This past Saturday Steve and I went to the annual Decor Expo Art and Custom Picture Framing trade show in Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center. This used to be a major event in my year. I used to be considered a major buyer too...with company representatives pulling me into hidden enclosures for champagne while trying to entice me with their newest line. I don't miss these days. Now, Steve and I stroll up and down the aisles, find a few bargains, and are finished in time for lunch at a micro-brewery in mid-town with football on the overhead televisions. (Yes, I'm a football fan! Ohio State!)
We bought a wonderful new print stand for my matted and shrink-wrapped artwork (The Black God Series, The Life Everlasting Series, and truck loads of miscellaneous things and older work removed from frames). In very little space, this unit will hold work up to 16" x 20"....three racks on four sides. We also bought some moulding...some at 50% off...the industry still seems desperate . Mostly, however, we admired the four or five dealers selling antiquarian prints. This is the focus of Mouse House, Inc., our business.
Of course, these dealers are trying to sell most of their images at a "wholesale" price that is actually higher than our "retail" price. That's why they've got such nice selections. Every now and then, however, we've found something we couldn't live without. This year, I saw these pages of letters and resisted...for an hour...then couldn't stand it...went back and bought. There are 68 pages from what had been a turn-of-the-last-century scrapbook. They are each covered, front and back. The glue was sparingly used and isn't the kind that turned brown. Many of the clippings are literally falling off...and revealing more letters on the reverse.
My instinct is to use all this in my altered books...to collage with it. Yet, I've seen how others have scanned such images and made them available...both for free and for a price. I really don't know what to do...other than to admire them. Any suggestions?
7 comments:
What a find! I love them. I think I would have a hard time cutting them up for collage. But they would be beautiful in altered books and journals. I see your problem about deciding what to do.
What a lovely thing to have! Yes, I can see it hard to decided what to do! Maybe use some of them in altered books or collage, and some of them can you scanned, and use the copies, and save the orginals??
I have also have some thing that I couldn´t decide what to do with.. I am so happy to have it, and afraid to destroyed it!
What a dilemma! Is there no way you could scan/copy them and replicate the aged look?
Take pictures, make "negatives", cut out and stencil with??? What a find!!!!
Thank you for passing by my blog.... and I hope you manage to come and say hello if you are at Ally Pally (London) on the Saturday. I will be on the CTDG stand. I am sure you will enjoy the show this year - there are lots of new things to see.
Best Wishes
Maggie
These are wonderful. I would love to have a closer look at the designs. I would have a hard time cutting them up, but it would be a shame not to use them and share their beauty.
I would love to buy scans of them! That way you could share the images and keep them in tact...sorry for the overt greadyness ;)
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