribute by doing more than just simply voting this election season. So I’m committed to highlighting the importance of voting through my artwork and conversations. (Confirm your voting status or register to vote at vote.org.)

One of three “Vote” tee-shirt options.

In this spirit, I’ve designed several "Vote" tee shirts. Wear one to… provoke a conversation, help promote voting rights, and/or collect an evergreen tee that can be worn beyond this upcoming election. I've also created buttons if you're a quieter communicator :) All feature my original “Vote” collage and are available via the shop on my website.

Note: As of October 11, 2024 the shop has closed. Thanks to everyone who participated in the project. Now it’s time to actually get out there and VOTE!

Engaging in the election process can change attitudes from “ugh, politics” to “oh, let’s begin to build the community I want to live in.” A canvasser who focuses on getting out the vote shared an apt analogy that she uses when speaking with people who plan to sit this election out: If you need to get somewhere and there isn’t a bus going to your exact destination, you don’t just give up and stay home. Instead, you hop on the bus that takes you closest to where you’d like to go. Yes!

Let’s celebrate the freedom we have to make our choices and voices heard. If this project resonates with you, please share this post and help me spread the word. (I know my grandmothers Dorothy and Mabel would approve!)

Watch for additional vote-related collages to appear on my Instagram feed. New ideas are percolating.

Official program cover for NAWSA's 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington. (Artist unknown.)

To learn more about the banners that were used during women’s protests to win the vote, check out these articles: Crafting a Voice: The History of Suffrage Banners and The Banner Years of Mary Lowdnes (an overview with amazing original design sketches from a woman who sewed, stitched and painted banners to help promote voting rights in England) Photo below is from a march in England where some of Lowdnes handiwork was probably on display (photographer unknown).

Murmurings... visual poetry

Thanks to everyone who visited my recent exhibition, “Murmurings,” at Spark Gallery in Denver — or who followed along on Instagram/elsewhere. The works included in the show are explorations in fragmentary storytelling: pieced-together bits of found poetry and text give voice to abstract collage elements, as word and image intermingle. I’ve posted quite a few of the collages from the show on Instagram and have included one below.

“Never There,” collage on watercolor paper, 10 x 7,” ©2024, Janice McDonald.

In the past my work has been made almost exclusively with found color and imagery. I always stayed away from using words in my work — I had enough words in my graphic design career. But recently the murmurings from content that included words and phrases became impossible to ignore. Participation in a collage and poetry program/group also prompted me to imagine and explore new ways of merging expressive elements. So I embarked on a new series of works, allowing myself to work intuitively (and sometimes badly!) to see where this interest would take me.

Many people have asked how I make these works and I have trouble describing the process, but will try. I don’t compose the word portion first or make the collage first… it all somehow develops simultaneously. When I begin to work, a few words and images on my desk usually jump out. I arrange and rearrange, exploring how the fragments might fit together and support each other. A lot of possibilities are dismissed and pushed aside.

When an idea finally begins to emerge, I look for supporting elements. Sometimes it’s a word or phrase, sometimes an image. I hunt for linking elements to complete the idea within my existing stash and occasionally through a new search, I rarely have something come together in one session, often returning to it, for further editing and refining. I lean them up in my studio and mull them over.

Directing the viewer’s eye so that the piece “reads” is part of the challenge. A large measure of serendipity comes into play during this process, along with years of art and design experience. I’m always grateful when my efforts begin to click and come together.

It seems that staying open to what may be developing is an important part of this work flow too… not pre-supposing what story I’m telling, but letting that evolve. I’m happy to answer questions about this work flow too — feel free to leave a comment or ask a question below..

I’ve been collecting text fragments without any desire to spend the time to figure out how to organize them in some logical way. So far my storage method is to slip them inside clear sleeves that are archival and acid free. The static generated between the folded plastic holds the snippets of text in place pretty well, plus the fragments are easily scannable and readable from both sides. (These sleeves have been hugely helpful in many aspects of my studio practice and while they may get a little dinged up over time, they never wear out.)

Only a small portion of my collected imagery is stored this way, most are in larger (also uncategorized) bins. But when I’m working on several projects, the folder method helps me keep things separate and makes for relatively easy clean up.

Transparent sleeves to organize elements for specific projects (left), are now also useful for storing bits of text.

Working to a theme: Cut Me Up magazine

As part of Kolaj Fest in June, I was honored to be invited to participate in a panel discussion about Cut Me Up magazine. The conversation was planned to honor the 5th anniversary of this unique publication.

Cut Me Up features work by artists who are challenged to reuse portions of imagery taken from previous issues of the magazine, combined with their own materials, to respond to a specific call/theme. Each issue is juried — I’m happy that my collages have been included in several issues.

The magazine’s website now has a great recap of the conversation with input and quotes from everyone on the panel.

“Cut Me Up: Issue 1 came into my possession during the first KolajFest. I rarely work collaboratively but this seemed like the kind of collaboration that I would be interested in and make time for.…

It’s a good read, accompanied by artworks and photos of the event. Check it out here.

Kudos to Andrea Burgay, the genius and energy behind the publication, for organizing the session. (We could easily have talked for much longer, had time allowed!)

Below is my collage, “Fore/Back: Ground,” which was selected for publication in Cut Me Up Issue 3: Tabula Rasa (July 1, 2019) — along with small images of the transition process across several issues demonstrating how elements are re-used by different artists. (Kind of like a visual version of that old game of “Telephone!”)

Left to right: “Untitled 18,” Andrea Burgay, Issue 1; “Notice. Novice,” Kristy Hughes, Issue 2; “Fore/Background,” Janice McDonald, Issue 3.

Left to right: “Notice. Novice,” Kristy Hughes, Issue 2; “Fore/Background,” Janice McDonald, Issue 3; “Bad Connection,“ Laurent Seljan, Issue 4.