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THE THERAPIST PSYCHOLOGIST BOOK STORE
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The Art of Personal Imagery: Expressing Your Life Through Collage By Corey Moortgat ( North Light Books )
Release Date: 2007-10-19
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $22.99
Price: $15.63
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Product Description
Express yourself--and celebrate your life--with collage. The Art of Personal Imagery introduces a fresh approach to collage, one that blends traditional methods with innovative new techniques for capturing your favorite moments and most treasured memories in your artwork. Step by step, author Corey Moortgat teaches you the secrets to adding visual and emotional depth to your collage: - Commemorate special occasions by transforming mementos into clever collage elements.
- Add meaning to your work with written sentiments about your friends and family.
- Use painting and paper layering techniques to blend a glossy modern photo with vintage ephemera.
- Stage your own photo shoot to capture images perfect for your artwork.
- Find your personal symbols with creative exercises to unlock your subconscious mind.
Push yourself beyond impersonal collage! Create beautiful artwork that honors your loved ones and glows with your essence.
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 Collage how-to as an excuse for TMI autobiography in pictures ( malleron )
First, let me say I have no idea who this author is: I don't read her blog, I don't follow her crafty career, I don't read anything she might be published in. Also, I've never met the woman and harbor no ill will toward her, personally or artistically. Indeed, she seems utterly sincere in her work and she has my respect for that.
Also, let it be known I am not a "scrapper", full-on "collage artist", or maker of any stripe. I'm a writer and I bought this book, among others, to try to tune in to my right brain after decades of hearing from only the left.
All that said, I didn't think this book was as utterly bad as some of the 1 or 2 star reviewers said it was. However, I share the opinion those reviewers who had issues with the autobiographical window the author provides into her life and art. Personally, I found the focus way too personal -- indeed, reading this book was akin to meeting a stranger for the first time, shaking hands, and having them say "Smell my finger." Items of particular distaste include the picture of the author's nude backside on page 30 and the constant reminders throughout the book that she's been twice pregnant, has a darling husband and lovely children. Take-away: Corey is a happy and fulfilled woman. I get it, thanks. Against my will, perhaps, but I do get it.
And if art as such (even collage art) can be construed as a window into the artist's soul, I daresay psychiatrists would have a field day interpreting the art created by the author for this book. I won't presume to analyze it all here, but I question the sensibilities, artistic or not, of anyone with such obvious narcissism and a rampant pre-occupation with birdcages and disjointed body parts. And like some other reviewers, I got really tired really quickly of seeing all the crowns and caps. If that was ever a trend, it needs to die NOW.
I know, I know, the title of the book is "The Art of PERSONAL Imagery," so the focus should naturally be a personal one. In this case, however, it is possible to have too much of a good thing such that all the techniques and tips are lost among the TMI-ness that Moortgat passes off as "art."
And Moortgat is pretty good about sharing tips and techniques. I mean, that's the reason I got this book in the first place. Of course, to get at those nuggets I had to wade through paragraphs of her art-making philosophy, which I found mildly irritating. Still, they are there and as I progress in further opening up the non-techie part of my brain, I shall make liberal use of them. Indeed, I'm finding the creative prompts and exercises helpful as I start my first art journal.
All in all, I can't rate this book very highly because the "Personal Imagery" part of the title overwhelmed the "Art." What art could be gleaned from this book was, in my uneducated opinion, trite and random. As an art-lover I can't relate to Moortgat as an artist -- her art shares no story with me, someone who is wholly unfamiliar with her and who now, after reading this book, wishes never to hear of her again. Luckily, this doesn't stop me from appreciating the kernels of knowledge she embeds at intervals in this book.
Still, if you're looking for collage primers, there are better books out there: Urgent 2nd Class: Creating Curious Collage, Dubious Documents, and Other Art from Ephemera, True Vision: Authentic Art Journaling, and Collage Discovery Workshop. As well, Gwen Diehn's The Decorated Page: Journals, Scrapbooks & Albums Made Simply Beautiful and The Decorated Journal: Creating Beautifully Expressive Journal Pages. I enjoyed all of these books far more, found them all far more useful, and still got the "personal imagery" point across without being so forcibly intimate.
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 Worth every penny I spent on it ( irma0408 )
As an avid scrapbooker and beginner mixed-media artist, this book has really made me redefine my style. I've reached a point in my art that doing pretty pages was just not enough, and I found myself including more and more symbolic items in my artwork. Being OCD-like, this book has really prompted me to loosen up, experiment and have fun with my artwork. Coreys artwork is so rich in meaning and symbolism. I couldn't put this book down, and even sent my kids early to bed so I could read it. The artwork is breathtaking, the examples are thorough, the supplies are listed, and...she even explains her inspiration and mental process of creating that piece of work. If you are interested in taking your artwork to the next level- out of the cookie-cutter mold- you will find this book a gold-mine of eye-candy and information.
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Great inspiration ( rweger1 )
I've been looking for some ways into returning to art, telling stories, and healing. This book has given me all sorts of ideas of ways I can dive into that work. I found the author's disclosure and use authentic personal images to be refreshing in a glossy-coated, distanced world.
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A wonderful book about process...
This book has some very nice "how-to" sections for the beginner, but what really made it work for me was the discussion of the creative process. The author allows some very personal glimpses into her mind and life and how she translates those into her art, and I felt privileged to be witness to the process. Her art therapy background really gives her something unique to add to what's out there. The fact that my own art might be in a very different style didn't bother me at all. The book isn't about any particular style, although her examples may be, but about bringing one's own inner life to art.
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 too overdone for me ( akfral )
Maybe I'm just not into this type of art enough. I prefer simpler stuff, probably a poor choice on my part.
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Addiction
