I LOVE the idea of the collaged cards. Maybe this is the inspiration I need to continue my series, I have flailed without the restraint of the rolodex cards. I always get so many idea and things to think about in your weekly posts!
Your series, with eyes, was wonderful, Laura! Cards offer a ready substrate, just like the small cards you were using. I can see you having fun with cards. I would also think collage with zine as context would be something that might hook you. And thank you!
Amy, I don’t know how you do it. All that work with paper and you still come up with an involved, involuted—wonderful—posting. I have piles of mending and quilting that I just can’t seem to get to. And I don’t think my writing is a careful as yours.
I’d love to collage. Maybe in another universe. Meanwhile, I’m trying to knit a dishrag.
Well, it's not the primary subject of this essay, but I'm smitten with the sketch of the woman. The color is almost liquid, as though it was fluid moments earlier, and her pose as though she might actually start buttoning that shift. Just wonderful.
The collage work is also captivating, and I can imagine it being very satisfying when you find just the right image or words to round out a feeling. The last time I did any collage work it was for a vision board of some sort, and I kept the results for a very long time. If I still have them now, I have no idea where they are, but they might turn up one day when I make my way through my own piles.
You do daily December puzzle? How cool is that!? Also, what Fran said. 🎯
Thank you, Elizabeth. I really appreciate the words about the portrait. Scaling back to a fuller figure isn't something I do often, but I really enjoyed this muse, and the color is so warm. Thank you. Daily puzzle ... they are sort of a "thing" -- but this is our third year of doing these. One small box is usually only a few minutes and not "quite" enough... but it's fun and easily settles in as a short ritual at a certain point in the day.
Thank you for your comment -- and the card collage is probably very much like the vision board felt.... it's not complicated or trying to be more than an assemblage.... but it's still somehow captivating. There are SO many awesome words though. Just adding one or two is an exercise in restraint. There were far too many choices on the one I made with you in mind.
I'm grinning about you having too many words for me. I do talk a lot, don't I? 😅 I'm smiling even more knowing you were making a collage with me in mind. That is AMAZING!
Thank you, Fran, and I know your writing is always careful, observant, and delightful. Thank you for appreciating the writing -- not just the surface narrative of collage, although the collage itself is definitely a low-lift and soothing exercise.... almost exactly like piecing with fabric, so I know you know that sensation. I hope you are enjoying the knitting. And, Fran, my thoughts are with you and your family this holiday season. I am wishing you all peaceful days.
Amy, thank you for your kind words. I too have kept piles of papers ripped from magazines with the idea that sometime I would make a collage. Finally, I had to toss it all because I know I will never get to that project. Also, I get far fewer magazines now. I subscribe to a lot of periodicas online. Wishing you the best for the holidays also.
The tactile ritual of sorting and gluing fragments really captures something deeper about how we assemble meaning from disparate pieces. I especially dig the idea of treating old cards as a readymade substrate instead of blank canvas. I've got stacks of magazine tearsheets sitting aroud and this makes me wanna finally use them for somthing intentional instead of just hoarding inspiration.
Thank you for this comment -- and this is exactly it! This assemblage of meaning from disparate pieces... yes. I think I am similar in tending to just tuck away all the clippings and tear sheets. It is satisfying to put some of them to use. I hope you find a glue stick and play with arranging bits and pieces that jump out at you.
That felt like such a fun find, Melissa, that one panel. Big mish mash is my approach... sift and sort on the spot. It is definitely a bit of panning for gold, but that softens because you quickly see that even small slivers hold their own in juxtaposition. Have a good week!
Thank you -- And I really hope your semester is now over, and you are able to enjoy some time to yourself and enjoying the end of the year in whatever way is most meaningful to you and your family!
Thank you, Amy. I appreciate this so much. The semester is over, and I am in full Mimi mode for Christmas. Of course, I am also working on setting up my classes that begin in January. Between now and then, I will have to find my way to a regular writing routine. I don't want to give up my various newsletters, but I also don't see any way humanly possible to stay on track. I don't know how people write when they have full-time jobs!
Hi, Amy - I, too, was very taken with the portrait of the woman, and the color of her shirt! It's so fluid, almost liquid, and yet saturated (even on my tiny laptop screen) all at the same time. I feel like the shirt moves if I look at it slant... really remarkable.
