Today I'm joining in with the Paperphilia 'Paper Love' blog hop and taking it as a chance to debut the style of papery thing I've been working on, quietly for over a year now.
[I would say I'd been working on them 'secretly' but that sounds far more clandestine than it really is and it makes me seem paranoid. Which I'm not. Why? Who said I was paranoid?]
I haven't blogged any of these before so the only way you might have seen one would be if you've been curled up on the sofa next to me of an evening when I've been snipping out and sticking. Have you been? No? Oh, I thought I recognised you ...
They're a little different from my other creative papery potterings - art-journaling, collage, scrapbooking, card making etc. Gone are the colours the layers, the textures ... and yet what remains - monochrome, plain and pared down - still feels right to me:
This 'back-to-basics' approach appears to also have had an influence on what it is I end up saying in these 'found' story collages. It seems that it's not just their form that's a little bit stripped down and naked ... but the content tends to be too: the snippets themselves influence what it is I end up saying.
Being formed from such simple black and white ingredients all the life and colour these pieces need has to come from the found words themselves.
They each bring with them their own set of emotions and meanings and then, when I combine them with words from other sources, the finished pieces are suddenly something new. Something even I didn't see coming.
And what they've become is an on-going series of 'Snipped Tales' as I like to call them ...
[For the record, yes, I do know that that name could be taken the wrong way. But you should know by now that you're never more than a juvenile grin away from an underlying double entendre when you're in my company.]
So, let me share one of these 'Snipped Tales' with you now; one I sent to a friend at Christmas.
Other than wanting it to feature friendship in general, I didn't set out with anything in particular in mind. Instead I just pored over lots of pages until I found what it was I wanted to say ... or, more likely, until it found me.
And here it is:
Somehow in re-purposing all those old words, phrases and snippets that have found themselves loosed from the pages of timeworn books ...
... I find myself freed to find something new to say.
---------------------------------------------
I hope to follow up this 'Snipped Tales' debut with more in the future. Like I say ... they're something I've been working on in private for quite a while ... so it's surely time I opened up the pages to share a few more ...
Julie x
---------------------------------------------
- The PaperLove Blog Hop is a celebration of all things paper! Follow the links to discover more bloggers who love paper and use it to inspire and delight.
- And if you want to explore a whole world of paper, and stretch your paper passion further with a host of creative projects, why not join the innovative new online course PaperLove (starts March 31). Led by book artist Rachel Hazell, PaperLove is a five week creative adventure for paper lovers.
- Find out more here.
Posts
I so love doing this blog hop. So nice to read about every once love for paper. Thank you for sharing yours.
ReplyDeleteI loved your post and blog. Ill come back for more later on.
/Camilla Olsson - also in the blog hop www.camillaolssonart.wordpress.com
The dog wa sitting next to me as I read this and was horrified to see the words 'snipped tales' - I've assured her that it has nothing to do with any part of her anatomy and she's happier now. Although she may give you her suspicious stare if you ever come visiting. And sit on her tail to avoid any accidental snipping.
ReplyDeleteApart from that, a great post and I love how you've set those words free to start a new story of their own.
I love your 'snipped tales' Julie. Not only do they look good but I know what you mean about words having essence and power. I love your new look and can't wait to see more!
ReplyDeleteLove that you were on the PaperLove bloghop. I'm seriously thinking of signing up for the course, I have wanted to work with Rachel Hazell for so long.
Loved your story! I used to cut magazines up for hours and hours as a kid and then would pair them with pictures to form old-fashioned scrapbooks... so fun. I love your "snipped tale" -- the message seems very organic... and fun! :)
ReplyDeleteThese are very wonderful and speak to a part of me that cannot possibly bear to throw away any printed item with any old words on. For any old words can be rearranged into beautiful clever pages and poems and these are just right. A fabulous debut and a huge round of applause from me.
ReplyDelete{*}
Lovely stuff! I'm joining in too (www.joannacaskie.co.uk)and really enjoying all the papery goodness. x
ReplyDeleteLove your snippets. Thanks for blog hopping and sharing your stories.
ReplyDeleteHow very inspiring Julie !! Love the snipped sayings !
ReplyDeletefantastical creation - I love how you describe it as part sought and part 'made itself known'.
ReplyDeleteHappy sigh . . . I still love it so.
ReplyDeleteToday, I am especially stirred by the perfection of my unalarmingness. (Any variation on 'perfect' always the most welcome of descriptions. Ha!)
Love reading about the process too, and very excited for the possibilities.
xx
Thanks for visiting my blog on this fun blog hop. I love your post, I also enjoy finding words to cut out of books and magazines and making something new with them, and your right its usually the words finding you. :)
ReplyDeleteHi! Thank you for stopping by my blog! I love your work :) Very inspiring! Can't wait to visit back. So nice to e-meet you! --Doreen
ReplyDeletehttp://www.doreensdailytreats.com/
I like the pared down look!
ReplyDeleteThanks for leaving a comment on my blog! Your word collages remind me of Austin Kleon's work except that he uses whole pages and blocks out everything except the words he wants. He's the chap who wrote that iconic post 'how to steal like an artist'...
ReplyDelete...thank you for joining the hop and sharing your love of paper. We are in good company, never far from a quirky smile that hints at some unsaid meaning ;)
ReplyDeleteI like your snipped tales pieces - like fridge magnet poetry - always such fun. I remember hearing that this 'method' is/was used by David Bowie to create his song lyrics, so you are in excellent company!
Hopping along now...
// quick jump to my post for the hop here -- http://iambekabee.blogspot.ca/2014/03/a-love-note-to-paper.html
Interesting. Wonder if it could work as good in Spanish.
ReplyDeleteLove your "Snipped Tales" and sense of humor. So nice meeting you on the hop!
ReplyDeleteWell, I am - of course - just going to love this clean style :). Especially combined with what feels almost like found poetry - just perfect!
ReplyDeletevery cool project! it does seem sort of magical, alchemy when the different snippets come together!
ReplyDelete