Project 1063 | Digital Project | Watercolor bleed & unsealed collage surface techniques

Let It Bleed

Project 1063 explores the opposite of sealing: what happens when watercolor is allowed to sink, spread, and soften into unsealed collage surfaces.

In this Curious Collage Society skill-building mixed media project, you’ll create a loose botanical composition while observing how watercolor behaves on open paper. You’ll see how pigment travels differently across torn versus cut edges, how absorption changes based on paper type, and how printed collage elements react depending on printer and ink choices

Rather than controlling every mark, this project encourages you to let materials do part of the work. The result is a finished piece that feels organic, unified, and naturally aged—where edges soften, layers blend, and restraint becomes a creative tool.

What You’ll Explore

• Working on unsealed collage surfaces

• Using torn versus cut edges intentionally

• Managing watercolor absorption and bleed

• Avoiding muddy color through restraint and pacing

How This Project Works

Designed as an experiment first and a finished piece second, Project 1063 teaches when to let materials change the work—and when to stop. You’ll practice noticing subtle shifts in paper, water, and pigment, building confidence in responding rather than correcting.

This project reinforces a core Curious Collage Society principle: sometimes the most powerful choice is allowing the work to soften instead of tightening control.

Search Terms

unsealed collage watercolor, watercolor bleed technique, curious collage society project, mixed media watercolor absorption, torn edge collage technique, botanical mixed media project, watercolor on paper collage, skill building mixed media pdf

Tear Up, Cut Up and Stick On