“Finding your own style is critical and sometimes being bombarded with images of other people's work can subconsciously affect your own without you even realizing it.”

— Alayne Spafford, 2025

1) LOCATION?

I am based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 🇨🇦

2) YEARS COLLAGING?

I have been working with collage/mixed media for about 25 years

3) WHY IS COLLAGE AN APPEALING MEDIUM?

I love collage because it is never permanent, I can glue down, rip off or collage over other pieces. I can also paint over it if need be. I like being able to sit down with various pieces and create different combinations before the work is finalized, and collage can be anything, not just paper which also appeals to me.

4) WHO ARE THE BIGGEST INFLUENCES ON YOUR WORK?

The biggest influences of my work wouldn’t necessarily be other artists but more the collage itself. That is the starting off point for me and the shapes/other collage elements/paint are a direct result of where the first piece of collage is placed. That said I love Robert Rauschenberg, (who doesn’t), Joan Snyder, and a lot of the work I am seeing on instagram within the circle of collage artists that I know.

5) ANALOG VS DIGITAL, WHAT ARE THE PROS & CONS OF EACH?

I haven’t dabbled in digital art to be honest. For me it is all about the physical process, I don’t think it would feel the same digitally.

Fifty Five 2, 48 x 48 cm

Fifty Three 26, 48 x 48 cm

6) WHAT ARE THREE TIPS FOR SOMEONE STARTING OUT IN COLLAGE?

Three tips I would give someone starting out in collage would be not to follow any rules and do what feels most like you, be that which materials to use, placement, adhesives etc. The second would be to study other collage artists but not too closely. Finding your own style is critical and sometimes being bombarded with images of other people's work can subconsciously affect your own without you even realizing it. The third would be not to get too precious about anything. That is the beauty of collage, you can change anything at any time you want.

7) HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DOWNTIME?

I spend my downtime riding my bikes, paddle boarding, gardening, knitting, crocheting, collecting things, reading,…… I have a lot of hobbies, maybe too many!

8) WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR ART PRACTICE HEADING?

Right now I see my art practice shifting a bit from painting and collage to more mixed media and textile work.

9) WHICH THREE ARTISTS SHOULD WE CHECK OUT?

Three artists I am loving are: well, pretty much everything on the instagram feed mepaintsme is amazing, I also love the work of Liberty Blake and Fred Free a lot.

10) WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU LOVING RIGHT NOW?

I generally like country music and more specifically Red Dirt Country/Americana.

11) UP AND COMING SHOWS OR PROJECTS WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?

I have an upcoming show early 2026 at Haw Contemporary in Kansas City and am also involved in a group show at the Art Gallery of Alberta next month.

See more 👀

Website: alaynespafford.com
Instagram: @alayne_spafford