Tag Archives: Collages

Jun6

What Do I Do Now That I Have All This Time on My Hands?

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I stay busy.

Between writing and scheduling blog posts, staying in touch with friends, reading, and creating art, I barely have time to wash the dishes, exercise, or meditate. However, in Facebook groups for vandwellers and other internet resources for people who live nomadically, I regularly encounter people asking for advice on what to do now that they aren’t working full-time, permanent jobs. Some people have never had free time before, so they’ve not learned how to entertain themselves. Others are fine as long as they’re moving from place to place and seeing new things, but if an injury or lack of money means they have to sit on public land or in the same town for a week or two, they’re bored out of their minds.

For all the nomads who are trying for the first time to figure out what to do with themselves and for folks who want to try something(s) new, I offer ten activities to fill your time now that you own your life.

#1 Explore the public library. As may have been evident from my post 10 Ways to Save Money on the Road, I’m a big fan of public libraries. Even if you don’t have a library card, you can probably hang out away from inclement weather; use a computer to surf the web; read books and magazines; view art; and attend free movies, concerts, lectures, and classes.

Some public libraries will issue library cards to nonresidents. If you can score a library card, you may be able to enjoy books, music, and movies in the privacy of your own rig.

I encountered this Little Free Library in my travels.

#2 Read! I’m also a big fan of reading. If you can’t borrow books from a public library, get books from Little Free Libraries. Find inexpensive books at thrift stores and library book sales. If you’re staying in a campground, check for a library in the clubhouse or office.

If you rather look at photos and read short articles, acquire magazines instead of books. Magazines can often be had at thrift stores and library book sales for 10 cents or a quarter each–if they’re not outright free. Maybe you have a friend in another town with a magazine subscription who will put together a care package of back issues and send them to you via general delivery.

If you don’t like to read, but you do like to listen to stories, consider audiobooks. How cozy would it be to lie in your bed and have a talented voice actor read you a bedtime (or nap time) story? If you like the classics, Open Culture offers links to over 900 free audiobooks. For more options, Book Riot offers a list of “11 Websites to Find Free Audiobooks Online.” These are all legal audio book options.

#3 Listen to podcasts. Similar to audiobooks, you can listen to podcasts while driving, cooking, folding laundry, or cleaning the rig. Some podcasts are educational; some are entertaining. You can learn all about finding free podcasts in a 2017 Wired article called “The Beginner’s Guide to Podcasts.”

If you’re wondering what podcasts I like, read my post about my favorites.

(Note: When listening to podcasts or audiobooks, use headphones or make sure your volume is low enough not to bother others. Folks who go into the wilderness to hear birdsong don’t necessarily want to hear what you consider entertainment.)

#4 Learn to do something new. If you’ve always wanted to (fill in the blank with an activity of your choice), but never had the time, your time has come. The Instructables website shares directions for almost any DIY project, craft, or van-home improvement project you can think of. You can learn a lot on YouTube too. I taught myself to macramé hemp jewelry, and The Man learned how to replace drum brakes by watching YouTube videos, so I suspect most folks could use YouTube to learn a new skill.

#5 Play a musical instrument. Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a lapsed musician, use your spare time to play an instrument. The Man carries an acoustic guitar in his mini van so he can play whenever he gets the urge. Coyote Sue often practices her flute while boondocking on public land. If space is at a premium, go for something small like a ukulele, a piccolo, a kazoo, or a harmonica. If you’re lacking space and/or money to buy something, remember, your voice makes music too.

(Note: As with podcasts and audiobooks, please make sure your musical endeavors don’t disturb others. When camping or boondocking on public land, let the sounds of nature prevail.)

I whipped up these postcards from collage fodder Coyote Sue sent me.

#6 Write Letters. Don’t think you have to be a great writer to wrtite letters to your friends and family. Trust me, your people will be so excited to get what I call “real mail,” they’ll barely care about what you write. If you’re too shy to write to the adults, write to the children. Kids always seem super excited to get mail.

If you don’t think you have enough to say to justify writing a letter, send a postcard. In tourist towns, I usually find postcards costing between 20 and 50 cents each. At thrift stores, I’ve found postcards as cheap as a nickel each. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never been to the place on the postcard. People like pretty photos, even if you’ve never seen the landmark in question.

