tf collage

tf collage A page for collage art by Torea Frey

“Wanted: safe space to call my own” — a little 4x6” mixed media collage on index card substrate, for the now-concluded T...
08/06/2026

“Wanted: safe space to call my own” — a little 4x6” mixed media collage on index card substrate, for the now-concluded Tammy 2026. Fell in love with the symbolism of the source image, from a 1940s Life magazine iirc: a woman breathing into a paper bag held clutched over her head. An old cure for hyperventilating? A mask, a nest, refuge? Just a woman, pulling herself together, with whatever resources she has at hand, same as it ever was, searching for words and finding them wanting.

Detail view of this analog collage; scraps are shredded dictionary and thesaurus pages, with some vintage newsprint, and the spatter’s from water soluble wax pastel. Whenever I’m afluster I’m hoping for something that’ll break the spell, shatter the tension just like this bold cascade of words cutting through. Breathe deeply, slowly, with me now, and on to the day! 🖤

Collaged postcard for Poetry Postcard Fest 2026; I leaned in with midcentury tones for the art on the front: child’s pla...
08/05/2026

Collaged postcard for Poetry Postcard Fest 2026; I leaned in with midcentury tones for the art on the front: child’s play and a mother’s watchful eye, colliding with all that external noise

The poem is observational, observed on a morning Trimet commute. I 🩵 public transit and the way we’re all alone, together, an ephemeral, dynamic community.

And off it went, out into the world; wear on the collage, misdirected mail, &c—I can’t control it, but mail art married with collage poetry? It gives me hope for so many more good days, even when I’m mostly stuck inside resting 💌

“eventual inevitable downfall” — another 4x6” mixed media collage from my work for this year’s Tammy exercise. Acrylic p...
08/04/2026

“eventual inevitable downfall” — another 4x6” mixed media collage from my work for this year’s Tammy exercise. Acrylic paint, ink, punched paper, my beloved dictionary scraps, all imploding and yet retaining a logic of sorts. Let it all tumble down, like a toddler knocking over a tower of wooden alphabet blocks. Been a rough week already, the encroaching wildfire smoke giving dramatic backdrop to the various vagaries of daily life; staying inside and keeping a low profile. At least there’s collage art goodness to distract & absorb … 🖤

Closer view. There’s almost always meaning encoded in the visible text; not always easy to get a closer look but oh the joy I find in serendipitous word pairings, elisions, juxtapositions.

Joined in on 20th anniversary of the Poetry Postcard Festival, put on by the good people at Cascadia Poetics Lab — the l...
08/03/2026

Joined in on 20th anniversary of the Poetry Postcard Festival, put on by the good people at Cascadia Poetics Lab — the last time I played along was maybe 2016? Simple conceit: mail a postcard every day of August to folks you’ve been grouped with, writing an instantaneous poem aback your card. I am trying work on my writing/communication, for the joy of it & also to try maintain skills amid whatever going on neurologically. But also, what a great excuse to collage up some vibrant, summery cards. I made all 31 while at the Oregon Coast, pulling from midcentury magazines like Life and Look.

Cobbled together poem and collage, too, to document. The poetry’s little more than blank verse, and mostly pulls from observations at home or on the train—fragments of conversations, ephemeral thoughts. Perhaps unsurprising from a collage artist…this was my first one popped into the mailbox:

Another sleep-broken night
I arise in the ink dark
remembering I need—
o god what don’t I need

Pleased to have a small show of mixed media collage works up at the Sunnyside Health Center Gallery through October 2026...
07/28/2026

Pleased to have a small show of mixed media collage works up at the Sunnyside Health Center Gallery through October 2026. This selection of stark, abstract collage artworks is from my broader “No Words” explorations, contemporary pieces about language and loss and my relation to both. Things change or come apart; here’s how I’ve been handling it, wordfully and wordlessly, always just aiming to leave whatever I can of myself on the page. 🖤

Big thanks to Clackamas Arts Alliance for running this Artist Exhibit Program, and to Chelsey Hawkey for support and guidance along the way. If you’re based in Clackamas County and creating art, I encourage you to check the org out! Grateful for their work in nurturing the local arts ecosystem in Portland’s suburbs (and beyond).

These works are available, with delivery after show closes; if you’re interested in adding one to your art collection, get in touch!

A handful of paper collages—5, to be exact—inspired by Oregon Coast summer vibes, endless beaches and electric skies, ro...
07/23/2026

A handful of paper collages—5, to be exact—inspired by Oregon Coast summer vibes, endless beaches and electric skies, roaring waves, sweatshirts and tea and longing to be ever closer to the earth and its gentle, eternal ways

Composed while in Neskowin, Oregon, using vintage magazines and a glossy book of coastal scenes that I’m collaging right on top of 🌊🩵✨

a new mixed media collage, “whispered gust” — dictionary scraps, graphite, translucent paper that’s been paraffined, wil...
07/22/2026

a new mixed media collage, “whispered gust” — dictionary scraps, graphite, translucent paper that’s been paraffined, wild flung ink — and some scenes from the coast; this piece remind me of harsh wind through fallen branches tangled with seaweed, and lookee there, I also have a vid of that inspiration. i walked as long as i could, then sat feet wet in the sand and watched families, birds, tide pools; i walked slowly through the ghost forest, eternal & wise, noticing all the folks passing the wonders by, calling voiceless names into the cutting sky without a moment’s pause at all the miracles right at our feet 🩵

vacation, which sometimes = being unmoored, exhausted & nauseated in a more picturesque setting such as the majestic ore...
07/22/2026

vacation, which sometimes = being unmoored, exhausted & nauseated in a more picturesque setting such as the majestic oregon coast; you, too, can collage on the floor while dreaming of the rocky shore, the shocking reality of the coastal seaweed greens …

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