Every piece of Vivi-Mari's work is symbolic and spiritual, it tells stories and with them reaches new transcendental depths in this medium. Her work plays on the little eccentricities all collage artists are fond of.

Name (Real or Screename): Vivi-Mari Carpelan
URL (Blog, Website): http://www.flickr.com/photos/vivi-mari/
Location (Where are you from?): Finland

Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Symbolic collages and mixed media, usually on paper.

Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: I love using old vintage copyright free images, and have a great collection of books collected over the years, that I have copied or scanned. I love the old fashioned feel, but also the extreme technical skills these drawings display. Many of them are also very quirky and odd from our modern point of view. They make the perfect starting point! Often I just go through my images and pick out whatever feels right at the moment. I don't like using magazines due to copyright issues that are hard to get around, plus the paper is a bit thin and can create an effect that is not so neat (it wrinkles or the edge of other pictures show through). I also use scraps as well as my own photogrpaphs or other old photos that I have the right to use. In the future I hope to use my own photos more, but at the moment I don't have a good color printer.

Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: I started around 2003 when the fibromyalgia in my muscles made it too hard for me to draw as much as I used to. I try and incorporate some drawing still, though. I was actually doing découpage before this, and fell in love with all the possibilities. I learned a lot from all my books on découpage and so it was easy to transfer to collages on paper. I was a little ahead of time in both cases, I think, as nowadays there are tons of books on collages that weren't available in my country back then. As for the feeling of artistic satisfaction, I actually liked getting away from my own world of imagery and expand it to comprise that of other people. I see a deeper relationship between the words collage and collective... :-).

Armando's work exudes the creative chaos of the punk era he is inpsired by. I would definitely like to see more!

Name (Real or Screename): peregrinowillreign, Armando Torrealba
URL (Blog, Website): http://www.useme.cl/armando/
Location (Where are you from?): Santiago de Chile, Chile

Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Destroy to build about what I see.

Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Torn paper, magazines and trash.

Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: For almost five years, now. I started with cutting and sticking thanks to punk rock fanzines I made when I was little.

Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I'm a graphic designer. I don't like seeing it as an art at aesthetic level, I think that design has been wrongly influenced by art. There are more artists than designers in the design industry. For me, that's wrong.

Q: Do you have any formal art training? A: No, just what I learned in the design school.

Next week will feature anacronico, unreflected, ethelind and fred free!

Ethelind's playful playful personality really shines through in her work, and the
randomness and variety makes her work very inviting. I was surprised to learn that she has no art background—sometimes collage is something that comes from within.

Name: Cloudy B aka Ethelind
URL: http://ethelind.deviantart.com/gallery
Location: Germany

Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Always a bizarre mixed media poetry with sex and meat.

Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: I like all kinds of vintage ephemera, magazine clippings, photocopies, acrylic and watercolors, rubberstamps, old toys and of course: GLUE.

Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: I've created collages since 2004. After a few trips into other media I found out that collages work best for me. The first collage, which helped me to find my way into the art world was a very surreal piece inspired by a book.

Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I'm just a hobby artist. I already had a few commissions, but only for friends.
We'll see what life brings.

Q: Do you have any formal art training?
A: I wish I had! No. I'm a completely self-educated artist.

There is something to be said for having a distinct style, and Anacrônico has it down! His work is stunning, I love the boldness of colour against the "whitish" background. I love that he uses the same techniques, such as covered faces with letters or white space. This is what makes his style: his style.

Name: Rodrigo Bonfim a.k.a Anacrônico
URL: http://anacronico.deviantart.com/
Location: Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil

Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Works with what is common and unfashion[able].

Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Magazines and vintage porn.

Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: A few years ago since I started the study graphic design.

Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I'm a graphic designer too.

Q: Do you have any formal art training?
A: No, but I did some courses focused on fine arts and I'm training in graphic design.

In the grocery store last night, I fell in love with Dr. Stuart's Tea packaging. It has a whimsical and collage-y feel to it, and so I felt I should share! The illustrator is Brett Ryder, from the UK.

I love the girliness of Fiona's work, featuring soft pink, unicorns, flowers, and lace. The importance of decoration in her collages is pleasantly undeniable.

Name (Real or Screename): Fiona Dinkelbach
URL (Blog, Website): http://www.thecollagebox.com/ & http://unreflected.deviantart.com/
Location (Where are you from?): Braunschweig, Germany

Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Trashy-kitsch-vintage-stuff.

Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Mostly old magazines, vintage stuff from flea markets, old pharmaceutic and scientific books.

Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: Since 2004.

Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: Solely and the art-association collage box. I am also an illustrator for cd-covers and that stuff. among other things i created the new album art for the ep "While your mind is wondering free" by the indie-folk band called the New Record.

How am I going to choose favourites? Is what I asked myself when coming to this artist post. I love the natural quality of his work, and I admire his collage book collections. I urge you to explore more of his work!

Name (Real or Screename): fred free
URL (Blog, Website): http://www.fredfree.com/
Location (Where are you from?): Boston, MA

Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Documentationalismistic. And more!

Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Found photos, my photos, diagrams, bar codes, radio static, videoclips, paper and cardboard, pencils, tape, oilbars, toys, numbers, letters, words and sentence fragments, non-english languages, other people, random internet searches, email spam, photoshop, my son, books to put things into, books to take things out of, signs, roads, libraries, fences, big spaces, time, weather, emotions, instinct, process. And glue.

Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: I've been making collages since I was a kid—which means for about 40 years—but I only got more serious about it in the early 90s. I started like any other kid and restarted because I found some old medical photo slides in a trashcan at a laundromat at the right time of my life.

Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I am an artist and at-home dad for my 8 year old son.

I would like to end the week with artist Laura Serra, who I think can definitely hold her own against Fred's amazing work I posted about yesterday. She is en excellent talent, combining collage with ink and drawing. And of course, the addition of soft flower petals and leaves makes her work one-of-a-kind.

Name (Real or Screename): Laura Serra
URL (Blog, Website):laureola.de
Location (Where are you from?): Berlin, Germany

Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Just some emotions on paper :D

Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: I love to work with letters of the German newspaper "TAZ" and combine the collated thoughts with ink and (rare)flower petals which I sew on the paper.

Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: It's now.. a year since I started creating collages. It all began with a design forum called Sonntagslounge.de where I found some artists and friends like Sebastian and Patrick. I saw how they created them and my thoughts finally got a new way to get onto paper.

Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I am a graphic designer.

There are so many people I want to post about, it's crazy! I think I will be starting to do weekend posts. I thought I would need to stretch out the interviews, make the content last, but there are more amazing collage artists out there than I thought!

So I think that's what I will do. I am busy, but busy in a good way—in between regular work and work on our new apartment, of course. So, see you tomorrow?

PS: Also, I have some great ideas for future content right now. I'm not going to spoil them, I'm going to let you wait and see...

El378's collages are perfectly simple, I love the use of white space and restraint when it comes to decoration. Add a simple cutout line or word for wit's sake, and you've got a brilliant collage artist who follows his instincts.

Name (Real or Screename): el378
URL (Blog, Website):http://el378.deviantart.com/
Location (Where are you from?): Cambridge, UK

Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Drawing with paper.

Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Found papers, newspaper headlines and vintage magazines.

Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: I have been making collages for the last three years. I had been making art but had never tried collage before until I needed to produce some work for a portfolio for my college application. Since then I haven't looked back.

Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I am currently working in a Legal Office to supplement my passion for art.

Q: Do you have any formal art training?
A: I have spent the last year or so studying part time at an Art & Design college in London.

Q: Explain your favourite techniques.
A: I don't have any favourite technique, I tend to make it up as I go along.

I stumbled upon this artist's site thinking, is that a painting? Maybe you thought the same thing at first. I was surprised that it was really collage, and some pieces are collage that include acrylic. With stunning works of art, Tammy explores relationships, distance, and meaning in all of her collages.

Name (Real or Screename): Tammy, blondestrawberry
URL (Blog, Website): http://blondestrawberry.com/
Location (Where are you from?): Ashland, Oregon

Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Stories about the distance between people from a woman's perspective.

Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Images from old Life Magazines and National Geographics, as well as my own photographs.

Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: I've been doing this for about 10 years now, although it's only in the last 4 that I was able to find my voice and start creating a body of work.
How it started:

Years ago I had a wonderful boyfriend who would make me little boxes reminiscent of Joseph Cornell's boxes, which had a major impact on me. I think the most important thing I got from him was an appreciation for the fact that there are so many things that already exist out there, like long forgotten images lost in stacks of old magazines, that can be placed in new contexts and made entirely relevant and even beautiful.

Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I develop websites for a living.

This artist's gluebooks are full of bright colours and images with typographic elements added which give them that street art/graffiti look (see thumbs after break). He has a very interesting and dramatic style. I particularly love the simplicity and open space of his works on (what looks like) kraft paper.

Name (Real or Screename): Simon Andrews
URL (Blog, Website): http://nuken8.deviantart.com/
Location (Where are you from?): UK

Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: The materialization of my creative musing.

Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: I like the immediacy of magazines, there existing connection with the viewer and the familiarity they have with my viewers.

Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: 3/4 years, starting purely as another means for expressing my ideas and to gain understanding through exploration.

Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I work as a graphic designer, but find I use my free time to express my ideas.

Q: Do you have any formal art training?
A: I have a degree in graphic design, but found it helped little in developing creativity.

What stood out for me at first was this designer's use of Letraset letters in his collages. I find it interesting how many of us are graphic designers as well! I think sometimes it is obvious who is and who is not a graphic designer because of the amount of typographic elements used in their artwork. I admire Able's work, it has a nostalgic quality to it but still feels new and modern, probably because it's like nothing I've seen before.

Name (Real or Screename): Able Parris
URL (Blog, Website):www.ableparris.com (blog, but portfolio site coming back soon!)
Location (Where are you from?): I am from Wyoming, but keeping a nomadic lifestyle. Currently in North Carolina, USA.

Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Somewhat minimal poetic storytelling collage.

Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: Since I don't have a word limit on this question, let me start out by saying thank you for the interview. It's an honor. (No problem!) I like to work with magazines from the 70's and 80's, although I do try to incorporate many different sources to keep myself challenged. The older clippings have fewer printed colors which makes for a more timeless feel to each piece. Letraset, acrylic, maps, and bright solid colors are also wonderful.

Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: In 2002 I found myself collecting flyers and posters from the street in Providence, RI and pasting them into my sketchbook. I studied them to see what it was that attracted me to them in the first place, then began to sort of give myself "assignments" to create my own collages. Looking back at my sketchbooks from those days is encouraging, because it really helps to see more of a progression into bringing all of the parts together, which is the biggest challenge with collage. During that time I was collaging musically with some friends. We hosted an open mike night in the Carr Haus at RISD. I played with a couple of guys each week, and it was always improvised. I'd have my sampler, a record player, and some spoken word pieces, and they'd play drums and bass.