If you need a creative project, make your own postcards like I did.

#7 Keep a journal. If you don’t much like writing, make it more like a log book where you record where you stayed, what you did, weather, gas mileage, or any information you might want to remember later. If you rather draw than write, sketch the trees, the people you meet, the critters you see.

#8 Get artsy–or crafty. Find ways to get in touch with your creative side that don’t require lots of materials or tools that take up too much of your precious space. Paint watercolors the size of postcards. Make collages. Decorate the

This is how Coyote Sue has been decorating the inside of her rig. She gave me permission to use this photo.

interior of your rig. Sketch your campsite. Make jewelry. Make your own greeting cards or postcards. Sculpt with air-dry clay. Whittle.

#9 Take some photos. With today’s technology, you don’t need a fancy schmancy camera to take decent photographs. Most smartphone cameras let you use filters on your photos; adjust contrast, sharpness, and exposure; crop your image; and doodle right on the picture. With all these bells and whistles, you can take a decent photo and turn it into an awesome photo. Of course, if you don’t know the basics of composition, you’ll want to learn that too, courtesy of ePHOTOzine.

A good place to start learning to use your camera phone is an article by Photography Concentrate called “Smartphone Photography 101.” Once you have the basics down, take your photography skills to the next level by following the suggestions Rebecca Moses offers in her article “Finding Your Inner Photographer: Making the Most of Your Camera.”

#10 Get close to nature. If you’re on public land, put on your sturdy shoes and go for a hike or a little walk, if that’s what you’re up for. Sit still and listen to the birds sing. If you’re in a city, get closer to nature in a park or arboretum. Learn to identify the trees, flowers, and/or medicinal plants in the area you’re in. At night look up at the sky and find the constallations. Paying attention to the cycles of nature could keep a person occupied for days, weeks, months, or even years.

I got close to this nature while boondocking outside Natural Bridges National Monument.

I hope this post inspires you to try some new things and figure out what fun activities make you happy as they fill your free time. Feel free to share what you do to stay busy in the comments below.

I took all the photos in this post with the exception of the one of Coyote Sue’s rig decorating endeavors, which I used with her permission.

 

Apr6

Dancing with the Lights

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Nolagirl and I were out and about at night in Phoenix, off to see the art of Aileen Frick at a locally owned hotel called FOUND:RE.

We’d discovered Aileen Frick at the Grand Avenue Festival. Actually, Nolagirl discovered her.

She called me over quietly but urgently. You’ve got to see this, she said with excitement in her voice. I joined her in front of a large-scale painting…but wait! It wasn’t just a painting…it was a collage too, but collage in a way I’d never seen done before. Say the artist wanted a tree in her scene. She wouldn’t go through magazines, find an image of a tree, cut it out, and stick it to her canvan. Oh no, not this artist. This artist found different shades of green in magazines, ripped out green bits by hand, then reassembled the paper into a tree! By reading her bio, we learned that later in the process, she painted over and around the images made of paper to tie together all of the elements of her creation. Her finished results were amazing! It was from the bio that we learned the name of the person who created this collage magic: Aileen Frick.

Frick creates large-scale beautiful cityscapes through which featureless people walk while living their ordinary lives. The cities are recognizable to those in the know, and it’s fun to identify places you’re been, but there’s something dream-like about the landscapes too. They’re based in reality, but they’re not quite real.

Image of A Fresh Spin used with permission of Aileen Frick.

From a distance Frick’s pieces look misleadingly like photographs, but upon closer inspection, the viewer can appreciate the time-consuming tearing and matching of colors that went into the work. In some of her creations, words that match the theme of the piece have been discretely included in the scene.

It may be cliché to say I was moved by Frick’s art, but it’s an easy way to explain how I felt. My heart was moved. My brain was moved. My spirit of creativity was moved. Frick’s technique and her end results left me feeling breathless and giddy. Frick’s art inspired me to create, not by copying her but by getting in touch with my own style. I think I had an immdiate crush on Frick’s collage/painting hybrids.

We came around a corner and there was Aileen Frick in the flesh! She was working on a new creation right there in the gallery.

