postal collage 2026

Earlier version. I started with the standing woman and bits of marbled paper scraps. I had hoped this 1940's figure would factor into a mystery theme. The next person added the fjords (top) and lying down woman (bottom). Perhaps there was some build-up towards this theme. 

Final version. The flowers, Matryoshka dolls, dress on the lying down woman, and news clippings were added by other players. I finished the collage by adding boy and female models from an old Sears catalog. Since the other players deviated from the mystery theme, I decided to change the focus of the collage altogether.

"Pubescent" January, 2026
Here is the before and after result of the Postal Collage Collaboration #15 hosted by Berkeley Commonplace.  As in the past, this round included the work of 5 players.  When the collage I started in September came back to me after everyone had added their elements, I felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. This was a disjointed group effort. My original piece pointed to a Noir mystery theme but others did not pick up on this. The midsection of the collage had several scattered elements including Russian nesting dolls and random flowers.  The group's effort did not yield a visually cohesive composition. There was no focal point or overall design.  The pieces of interest lay in the glacial fjords above and the naked woman below. Fortunately, I had a 1960's Sears catalog that had many technicolor pages of Nordic-looking preteen and teenage boys. When placed closely together, these boys exuded a lot of youthful male pheromones. All I needed to complete the picture was a Cougar masquerading as their fantasy school teacher or MILF. The final piece doesn't have much to do my original or my partners' intentions but at least it feels more cohesive to me. This collage ended up a bit more salacious than I had intended.