Long before “cut and paste” became a keyboard shortcut, it was a tactile, sticky-fingered adventure fueled by school-glue bottles and wild imagination. For members of the Rocky Mountain Collage Society (RMCS), that childhood joy has been refined into an art.

Collage is a fine art medium pioneered in the early 1900s by cubists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. It began with artists pasting everyday materials such as paper and oilcloth onto canvas. Today, it has expanded into a mixed-media practice that goes beyond paper and glue. 

RMCS was launched in 2007 by local artists Susan Stanton and Gayle Gerson as an independent branch of the National Collage Society, which promotes collage as a significant art medium. 

Gerson, 77, runs an open studio at The Art Center in Grand Junction and taught mixed media for years.

“We have seen an explosion in creative people interested in collage,” Gerson said. “It requires no great investment in materials. The contents of your wastebasket and a glue stick will do!” 

Part of collage’s appeal is that anyone can do it. It’s a meditative form of self-expression that offers a break from stress and overthinking.

“I love the imperfection of it and the variety of interpretations,” said Dea Ann Cate, 66.

The club meets four Saturdays a year and hosts an annual members show at The Art Center. Meetings include guest artists who share techniques and discuss topics such as copyright, fair use and best practices for making art. 

Members come from as far as Durango and Buena Vista, though most live in Grand Junction. 

When Tom Calenberg, 75, moved to Durango and stepped down from the RMCS board, he realized how much the group meant to him. 

“The Durango Arts Center isn’t nearly as active as the one here,” Calenberg said, “I get to exhibit my work twice a year and I have a lot of friends.”

Rhonda Dunlap, 63, a new board member, came to collage with no art background. She said it has changed the way she thinks.

“Learning something new is powerful for our brain,” Dunlap said.

RMCS President Diane Anglim, 70, joined after retiring from her job at HopeWest in 2021.

“You know how when people retire and then they find a whole new career path?” she said. “I didn’t know I was going to be an artist. I took a collage class, and I was off and running. You never know what’s in your mind and what’s in your capabilities.”

RMCS members share knowledge, materials, ideas and encouragement, helping one another grow as artists.

Mary Watson, who works in pastel, watercolor and ink, said collage has helped her build new skills. She describes collage as “more strategic than just throwing paint onto a piece of paper.”

“I’ve learned about pulling colors together so they can be cohesive in the picture,” said Watson. 

Cate is impressed by the group’s reach. Eight members recently participated in a national show. RMCS also takes part in community art events, including World Collage Day, The Art Center demo nights and Art in the Park.

“It never occurred to me that I could make art and have it shown in an art center,” said Cate, who received honorable mention in the 2025 members show. “To be able to sit down with other artists, discuss what you’re doing, play on each other’s ideas…it’s a powerful thing.”

RMCS members’ show, Everything Under the Sun, runs May 8-June 26 at The Art Center, 1803 N. 7th St. The First Friday reception is June 5. For more information, contact Anglim at [email protected] or call the Art Center at 970-243-7337.