Pieced Paper Botanical Collage

I had a dress-rehearsal today for a pieced paper collage technique that I would like to explore further.  I'm not entirely satisfied with the results, but I think that if I try it again with a more original design, the final result will feel less "forced."

I used a tutorial by Susan Black, published in Cloth Paper Scissors back in July/August 2013.  The first step is to brew black coffee to use as a stain for my watercolor paper.  I used a packet of instant coffee that I've had in my craft stash for years for just this purpose.

I used a 2-inch foam brush to lightly apply a wash of the coffee to my 9x12 sheet of cold-press watercolor paper. 

Then I dabbed more coffee onto the paper, and the initial light wash "contained" the pools of coffee within their perimeter (except for a couple renegade dribbles that ran off the side of two of the four papers I stained).

I tilted and turned the paper to let the coffee run around the page, and then used my embossing tool to further spread it around the page.  It looks like a very light wash of neutral color until it dries, and then you can see the varied layers quite well.  There is no way to tell how a given background will turn out, which is part of the fun of creating them.  Here are the four different backgrounds I created:

For the next step, I drew a pencil sketch onto tracing paper, using basically the same design that Susan Black uses in her article.  She advises us to place the tracing paper over top of the coffee-stained background as we draw, which helps with the composition and design.  Next, I held the watercolor paper up to the window with the tracing paper underneath, and copied the design onto the watercolor paper.  In retrospect, I would trace it quite lightly, because the pencil lines are not part of the finished product.

Finally, I painted the stem, and then chose papers from my stash to piece over the drawing to create the collage.  I used my tracing paper drawing again, holding it up to the sunny window under the scrapbook papers I selected.  I drew the shape in pencil, and then cut it out and fit it into its place in the collage.

I used a glue stick to adhere the papers.

I used watercolor paint for the stems--vidrian hue toned down with burnt umber.  Then I used a black pen to add outlines, dots, leaf veins, and accents to the stems.  I used two colored markers, including one with a bit of a metallic quality, to write the word "wonder" in the corner of the collage.

I like it, yes, but I copied Susan Black's design almost directly, and I would like to do a more original piece next time.  I feel as though the piece looks "forced" when it so closely mimics her work.  I enjoyed the process, though, and look forward to trying it again, when I can make the final result more "my own."