When we walked up, she was talking with another fan. We waited patiently for our turn.

The other woman walked away, and we stood there with Frick and her easel. I tried to stay coherant as I gushed about how much I was enjoying and appreciating her work. She was so friendly and personable and gracious! I wanted to take her and her art home with me. (Of course, I lived in a van, so I had no room for her or her large-scale art. She probably had her own place anyway.)

A few weeks later, Frick posted on her Facebook page information about an upcoming showing of her work at the FOUND:RE hotel in Phoenix. Can we go? Can we go? I asked Nolagirl. She said we could.

FOUND:RE was full of art that night. We saw a lot of good work, inclduing at least a half dozen pieces by Aileen Frick. As a special treat, we got the see the recently completed piece we’d seen her workig on during the Grand Street Festival.

Frick was there too, and she recognized me and Nolagirl. Maybe she didn’t remember when and where we’d met, but she did remember we were fans. She stopped to talk to us and thank us for coming out on opening night. Once again, she was very gracious and kind. Aileen Frick is not just a fantastic artist; she’s also a friendly and sweet person.

A highlight of the evening (in addition to seeing Frick’s art and telling her hello) was when an art dealer tried to sell me and Nolagirl some art. We were looking at some pop art pieces near the bar when a slick-looking man came up to us and started talking about prices. We expressed scant interest, and he wandered away. We agreed we appreciated being mistaken for people who could afford to buy art.

I think we were on our way out when we walked across the lobby and noticed the colorful patterns projected onto the floor. What are those? I wondered. That’s when the lights moved.

We realized quickly that the patterns were motion activated. Our movements made the light patterns move across the floor, then we reacted to the movment of the lights. Soon Nolagirl and I were dancing, skipping, swooping, whirling, and twilrling across the lobby as we played with the lights. It was interactive fun.

Nolagirls says, “This one would drop confetti when you walked/ran/danced through.” That’s me in the upper left of the photo in my red boots and elephant skirt.

I think the guy at the front desk who controlled the projector was amused by us. I’m sure it’s not every day that a couple of middle aged ladies dance through his lobby and play with the lights on the floor like cats going after the red dot of a lazer pointer. Several times he changed the patterns, telling us each time that we would like the new one. He was never wrong.

Nolagirl says this pattern reminds her of Charlie’s Angels. I’m twirling right out of the photo.

A couple of times, tipsy peoiple leaving the bar saw us having fun and joined in our play. They seemed to enjoy themselves too, but soon wandered off to the next stop of the night. Nolagirl and I must have played with those light patterns for twenty or thirty minutes. Finally, we thanked the front desk worker for indulging us, then we too walked out into the night.

As we exited the building, we took the time to take photos of the neon message on the front of the building. “Find Yourself” it commanded. I think we already had.

Thanks to a kind friend who–when Nolagirl and I told her this story–asked why I hadn’t shared it in a blog post. Also, endless gratitude to Nolagirl who’s always up for an adventure and can talk to anyone from the Queen of England to a dirty trainhopper kid with interest and respect. Nolagirl’s friendship makes me brave.

First two photos courtesy of Nolagirl. The last photo was taken by me. Nolagirl also contributed to some of the writing about Aileen Frick’s art.

 

 

 

Mar16

Animal Collages

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My friend sent me a copy of The Crafter’s Complete Guide to Collage by Amanda Pearce. I felt like I’ve already mastered many of the techniques included in the book, such as the use of found objects and basic composition. However, I was fascinated by the chapter on paper collage, especially the section dealing with the grain of papers, mixing textures, and ripping versus cutting edges. The chapter made me think in new ways about using paper.

Then I was in a thrift store and found a stack of those wildlife cards marketed to kids in the 1970s and 80s. I was rummaging through them, considering the collage possibilities when I saw a naked mole rat! A naked mole rat! The Lady of the House had recently told me the naked mole rat is the favorite animal of The Man of the House because the critter seems to have to ability to live forever–or at least they don’t appear to “go through the gradual (and eventually rapid) process of self-destruction that we think of as aging.” The odds of finding a good photo of a naked mole rat in a thrift store seemed slim, and I felt like maybe the universe was prompting me to create some art for The Man of the House.