Two weekends ago, there was something in St. Louis known as The Print Bizarre, where local print artists gather in one area of the city to display their work, and I could not stop obsessing over a print one woman had taken of one of her collages. I would have bought the collage itself if it had been there (she had already sold it). Ever since then, I can't shake the niggling feeling that I am being called to start experimenting! Do you have any practical recommendations - scissors you love? glue? I'll take any guidance at all! As always, thank you for the inspiration! xx
Hi Francesa - Thank you for your comment about the portrait. The Print Bizarre you went to must have been wonderful, and I would love to have seen the print of the collage that so captivated you. You should, indeed, explore! I'm just playing, and given that, I'm not fussy - just using scissors I have and a glue stick. As with most things, you probably don't need fancy tools - just a pile of scraps! I hope your December is going smoothly.
I’ve been quiet, though still reading your offerings. My husband died last September after a 3.5 year struggle, and I haven’t had the bandwidth to do much. I was inspired by your collage on old cards. An art friend gifted me about 100 postcards last year and I haven’t known what to do with them. Your post inspired me to make some holiday cards to send to a select few (I don’t often send cards at this time of year) and it has been satisfying and extremely entertaining. Hmmm..would make a good 100 day project?
I love this so much, Adah. I am very sorry for your loss. That you saw this and collaged some postcards from your stack is inspiring and wonderful, and I am so happy that you enjoyed the tactile process. I know those who receive your cards will be thrilled and will love looking at the bits and pieces you assembled. I think collaged postcards would be an excellent 100 day project! Thank you for letting me know you are still reading - and I'm very glad to hear from you.
I just remembered a collage item that I love. It’s a bookmark, a 4x6 card with some images collaged onto it. The maker punched holes in one narrow end and crocheted scallops through them using lilac yarn. A used bookstore had a box of them they were giving out free. I wish I had taken more.
They gave me the number of the woman who made them but when I called her she didn’t want to talk about them. So I let it drop. This was several years ago—gosh, time gets away from us oldsters. It was probably 15-17 years ago.
I'm feeling the call of collage too! I made some with students this week. Fun!
I bet that was a great tactile experience for everyone! Freeform? Or did you weave that exercise into something with narrative?
I LOVE the idea of the collaged cards. Maybe this is the inspiration I need to continue my series, I have flailed without the restraint of the rolodex cards. I always get so many idea and things to think about in your weekly posts!
Your series, with eyes, was wonderful, Laura! Cards offer a ready substrate, just like the small cards you were using. I can see you having fun with cards. I would also think collage with zine as context would be something that might hook you. And thank you!
Amy, I don’t know how you do it. All that work with paper and you still come up with an involved, involuted—wonderful—posting. I have piles of mending and quilting that I just can’t seem to get to. And I don’t think my writing is a careful as yours.
I’d love to collage. Maybe in another universe. Meanwhile, I’m trying to knit a dishrag.
Well, it's not the primary subject of this essay, but I'm smitten with the sketch of the woman. The color is almost liquid, as though it was fluid moments earlier, and her pose as though she might actually start buttoning that shift. Just wonderful.
The collage work is also captivating, and I can imagine it being very satisfying when you find just the right image or words to round out a feeling. The last time I did any collage work it was for a vision board of some sort, and I kept the results for a very long time. If I still have them now, I have no idea where they are, but they might turn up one day when I make my way through my own piles.
You do daily December puzzle? How cool is that!? Also, what Fran said. 🎯
Thank you, Elizabeth. I really appreciate the words about the portrait. Scaling back to a fuller figure isn't something I do often, but I really enjoyed this muse, and the color is so warm. Thank you. Daily puzzle ... they are sort of a "thing" -- but this is our third year of doing these. One small box is usually only a few minutes and not "quite" enough... but it's fun and easily settles in as a short ritual at a certain point in the day.
Thank you for your comment -- and the card collage is probably very much like the vision board felt.... it's not complicated or trying to be more than an assemblage.... but it's still somehow captivating. There are SO many awesome words though. Just adding one or two is an exercise in restraint. There were far too many choices on the one I made with you in mind.
I'm grinning about you having too many words for me. I do talk a lot, don't I? 😅 I'm smiling even more knowing you were making a collage with me in mind. That is AMAZING!
Thank you, Fran, and I know your writing is always careful, observant, and delightful. Thank you for appreciating the writing -- not just the surface narrative of collage, although the collage itself is definitely a low-lift and soothing exercise.... almost exactly like piecing with fabric, so I know you know that sensation. I hope you are enjoying the knitting. And, Fran, my thoughts are with you and your family this holiday season. I am wishing you all peaceful days.
