Artworks labeled as mixed media were made by combining more than one medium. Such works defy easy classification and are often the product of experimentation and invention. Collage is an early type of mixed media in which cut or torn scraps of paper, fabric, or other materials, are adhered to a common background. Collage gained popularity at the beginning of the twentieth century with the Cubists and Dada artists, who admired the medium’s ability to unite disparate ideas and materials. Closely related to collage is assemblage, in which three dimensional objects are cobbled together into a whole. Contemporary practitioners of assemblage include artists Agathe Snow, Matt Mullican, and Tom Dale.

Mixed media artists might use textiles or other materials not necessarily associated with fine art. Frida Baranek prints onto sheets of silk, while Jill Galliéni uses expressive stitching to craft her enigmatic fabric works. Some mixed media artists incorporate unexpected, recycled materials into their work. For example, Leo Fitzmaurice repurposes cigarette cartons, whose tiny advertisements captivate him, to create tiny sculptures. A mixed media artwork may begin as a single medium, like a painting or a print, and then have items collaged, drawn, or printed on to the surface. For a series of her work, the artist Naomi Vona begins with a photograph and alters the original with hand drawn marks, stickers, and other interventions. Mixed media is distinguished from multimedia because the latter typically includes electronic or digital elements like audio or video.