Will you humor me while I talk about my process?

Of course, first I cut out the photo of the naked mole rat. Then I went through my papers and found some colors I thought would go together nicely. I tore the edges of the papers for added visual interest, then glued the papers onto a piece of canvas panel board I’d picked up at a different thrift shop. I glued the photo of the rodent onto a button then glued the button onto the board to lift the photo slightly off the surface.

The words in the talk bubble are in reference to the lyrics to the song “Fame” (from the movie Fame). In the song, lyricist Irene Cara writes, “(Fame) I’m gonna live forever.” I thought it would be funny if a creature that doesn’t age (in the way most of the world understands aging)  was singing about living forever.

The stars were the last addition to the piece, necessary, I thought to perk it up and pull all of the elements together. I knew The Man of the House wouldn’t like glitter, but maybe shiny stars weren’t going too far.

After I finished this gift for The Man of the House, I wanted to make something for the Lady of the House too. She is a big fan of the blue-footed booby, and I just so happened to have a photo of two of them I’d cut out from a magazine some time ago.

Again, I tore the edges of the papers and glued them to the canvas board. I cut as close as possible around the edges of the birds, then glued them down next. Blue stars added a little bit of dazzle, as did the sparkly blue squares on the bottom corners. The blue “sun” is a button, and I glued a light blue bit of bling to a white heart. Of course, the little song the birds are singing to each other is a takeoff of the old standard “Tea for Two.”

By the time you read this post, The Man and Lady of the House will have received these gifts. I hope they go over well.

Dec3

Another Batch of New Collages

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I’ve created another batch of new collages. They are all for sale, just in time for the winter holidays. (Prices are given in the captions under the photos.)

I decided to spend a week dedicated to making new collages. In addition to the postcard size ones I usually make, I decided I wanted to go bigger too. The collages in this post are the result of my week of cutting out then gluing down little bits of paper.

Every bit of every one of these collages was cut from an old magazine or catalog or acquired from a thrift store or junk shop. I didn’t buy any new materials for these pieces of art! How’s that for Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle?

The first one I made was a large (14″ x 11″) mixed media piece about my feelings surrounding money. Called The Root of all Worry, it took me at least six hours to complete. My favorite part of it is the little treasure chest full of coins in the bottom left corner..

This piece is called The Root of All Worry, and it’s big. It’s approximately 14″ x 11″ and is one of the biggest collages I’ve ever done. WOW! It costs, $100, including shipping.

My next collage is called Follow Your Heart. This one is mixed media too. I really enjoyed working with more than paper.

This piece is called Follow Your Heart and is approximately 8″ x 7.” It’s made with more than just paper. There’s a key in there and a red die, a metal heart, a plastic heart, and a really big rhinestone. The wooden heart in the middle projects from the base. The piece costs, $35, including shipping.

On the day I made Follow Your Heart, I also made Be Kind. I was pretty excited to create two collages in one day. Be Kind is also a mixed media piece. I told you I was really digging mixed media.

This collage is called Be Kind. I like that the little card with the words on it is distressed. Sometimes being kind is hard! We should do it anyway! It’s approximately 4″ x 6″ and is for sale for $15, including shipping.

On the third day of my collage week, I had to travel, so I only got one done. It’s called Great Day.

This collage is called Great Day. It’s about 4″ x 6″ (actually a smidge bigger) and is made from paper and metal on cardboard. It costs $15, including shipping.

On the fourth day of collage week, I worked on a big one. It’s called Who’s the Queen?

Who Is the Queen? YOU are the queen!
This mixed media piece is approxiamtely 12 and 3/4″ x 9 and 7/8″ and costs $65, including shipping.
( The oval in the middle below the large queen is an actual mirror! )

Just in time for the holidays…a reminder to Look on the Bright Side. 

This piece is called Look on the Bright Side and is made from cardboard and clippings from old magazines and catalogs. It’s a smidge over 4″ x 6″ and it’s prices at $15 includes shipping. (The piece does include glitter. )

 What will today bring? Find out by giving the arrow a spin and seeing where it lands. Road trip? Tell it like it is? Misuse of time? Quit your job? Be prepared?

