I'm trying to make it a habit to have a new mixed media piece to show you every Monday, or at least a glimpse of one in progress if I'm working on a larger piece. This week's treat is a new small piece, one that made me think I should also make collages that are easily framed and not just boxes. Boxes always have a special place in my heart, can't help it.
The collage here is made out of vintage photos sewn together and embellished with a bit of bookbinding mull and some tarnished vintage metal sequins my grandmother gave me when I was not yet a teenager. The dotted edges and the reverse side are from vintage book directory pages. Reverse sides fascinate me - I try to pay attention to finishing the backsides of my boxes in a way that complements the front (sometimes a bit obsessively); in this collage I've used the reverse sides of vintage photos as a substantial element. Old photos often have many markings and stains that are interesting on their own. These bits I've used are scraps left over from jewelry and collage projects, so the front sides have sort of lost their interestingness, but their shapes and the marks on the other side are still valuable raw materials for art.
A clear link can be found between my relationship with art materials and my general collector-ness! Nothing should be thrown away! There's a cool stain there; I like the edge there; that's a perfect frame for something circular! I should probably begin preparations for old age and let go a bit more, but I have no idea how I'd create anything then, since it's often the uselessness of an item that functions as the instigator for my projects. Are you the same? Are your materials trash in almost everyone else's opinion?
[EDIT: for sale here]