Mark Making Play

Ever stared at a blank canvas and wondered how to infuse it with layers of meaning and emotion? The secret lies in mark making. From bold strokes to delicate lines, mark making can turn a simple piece of paper into a storytelling masterpiece. Let’s dive into what different mark makings represent in mixed media art and how you can use them to convey powerful messages.

Collage mastersheets are your ticket to fearless experimentation—big, bold surfaces where you can layer scraps, papers, paints, and marks without worrying about “ruining” a precious canvas. It’s like a playground for your creativity – they let you experiment with images, color and texture in a low-stakes way.

In this post, I’m sharing 12 different types of collage master sheets I’ve developed through my own mixed media practice. Each one explores a different approach—whether it’s blending edges with gesso, creating patchwork grids, playing with translucent layers, or mixing unexpected materials. Some techniques are fast and intuitive, others slow and meditative, but all of them are rooted in freedom, exploration, and texture.

The beauty of collage master sheets lies in their versatility. You can use them as backgrounds for journals or paintings, cut them up into snippet rolls or tags, or even turn them into standalone abstract pieces. Most importantly, they help you loosen up and enjoy the process—because the process is where the magic happens.

If you’re anything like me, you probably have a collection of vintage ephemera—old letters, postcards, book pages, receipts, or even brown paper bags—waiting to be transformed into art. In this post, I’ll walk you through a step-by-step process of how I turn these nostalgic pieces into expressive, colorful collage papers using acrylic paints and energetic mark making techniques.

I was inspired by Galia Alena to create these mark making papers as morning music meditation while listening to her spotify playlist. She talks about it on Day 4 – Mark making of Gentle Creative Invitations course. https://youtu.be/SuKaQYXb0qs I worked on A3 sheets folded in half and completed six sheets. After six consecutive days of