This collage, called What Will Today Bring? was made from a game piece rescued from the trash and clippings from old magazines and catalogs. It costs $65, including shipping. It’s approximately 7″ x 8 1/2.”

Bee Kind…to bugs and plants, the earth and each other. This collage was handmade from a post card saved from the recycling bin, a wooden ladybug from the bottom of the thrift store barrel, metal accents scavenged from old jewelry, and clippings from old magazines and catalogs. It’s a great gift for the nature lover/reuse enthusiast on your holiday shopping list.

This piece, called Bee Kind is 4″ x 6″ and is available for $15, including shipping.

Go ahead. Start Your Transformation Today. This collage can help by reminding you of your goals every time you look at it.

This collage is called Start Your Transformation Today. It was made from a postcard about to go into the recycling bin and clippings from old magazines and catalogs. It’s approximately 4″ x 6″ and costs only $10, including shipping!

The last collage I made in my on my seventh day of collaging is called You are Capable of Amazing Things.

This collage is called You Are Capable of Amazing Things. It is approximately 4″ x 6″ and costs, $15, including shipping.

May19

New Collages and New Necklaces

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This post is just a quickie to let folks know I’ve posted photos of two new collages and a WHOLE BUNCH of new necklaces to the appropriate pages of this blog. All items are for sale at very reasonable prices.

If you are looking for a particular type of pendant on your hemp necklace and don’t see a photo of what you want, let me know. I have many, many, many more necklaces not pictured on the blog, as well as lots of beads and pendants I can use to do custom pieces.

I will have all necklaces pictured on the “Jewelry for Sale” page available for purchase by tourists starting tomorrow. You might like something, only to find it is gone when you contact me. I apologize in advance if such a thing happens. I will update the page as soon as I can after an item sells, but I am moving into the time of the year when I may not have internet access every day. I appreciate the patience and understanding of my patrons.

If you are in Truth or Consequences, NM, you can see more of my collages at Grapes Art Gallery at 407 Main Street.

And if I could just ask for a little more support…

If you read a post you like, please click the “Like” button at the end of it, or leave a comment. It helps me to know folks are reading and enjoying my writing. Readership has been really low this week, and I’m beginning to wonder again why I even bother. If you want to keep seeing these posts, please let me know.

And while I’m asking for your attention, if you are on Facebook, please consider liking my pages, Blaizin’ Sun Creations, where I post the items I have for sell, and the Rubber Tramp Artist page. Also, you can invite your Facebook friends to like those pages too.

I’ll leave you today with images of the two collages I posted today.

This collage, entitled It Is What It Is, is 4″ X 6.” It is made from paper on a postcard that was intercepted from the recycling bin. It costs $20, including postage.

 

This collage, entitled Keep Growing, is 4″ X 6.” It is made from paper on a postcard that was intercepted from the recycling bin. It costs $20, including postage.

I took the photos in this post.
Dec2

Even More New Collages

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I’ve been making so many collages during my current house sitting gig. It helps that I have a lot of time on my hands and not so many obligations. Finding all those catalogs at the post office and cutting out so many new colors and images and designs has really gotten me excited about making collages too. I especially like to work on collages while I’m watching food shows on TV. Oh, Food Network and Cooking Channel, how delicious you are!

Here are my latest little pieces of art, all available for purchase.

This collage is called It Is What It Is. It is 4" x 6" and is made from a postcard about to go in the recycling bin and little bits of paper. The price is $20, including shipping.

This collage is called It Is What It Is. The dimensions are 4″ x 6″ and is made from a postcard about to go in the recycling bin and little bits of paper. The price is $20, including shipping.

 

This collage is called Start Loving Yourself. The dimensions are 4" x 6," and the cost is $20, including postage. It is made from little bits of paper glued to a postcard headed to the recycling bin.

This collage is called Start Loving Yourself. The dimensions are 4″ x 6,” and the cost is $20, including postage. It is made from little bits of paper glued to a postcard intercepted from the recycling bin.

 

This collage is called Keep Growing and is made from paper on reclaimed postcard. The size is 4" x 6," and the cost is $20. including postage.

This collage is called Keep Growing and is made from paper on reclaimed postcard. The size is 4″ x 6,” and the cost is $20. including postage.