Amy, thank you for your kind words. I too have kept piles of papers ripped from magazines with the idea that sometime I would make a collage. Finally, I had to toss it all because I know I will never get to that project. Also, I get far fewer magazines now. I subscribe to a lot of periodicas online. Wishing you the best for the holidays also.
Fran
The tactile ritual of sorting and gluing fragments really captures something deeper about how we assemble meaning from disparate pieces. I especially dig the idea of treating old cards as a readymade substrate instead of blank canvas. I've got stacks of magazine tearsheets sitting aroud and this makes me wanna finally use them for somthing intentional instead of just hoarding inspiration.
Thank you for this comment -- and this is exactly it! This assemblage of meaning from disparate pieces... yes. I think I am similar in tending to just tuck away all the clippings and tear sheets. It is satisfying to put some of them to use. I hope you find a glue stick and play with arranging bits and pieces that jump out at you.
I love the comic frame you used in the first photo! I love collage but I'm no good at sorting and saving-i just have a big bin of mish mash !
That felt like such a fun find, Melissa, that one panel. Big mish mash is my approach... sift and sort on the spot. It is definitely a bit of panning for gold, but that softens because you quickly see that even small slivers hold their own in juxtaposition. Have a good week!
♥️♥️♥️
I love your posts. They always make me want to look for ideas. I'm not artistic, but I might be able to work with collage. Thank you, Amy!
Thank you -- And I really hope your semester is now over, and you are able to enjoy some time to yourself and enjoying the end of the year in whatever way is most meaningful to you and your family!
Thank you, Amy. I appreciate this so much. The semester is over, and I am in full Mimi mode for Christmas. Of course, I am also working on setting up my classes that begin in January. Between now and then, I will have to find my way to a regular writing routine. I don't want to give up my various newsletters, but I also don't see any way humanly possible to stay on track. I don't know how people write when they have full-time jobs!
I love collaging, I love the whole process of finding beauty in things that would otherwise be thrown away and then making it into something new.
Me, too, Sophie! Thank you for reading and for expressing how collage lets you connect with that thread of finding and making.
Hi, Amy - I, too, was very taken with the portrait of the woman, and the color of her shirt! It's so fluid, almost liquid, and yet saturated (even on my tiny laptop screen) all at the same time. I feel like the shirt moves if I look at it slant... really remarkable.
Two weekends ago, there was something in St. Louis known as The Print Bizarre, where local print artists gather in one area of the city to display their work, and I could not stop obsessing over a print one woman had taken of one of her collages. I would have bought the collage itself if it had been there (she had already sold it). Ever since then, I can't shake the niggling feeling that I am being called to start experimenting! Do you have any practical recommendations - scissors you love? glue? I'll take any guidance at all! As always, thank you for the inspiration! xx
Hi Francesa - Thank you for your comment about the portrait. The Print Bizarre you went to must have been wonderful, and I would love to have seen the print of the collage that so captivated you. You should, indeed, explore! I'm just playing, and given that, I'm not fussy - just using scissors I have and a glue stick. As with most things, you probably don't need fancy tools - just a pile of scraps! I hope your December is going smoothly.
I’ve been quiet, though still reading your offerings. My husband died last September after a 3.5 year struggle, and I haven’t had the bandwidth to do much. I was inspired by your collage on old cards. An art friend gifted me about 100 postcards last year and I haven’t known what to do with them. Your post inspired me to make some holiday cards to send to a select few (I don’t often send cards at this time of year) and it has been satisfying and extremely entertaining. Hmmm..would make a good 100 day project?
I love this so much, Adah. I am very sorry for your loss. That you saw this and collaged some postcards from your stack is inspiring and wonderful, and I am so happy that you enjoyed the tactile process. I know those who receive your cards will be thrilled and will love looking at the bits and pieces you assembled. I think collaged postcards would be an excellent 100 day project! Thank you for letting me know you are still reading - and I'm very glad to hear from you.
Thank you, Amy. Sending wishes for any happy holiday you happen to celebrate! 🥰
I just remembered a collage item that I love. It’s a bookmark, a 4x6 card with some images collaged onto it. The maker punched holes in one narrow end and crocheted scallops through them using lilac yarn. A used bookstore had a box of them they were giving out free. I wish I had taken more.
They gave me the number of the woman who made them but when I called her she didn’t want to talk about them. So I let it drop. This was several years ago—gosh, time gets away from us oldsters. It was probably 15-17 years ago.