Scott Neff

Typically I start a collage with no preconceived agenda or expectation. I either connect with the (usually printed) paper properties I have in hand or I don’t. The assemblage then sets the tone for the narrative. I move the bits and pieces around and let them take me where they want to go. I believe this is pretty standard practice for most collage artists that I know. Each work session is different for me, contingent on the emotions, mood, and energy around me at the time. Collage is my primary visual art form that I practice. It keeps my curiosity for the physical and imaginative world fueled and my design skills sharp, as I look for cohesiveness, evaluate spacial relationships, examine composition and balance, etc. It is also a meditative and therapeutic practice. After establishing a foundation, I shut off my analytical brain, allowing thoughts to come and go freely, embracing imperfection with no aspirations to create a precious object. Collage is a puzzle that isn’t always solved. It is a mystery with endless possibilities that will have but one final outcome. It can capture, record, celebrate, expose, and honor moments in time. It is a reflection of life.