 

This collage is called Find Your True Nature. The dimensions are 4" x 6," and it's made from paper on a salvaged postcard. The cost is $20, including shipping.

This collage is called Find Your True Nature. The dimensions are 4″ x 6,” and it’s made from paper on a salvaged postcard. The cost is $20, including shipping.

 

This collage is called Peace. It was made on a salvaged postcard and is 4" x 6." The cost is $20, including postage.

This collage is called Peace. It was made on a salvaged postcard and is 4″ x 6.” The cost is $20, including postage.

Nov20

Lots of New Collages

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Collage fodder snatched from trash cans and recycling bin.

Collage fodder snatched from trash cans and recycling bin.

I’ve been on a huge collage kick during my current house sitting gig. It’s been a lot of fun. I really enjoy playing with color and working to get each little bit of paper in exactly the right spot.

I’d finished five or six collages and made a small dent in my collage fodder. When I went to the post office on Monday afternoon, I found so many catalogs in the trash can and the recycling bin. I guess everyone in town had started to receive winter holiday propaganda, but it seemed as if most people didn’t want it. Of course, I wish so much paper wasn’t used unnecessarily, but since it’s out in the world already…well, I can use it, so I gathered it up.

Clippings from catalogs

Clippings from catalogs

 

I spent several hours on Monday evening cutting images and colors from the catalogs and filing them in the accordion file I use for collage material. By the end of the night, I was restocked.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I made more collages. I have several new ones I present here to you. Every one was made with my hands and heart and brain, every one is for sale, and every one is signed. Buy one today (for yourself or as a gift), and you can have it in your hot little hands by the end of the week.

This collage, entitled Be Strong and Courageous, is 4" X 6." It is made from paper on a post card that was intercepted from the recycling bin.

This collage, entitled Be Strong and Courageous, is 4″ X 6.” It is made from paper on a postcard that was intercepted from the recycling bin. The price is $20, including postage.

 

This collage is called All is Well. It consists of paper on cardboard and is approximately 4" x 4 1/2."

This collage is called All is Well. It consists of paper on cardboard and is approximately 4″ x 4 1/2.” The heart on the upper right side is a broken button that extends from the piece. The price is $20, including postage.

 

This collage is called You Deserve the Best. It is made from paper on cardboard and is approximately 6" x 3 1/2."

This collage is called You Deserve the Best. It is made from paper on cardboard and is approximately 6″ x 3 1/2.” The price is $20, including postage.

 

This collage is called Find Who You Have Not Yet Become. It is made from paper on cardboard and is approximately 6 1/4" x 3 1/4." The price is $20, including shipping.

This collage is called Find Who You Have Not Yet Become. It is made from paper on cardboard and is approximately 6 1/4″ x 3 1/4.” The price is $20, including postage.

 

This collage is called An Adventure a Day...It is made from paper on cardboard. It is approximately 4 1/2" x 4 1/2," and costs $15, including postage.

This collage is called An Adventure a Day…It is made from paper on cardboard. It is approximately 4 1/2″ x 4 1/2,” and costs $15, including postage. The photo makes the colors look rather muted and blue. In reality, the colors are much more vibrant, and the car (for example) is more of an off-white.

 

This collage is called You Don't Have to Hold on to Your Past. It is made from paper on a postcard saved from the recycling bin.

This collage is called You Don’t Have to Hold on to Your Past. It is made from paper on a postcard saved from the recycling bin. The size is 4″ x 6,” and the price is $20, including postage.

 

This collage is quite a bit bigger than the others. It is approximately 8 1/2" x 6," and is called Explore the Wonderful World. it cost $20, including postage.

This collage is quite a bit bigger than the others. It is approximately 8 1/2″ x 6,” and is called Explore the Wonderful World. It’s made from paper on cardboard and costs $20, including postage.

This collage is called What Are You Waiting For? It is made from paper on cardboard. The size is approximately 4 1/2" x 3 3/4," and the cost is $15, including postage.

This collage is called What Are You Waiting For? It is made from paper on cardboard. The size is approximately 4 1/2″ x 3 3/4,” and the cost is $15, including postage.

