Piecing together a life

LACONIA — Creativity can transform bad times in life into something positive and quite different. That was the case for collage artist Andrew Hillman of Laconia.

Hillman said, “I was in a bad relationship and my mental health was suffering. I am a musician and realized I needed something more than music to heal.”

In 2016, he discovered putting together pieces of cut paper was very therapeutic and he has not stopped since.

“I got into collage quite by accident,” Hillman said. “I was having a pizza lunch with a friend, and I randomly tore the top off the pizza box and attached some magazine pages to the top with tape. That was the start and I got better at collage over time.”

Hillman honed his skills. He sometimes creates multiple collage pieces in a single day. If one assumes collage is a child’s pastime, consisting of pictures cut from a magazine and reassembled with other pieces of paper, Hillman’s cut paper art proves that assumption wrong. Done correctly, collage can be a sophisticated art form. He wryly admits sometimes people are less-than-interested in collage. But Hillman’s collage designs are not child’s play and are a unique and beautiful art form.

Hillman’s collage artistry is now on display at the Laconia Public Library until the end of March. Titled “Collage Artwork An Interactive Exhibit by Andrew Hillman,” many of his collage creations are placed around the top floor rotunda exhibit space at the library.

The exhibit is not just a showing of collages in various sizes, some framed and some unframed; it is also an interactive display.

“Each collage is numbered,” Hillman said, “and viewers can use a piece of paper and a pencil and walk around the exhibit. They can write down the numbers associated with the (untitled) artwork and tell me what they see, what they would name the piece if they were the artist, and how the piece makes them feel. There is no need to sign their name; they can leave responses in a box by the guestbook when done.”

The exhibit is drawing significant interest and viewers are mesmerized by the detailed and stunning pieces as they walk through the rotunda area. Most of the collage pieces are on flat surfaces, but a selection of the art are on music cassettes and album covers and even a suitcase showing that paper art can be used in a variety of ways.

“I haven’t done collage on shoes yet, but I’m thinking about it,” Hillman said.

He aims to keep prices for each piece reasonable and has sold some to private collectors. Making big money seems less important to the artist than the healing power of collages and the deep peace and enjoyment he gets as he creates with paper, a glue stick and backing material.

Explaining his process, Hillman said he almost solely uses old National Geographic magazines from 1985 backwards in time. Magazines printed after 1985 seem to have a different paper surface and weight, and Hillman is less pleased with the collage results if using the newer magazines.

“The glue just seems to hold better to the older National Geographics,” he said. He gets National Geographic magazines from yard sales and donations from friends and family.

When he sits down to create a piece, Hillman said, he doesn’t start with any particular theme or idea in mind but rather lets things come together as he works. As the pieces are cut – with very sharp scissors to make super clean paper edges – an image forms, full of scenes, colors, and shapes to create a new, fascinating world/image. Some collages bring people into the scenes, and some are fragments of buildings, nature, trees, water, and more. However, all are taken from the magazine pages to be placed next to seemingly disparate images, thus forming a new world through Hillman’s vision.

The depth of each collage is important to the artist, and leads the viewer into a variety of surfaces, down a flight of stairs, into a tunnel, or any place we can experience through the unique medium of collage.

“People are surprised I don’t use Mod Podge but rather just a glue stick,” Hillman said. But it creates a smoother surface, thus bringing all the paper pieces together seamlessly.

These days, Hillman makes a few pieces a week, citing a job and other commitments. Gone are the dark days of his life some years ago, and he credits the discovery of collage as healing medicine.

He said, “Music has always been my first love, but collage has been a happy bonus. It calmed me down, and it made me happier. I will keep doing collage as well as music and have no plans to stop creating.”

Laconia Public Library is located at 695 North Main Street in Laconia. Call 603-524-4775 or visit laconianh.gov/1000/Library.