i have been working on new types of COLLAGES and would like to put out a call to my family and friends to collect for me things you think are interesting -PAPER AND OTHERWISE-, generally referred to as "ephemera". i want to use bits of everyday written/visual elements, incorporating them into collages. things i am looking out for are mostly vintage/old -as in 30's to 70's but new/unique is great too, unusual and weird are perfect!. condition does not matter, as long as it doesn't smell of smoke...and it doesn't cost anything. :)
· unique ticket stubs, passes
· handwritten notes (illegible fine), lists, letters, homework, recipes, directions
· old address books (i like the divider tabs)
· receipts, tags (price, sold, delivery, rare or strange)
· old mail, envelopes, stamps, unique postmarks (foreign is a bonus)
· old postcards, or newer corny ones
· old or new photos, worse is better, blurry/weird colors great, subject irrelevant
· pages from old/unusual books, old typed paper, ledgers
· old playing/flash cards, cards from games
· weird instruction manuals (need not be english), illustrations are a plus
· old pix from science, medical, nature, animal books/literature
· holy cards, religious pictures (will be given due reverence)
· little scraps of paper with cool numbers, words, pictures or letters
· vintage greeting cards (signed is fine) or wrapping paper pieces
anyway, you get the idea...pieces/parts are fine, whatever i don't use will be passed on to other collage artists or RECYCLED. the challenge in this is to look harder at common "trash" and see potential in odd or discarded items.
i have MANY other interests as far as collecting goes, there is a too-much-information list of my collections on my blog if you are bored. i will be adding pix of those some time soon, i see there are MANY bloggers out there interested in collecting and sharing the love! gotta do my little part...
thanks so much for reading + visiting, try something creative every day!
i started doing art in my journals in college, and painting time was the only time i felt sane and in control. it took me years to realize i needed this consistently. i did projects here and there, and in between was a wreck. i was in and out of therapy, on and off meds (heavy anti-depressants at this point) and basically just trying to get from day to day. i did hold down a job at a group home for autistic adults, which was the most amazing job i could have imagined. these clients were some of the most interesting people i ever met. as i did art with them, i learned how powerful it was as a communication tool. i began doing more for myself, and started a collage journal - cut and paste mostly. if you knew how many hours and days i spent cutting up magazines...it only helped part of my life. my job was challenging and my life was getting serious.
at some point i gave up, and everything crashed down on me. i took a bunch of meds and ended up in the psych ward for 3 weeks. as i laughed at those aides who tried to coerce me into the craft room to make potholders, i found strips of embroidered ribbons and tassels. i wanted them. so i started a "pillow" of hoarded scraps which got bigger and bigger over the 3 weeks i was there. then i had my boyfriend (now my husband) bring in my journal and magazines and glue, and i was allowed to have scissors under supervision. apparently they hadn't noticed the sculpture i created out of the wire hanger i found in my room (?!). when i had my things in my hands i was strong - i had a place to hide and a means to have authority over my mind. i remember the curiosity and interest my art and supplies triggered..and wide-eyed glares from the social workers and nurses. made me smile....