 

This collage is called What's Your Next Move? It is made from paper on a postcard that was headed to the recycling bin. It is 6" x 4," and costs $20, including postage.

This collage is called What’s Your Next Move? It is made from paper on a postcard that was headed to the recycling bin. It is 6″ x 4,” and costs $20, including postage.

 

This collage is called Living the Life of Adventure and is made from paper on a postcard snatched from the recycling bin. The size is 6" x 4," and the cost is $15, including postage.

This collage is called Living the Life of Adventure and is made from paper on a postcard snatched from the recycling bin. The size is 6″ x 4,” and the cost is $15, including postage.

 

Aug31

Postcards

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I love to send postcards to my friends. It’s something I’ve enjoyed since I was a kid. Whenever my family traveled (infrequently), my goal was to find the least expensive postcards and send them to people I cared about.

As an adult, I still like to send postcards, especially when I want my friends to know I’m thinking about them but am too busy or tired to write a real letter. I like to find inexpensive postcards at thrift stores, so my friends often get mail featuring gorgeous color photos of places I’ve never visited.

I also like to make my own postcards. IMG_6710

The last time I was in Las Vegas, the Activist and the Poet offered me a thick stack of cards from events that had already happened. I took them, figuring I’d eventually use them in some art project.

IMG_6711Recently my artist pal Coyote Sue sent me a fat priority mail envelope stuffed with collage fodder (as she called it). I played with the magazine clippings for nearly an entire day, sorting through them and filing the images I planned to use in future collage projects. Many of the images were bigger than I typically use in collages, so I decided to make postcards too.

The first step was to cover the words printed on one side of the postcard. I used sticker labels I had on hand. (I don’t remember where I got the labels, but I always look for stickers at Goodwill Clearance Centers, where I pay for my purchases by the pound. Sometimes I also find stickers cheap at small-town thrift stores.) Although the stickers did not totally block out the printing on the postcards, once I wrote on the stickers, the printing was pretty well obscured.

Next I found images to cover the other side of the postcards. I used my paper cutter (also given to me by the Activist IMG_6714and the Poet) to make (more or less) straight cuts to remove the excess paper around each image. (I could have done this more quickly, easily, and accurately had I marked the images with an outline of a postcard before cutting. I was too lazy to get up and fetch a writing instrument, so I ended up doing more, less accurate work. Learn from my mistake!)

After an image was cut to the proper size, I put glue on its back side. I used glue I had on hand, something I’d bought for some project I worked on a couple of years ago. (Whenever I use glue, I end up with it on my hands and lots of other places I don’t want it. I’m convinced people who attend fancy art schools learn the secret of clean glue use. Lord knows I’ve never figured out the secret.) Once the glue was on the back of an image, I stuck it on a postcard, rubbed it IMG_6715down flat, and made sure the edges and corners were firmly in place.

The last step consisted of letting the glue dry.

With minimal work, I ended up with a stack of postcards at practically no cost to me.

Whenever I’m at thrift stores (especially thrift stores offering excellent prices), I look for materials for art projects, including postcards. IMG_6716Magazines are the obvious choice (many of the clippings Coyote Sue sent were from issues of National Geographic published in the 60s), but small calendars are also good finds. I recently made postcards from the nature scenes in a small calendar of images from Yosimite National Park.

I particularly enjoy using materials that other people might look at and consider trash. Making my own postcards is a fun way to stay in touch with friends while keeping discarded items out of the landfill or recycling center.

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These are some of the postcards I made from collage fodder and cards from an event that happened in the spring.

I took all of the photos in this post.

Aug5

Collage for Another Friend

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I don’t only make collages to sell. Sometimes I make collages as gifts.  I made this one for a friend recently.

My favorite part of this one is the tiny green padlock. The lock was given to me by another friend. He sent me two packages containing interesting little trinkets. The lock and its keys were included in the first package, and I was excited to work them into a collage. Here’s the result.

The quote is from the song “Already Gone,” popularized by The Eagles. According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Already_Gone_(Eagles_song), the song

was written by Jack Tempchin and Robb Strandlund and produced by Bill Szymczyk.

It’s my favorite quote in rock’ n ‘roll and a favorite subject for collages.