Interpretive Collage

Using Photoshop, I completed my interpretive collage based on the narrative, “The Juniper Tree”, by the Grimm Brothers. While working, I thought about what design elements and principles could fit into my piece as well as how the story could be told within just one collage. After completing many exercises and iterations, I gathered a variety of images that could be incorporated into my final piece. The main image included a plate with an image of a girl crying. I felt that this image resonated throughout the entire story and brought the collage all together, which is why it is front and center. The collage also relied on a color palette, which I pulled from the collection of images. My main goal with this project was to better understand how I can interpret the narrative story with visual images in a collage.

From creating the collage based on my interpretation of the story “The Juniper Tree”, I learned that there are many ways that one person can interpret a story utilizing visual images. I thought through the story in a more literal way, while also taking into account the emotions I experienced while reading. This allowed me to then reflect and find meaning in what I had read, so I could then incorporate it into the collage. The most difficult part of this process for me was finding a way to make all of the images I had found fit and work well together on the page. I had completed a lot of iterations before deciding on my final, which benefited me in the end because I was able to use different parts of my various ideas all in the final collage. This project was one of my favorites because I have always enjoyed the Grimm brothers' stories and I also enjoy creating digital collages. Combining them together in this project was the best of both worlds for I got to do something I love, while also exploring the techniques of design more in-depth.