Collage Notecards

I don’t know about you, but I frequently carry annoyances around in my head. This time it’s about wanting to send a quick thank-you note, a brief announcement, or a birthday card to a friend or collector. I have a boxful of blank cards sent to me by various organizations as a thank-you for donations I’ve made to their cause. Often I receive packets of samples others want me to choose from and order a bunch. These usually come in July or August, hoping for an order from me in time for the holidays. Because I AM a business, I have been selected as a prime candidate to be added to many different mailing lists. Not by my own hands, mind you, but “found” with computer generated search programs for bulk mailing.

Generally I like the ones from breast cancer research, and happily use the return address labels, and often the cards as enclosures for paperwork items needing to be forwarded to my sister in Spain. Other than that, they do collect and seemingly breed in the cute little storage box I purchased at the craft store just for this single purpose. BUT, I want to send something that will convey something about ME, not the graphic designer that did the artwork for most of those commercially printed cards/notes. So, here is the beginning of MY PERSONAL collage note cards. Why have I not done this before? Many years ago I developed a line of collage greeting cards that sold really well at the art fairs my daughter Tammy and I were doing together. They were a nice additional item for our booth exhibit that showcased my framed dimensional collage work and her hand woven scarves and wearables. I sit here shaking my head at how far we’ve progressed since those days. In the very beginning we didn’t even have a tent, so we prayed for no rain!!

But I digress. My creative journey shifted focus around 2000 and I became interested in using textiles as a basis for my work. Those, after all, didn’t require framing, a task that had developed into way much time out of the creative studio. My desire led me to PAQA, and as they say, the rest is history.

In the past year or so, I have felt the pull to return to my love of paper collage as well as fiber. Upon reflection, I see that some of this has come about from the influence of the Creativity Continuum exercises. I also have felt the need to work in a manner less overshadowed by the concern of creating for the potential customer and more for the love of the process. So, here I am sharing these beginnings with you, just for the sake of showing you some of the process, as well as some of the results.

Maybe you will receive one of these on your birthday!!! Do I have your address and the date?