By Greg Morgan

Collage artist Jonathan Talbot has put his work on display all over the world, but his latest stop was Mesa State College.

Jonathan Talbot has art exhibited in venues internationally, but that was not what made him the man he is today. Talbot was invited to Mesa State’s campus by Assistant Professor of Art Debra Snider.
“It took us seven years to figure out a way that I could come here,” Talbot said.
But now that Talbot has left his home in Warwich, N.Y., to come here, the art department and other local artists are seizing the opportunity. Snider kept Talbot busy throughout his first week in Grand Junction. From April 19-23, Talbot presented to 12 classes. He will give workshops April 24 and May 1.
“It’s Deb from beginning to end and I’m grateful she’s put  as much energy in as she has,” Talbot said.
Talbot is grateful to everyone he’s met at Mesa.
“There are a whole bunch of people here who have made my visit pleasant,” he said.
Many would say Talbot came to Mesa to teach, but he would rather not be referred to as a teacher.
“I think of myself a sharer of information and a facilitator of learning,” he said.
He has really enjoyed his stay in Grand Junction.
“Can you imagine a better thing to do,” he said, “than to come to a beautiful part of the country that I’ve never been to before and meet students which turn out to be a student body that has impressed me in terms of its diversity in age and experience?”
Talbot, who was born in New York City, is internationally known for his work in collages.
“I’m the developer of a new process for making collages which involves preparing the materials, determining the composition, and then using heat to fuse the materials together,” he said.
Even though he was a developer of this process, he is not the first to use these methods of making art.
“I discovered it; I didn’t invent it,” Talbot said.
His reasoning behind doing collages as opposed to painting was very profound, and he said it so matter-of-factly that it was as though collages were as much of an instinct to him as walking or eating.
“Paint can be warm or cold, but basically it’s innocent,” he said. “Only after you paint or draw something does it take on a life of it’s own.”
Instead of using paint, which by itself cannot stand alone, he was drawn to using materials with a history. He was drawn to “the energy of the materials,” as he put it.
Collages also have its practical uses.
“When you put paint on a canvas you can’t say, ‘Hey it would look better four inches to the left,’” he said. “I really like the ability to improvise composition.”
Talbot has a career that most artists dream of.
“I’ve made a life for myself in my art and I’ve survived,” he said.
He’s also written books and visited various venues to share his work and his knowledge.
“Art has taken me from inside maximum security penitentiaries to the offices of major corporations,” he said, “and it has enabled me to celebrate the human condition, mourn the sorrows, protest the injustices, and explore the mysteries.”
He made it clear that his work is not the highlight of his life.
“It’s not the collages that make life worth living,” he said. “It’s the community.”
He has traveled many places to showcase his work, but it was the people who impacted him the most.
“Most of all, art has brought me into contact with thousands of creative, courageous, inspiring, and helpful artists the world over,” he said, “and that is perhaps it’s greatest gift.”
For more information about Talbot or information on his workshops you can visit his website at www.talbot1.com.
“A work of art: visual art, dance, theater, architecture, whatever it may be, is most fully realized when it most fully reflects or represents the experience set of the artist and the circumstances in which it was created.”