Urgent 2nd Class: Creating Curious Collage , Dubious Documents, and Other Art From Ephemera

Peter Harmathy teaches secondary-school fine arts in Barrie, Ontario.

Nick Bantock achieved international fame through the publication of his
enormously popular Griffin and Sabine novels. Urgent 2nd Class is a
generously illustrated book aimed at both the serious artist and the
weekend dabbler.

In the book, Bantock shows us how to produce collages using any of the
16 methods described in its 16 chapters: stamps, photographs,
photocopies, maps, drawings, magazines, and others. Each chapter is
introduced by one page of instructions and tips, followed by numerous
inspirational examples. The book’s full-colour illustrations are a
delight to the eye and imagination.

Although Bantock’s ideas are venerable, his style (Victorian,
vintage, nostalgic) may not be to everyone’s liking. Urgent 2nd Class
gives us permission to peer into the zany machinations of an unstoppable
creative mind and at the same time provides a springboard to our own
creative inventions. Read, delight in, then create!