Artists of the Illawarra: Angie Cass

Angie Cass is an analogue and digital collage artist. Part of her process is to gather odd cut-outs together and to scan for relationships of colour, pattern, tone and theme. Sometimes things jump out – dramatic negative spaces, curious juxtapositions and new concepts from worn themes – but, regardless, the end products are dramatic, artistically stunning and the ultimate form of recycling: environmentally friendly art.

Birmingham-born Angie arrived in Australia in 2007, and came to the Illawarra in 2011. Moving from a city to the sea created a shift away from graphic illustration to showing landscapes and working in mixed media. Angie’s Illawarra landscapes have the veneer of weathered calm, concealing the process of layering, paring back, painting, sanding, and finally excavating hidden gems of bright colour. Like a geologist, she is interested in what lies beneath. She has exhibited at Black Gold and Egg and Dart, Thirroul, and the Terrarium Gallery, Wollongong.

In her collage workshops, Angie uses ‘flow’ techniques to guide people to experience breakthroughs in creativity. Her passion is helping people living with dementia and their carers to connect through materials that elicit nostalgia and reminiscing. She holds classes in her home studio and in regional art galleries and is influenced by Dada, John Stezaker and Eileen Agar.

Angie is also an art historian, having studied at Manchester Metropolitan University, and has lectured on illustration and collage in the UK.

Of collage, she says: “People are starting to understand its value for wellbeing. It has an easy starting place, requires few skills, and is fantastic for creativity, fun and hanging out with friends.”

Email Angie at angiecassart@gmail.com, see samples of her work at Angiecass.com or Instagram @angie cass_collage