Original Collages
A selection of my favorite collages from the past few years, with a few close-ups to show detail.
Paper collages are between 4×2″ and 10×12″. Elements are from old magazines and secondhand photography books, cut with various craft knives and tiny scissors. Digital collages are all created in Photoshop using royalty-free images.
I’ve added short descriptions under each image; there’s usually a thought process or storyline behind each piece.
hand-cut 8 x 10"
Three dancers move through a forest clearing as giant hands lower a disco ball overhead. Ritual? Show? Not quite sure.
hand-cut 8 x 10"
A rose in heels on a roof. It is pretty. No deeper meaning for this one.
hand-cut 10 x 8"
A surreal living room scene where giant butterflies drift in like houseguests. Domestic space meets outer space with a dreamlike interior.
hand-cut 10 x 8"
I particularly enjoy playing with depth and layers through overlapping elements.
hand-cut 8 x 10"
A skeleton kneels in prayer before a bunny-eared baby popping through a frame. The original art uses foamcore behind the baby's head to create a 3D effect where the head and ears actually pop out from the rest of the image.
hand-cut 8 x 10"
Skeletons are SO satisfying to cut out.
hand-cut 6.25 x 8”
A blindfolded traveler walks into the unknown, unaware of the lurking danger. It's my surreal take on the Tarot’s Fool, illustrating that person who’s caught between naivety and instinct.
I created his bandana from scratch using four red pieces of paper.
hand-cut 6.25 x 8”
A suited man summons his fantasy from a computer-like screen and blurs the line between illusion, desire, and projection.
This take on The Magician leans slightly more cautionary than aspirational.
hand-cut 6.25 x 8”
An interpretation of the Chariot tarot card: a man carries his children on his back through the desert landscape.
Taken literally, the dad is his kids’ chariot. Duh. More symbolically, this card’s themes include forward movement, trust, control, and balance.
hand-cut 6.25 x 8”
Two vintage dolls stand framed by a Lovers tarot card, holding hands against a bright seaside backdrop.
Upon closer inspection, some of their body parts are shuffled: swapped heads and a mismatched arm (they needed to hold hands and couldn’t with his original arm). Boundaries of identity, gender, and romance are intentionally blurred here. Love is love.
hand-cut 10 x 12”
Hand-cut collage featuring a man's head like a balloon floating above an empty red coat. He’s confident at first glance but completely untethered.
digital
Hot air balloons lift up and out of a gilded frame and blur the line between art and reality. I see this kind of image as a 2-dimensional way of breaking the 4th wall.
hand-cut 10 x 8”
A weathered man smokes a pipe on the moon, its plumes of smoke turning into a flock of seagulls. I assume this man is a creature of habit and I can’t decide if he’s amused by the magic or not.
hand-cut 8 x 10”
A giant hand from above reaches through a rocky desert arch to place a blooming cactus in its little cactus garden. Nearby, a small flock of sheep and three shepherds observe from the sand. There are witnesses.
digital
A single duck glides across a star-filled lake, slightly rippling the cosmos. To me, it’s an image that represents calm and grounded feeling of going it alone.
digital
Part 2 of my "Solo Travel" series.
digital
The third image in my "Solo Travel" series.
hand-cut 5 x 7"
Hand-cut collage showing a procession of nesting dolls descending a grand staircase, with a little guy in the back peeking out suspiciously.
digital
Vintage pin-up gals in swimsuits lounge in a surreal desert dreamscape where the sand and rocky dunes meet a rainbow-colored nebula in the sky. A disco ball hovers like a second moon.
hand-cut 5 x 5”
Floating TVs beam human eyes through space, visually connecting the observer and observed. Who’s looking at whom?
hand-cut 10 x 12”
A classical bust is fitted with a skull head, red hair, and gold necklace. It's a reaction to vanity, decay, and the ridiculous things people do when they try to outlast time.
hand-cut 5 x 7”
Two retro spacewomen stand under Nevada’s Extraterrestrial Highway sign, weapons raised. In front of them, giant bugs throw their hands up in surprise.
In my mind, this hand-cut collage plays with mistaken identity, mirrored suspicion, and how awkward things get when everyone thinks they’re the normal one.
digital
An image of a butterfly resting on a rose petal appears on TV. A few real butterflies have gathered around and are clearly concerned as they think a friend is trapped.
hand-cut 8 x 5"
After a long day studying moths that look like they have eyes on their wings, an entomologist dreams of one staring back. This minimalist piece captures that space between science and symbolism, pairing insect anatomy with human awareness and dream logic.
hand-cut 8 x 10
A modern climber ascends a towering skyscraper, unaware he’s caught the eye of a giant gorilla on a nearby building.
The gorilla looks on with a mix of disbelief and territorial annoyance - this was supposed to be *his* moment.
hand-cut 5 x 5"
A family gathers around a picture-perfect table, eyes fixed on the monstrous anglerfish being served. Behind them, an actual monster-sized octopus creeps over the hills.
digital
This digital collage is a take on the disparity between one's appearance and what a person actually carries with them. We all have an unseen inner universe.
digital
A candy-colored carnival skyride drifts out of a vintage TV and into the viewer’s space. It’s familiar, nostalgic, and just a tiny bit intrusive.
hand-cut 10 x 8"
Hand-cut collage meant to capture that particular kind of heartbreak where you're left on the shore, watching your hopes drift away. Glamorous, untouchable, and uninterested. With time they'll fade from view.
hand-cut 10 x 8" / detail size
This was the first skeleton I ever cut out. Learned a lot. Cutting the spaces between the ribs was an exercise in patience, steady hands, and remembering to breathe. Apparently I forget when I do detail work.