Throughout my life, I have always been a collector of those
small items, such as movie stubs and concert tickets, which always trigger memories.
For years I have been collecting them in my grandmothers sewing box,
watching the old antique box fill up with snippets of my past. Usually it lays closed and
forgotten, only opened to add another pile of memories to the darkness. After
joining the popular site Pinterest, I have become inspired to not only do more
crafting, but to create something meaningful, and useful. Instead of having
these items, which I cannot bare to throw away, I thought – why not use them?
Somehow I wanted to capture my memories for not only me to enjoy, but for others as well.
After brushing of the dust that had accumulated off my
treasured box, I was surprised at the sheer amount of paper that was inside. As
I sifted through the pile, memories were brought to the forefront, as if they
had happened yesterday. I stared at these items, unsure of where my next step
would take me. I looked around my room for inspiration, and saw an empty silver
frame that had not yet had a purpose. This is where the idea came to me to
collage my memories and put them into the frame, and let the memories replace
the photograph that typically would hold the emptiness of the frame.
Slowly I began to fill up the frame, blending my twenty
years of life together, mixing old recollections with new ones. As my idea took
form, I was overwhelmed with how much I had practically forgotten. I found my ticket stub
from a San Francisco MLB game, when the Giants took on the Chicago Cubs, coming
out with an amazing victory (they got a grand slam and a splash hit!); my very first wristband that verified I was old
enough to consume alcohol; a tiny plastic green spoon from one of my favorite
ice cream parlors; Graduation tickets from myself and those close to me. How
could these memories have been so far away? I had never forgotten them – they were
experiences one never forgets, but they were pushed so far back in my brain
that it took these physical fragments of paper to draw them forward. Life lessons
were learned, and mistakes were made. From these various memories, I have become
who I am today. It was a shock to be surprised with what I found within that
box, something I see in my room everyday, but don’t often think about what it contains, and what it means to me. I completed my collage, very happy with how it turned out. Now I am able to look at those memories everyday, and be reminded of my past.
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| Final Product! |
A few days after I had completed my first collage (I am now
on number three) I had a few friends over before going out for a birthday
party. They immediately took note of my newest furnishing, which started a
conversation about how our own friendship has changed over time, triggered by
the memories that were brought to us, based on a simple hodgepodge of items
most people throw away at their first opportunity. All you need is a frame, a
gluestick, and a moment of inspiration, and there you have it – something to
look at every day that will remind you of all the good that has happened in
your life – and all the excitement that is yet to come.
It's funny how we never really understand the true value of our moments until they have undergone the test of memory, isn't it? It's remarkable how quickly time flies, and even more so how quickly an empty box can fill up with scraps of paper. I think you did a great job, and love how this project has become a living centre piece in your home.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit of a neat-freak, so clutter and little scraps of paper frighten me. If there's a mess I tidy it up, and I only start paper crafts if I know I'm going to finish them. I applaud your collection; it's both beautiful and terrifyingly messy.
While I'm not one to hang on to little paper mementos, I can certainly appreciate their value. Recently, I was gifted a beautiful collage illustrating my accomplishments over this past year. Yes, someone loves me that much. Your comments about how these images in your collage were able to take you right back to that moment in time reminded me of how I felt as I looked through the collection given to me.
In my home, memories are cataloged through photographs. I have lengths of yarn spanning my walls, and on them I've paper-clipped a wonderful collection of black and white photos.
Looking at the photos now as I write this, and reflecting on your post, I'm noticing how many shots were taken of pieces of paper. My favourite photo of paper is one I took this summer.
Before taking off on a long cycling trip this summer, I did some fundraising for a local organization that takes kids on bicycling tours around the world. Part of this fundraising was accomplished through a silent auction, and in that auction was an old type-writer. Throughout the evening, people at the event typed out various messages or thoughts as they walked by. Surely, you can only imagine what I was left with by the end of the evening. Now, while you would've stored this paper in your antique box, I photographed it and hung it with the other images on my wall.
Memories are a wonderful thing, regardless of how we each choose to organize them. Keep doing what you do and you'll have many to reflect upon!
I think that your idea of putting all your past memories into a frame is and incredibly smart idea! Your project reminded me of one of my own at home where I have a cork board that has all my old boarding passes and travel cards from trips that I've been on even though it is as full as your frame I hope that one day it will be! Something that I have been collecting for years is birthday cards that I've received over the years I like you put them in a box and only pulled them out to add another one to the pile. After reading your post it has made me want to do something with all of them instead of just leaving them in the dark!
ReplyDeleteI also keep labels, ticket stubs and random things as mementos, however I keep most of them inside of my travel journal. After I dropped out of the University of Alberta I took two years to travel. Right before I left, my ex-boyfriend gave me this beautiful leather bound journal complete with handmade paper pages. I took it to every single country I went to and documented as much as I could. All of my little trinkets and papers are glued to the pages inside and now whenever I look through it I am reminded of different things. It also has helped me give friends advice for their travels. For example, I glued the hotel business cards inside my journal when we stayed in a notable place. Now I can give people the names and addresses of good and bad hotels on 3 different continents! I think these little things add so much more to your memories. I have yet to re-read my journal cover-to-cover, although my friend Chelsea told me that it's like reading a hilarious novel, so I look forward to it.
ReplyDeleteI have so many of these types of keepsakes that I have to do this with them. I too can't bare the thought of throwing away programs from shows I have been to, concert tickets, or plane tickets; you name it, I keep it! In fact, just a couple of months ago I was cleaning my room and found a pamplet from the first time I went to the Calgary Zoo in 1998. I can barely remember the trip but it must have been a good one for me to have kept the pamplet that long. The places that we go and things that we see really do shape who we are. I love how you have created art out of these lost papers rather than having them hiding and collecting dust.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! Thanks for all the feedback
ReplyDelete@Alyssa, I love the fact that you have used yarn to hang all your treasured images in your room. Many people take so many photographs, and like my pieces of paper, do not look at them often. They will choose a select few to put in a frame, leaving the rest. What you have done gives you more space to display your memories. I find it interesting how we can both have similar experiences, through different means, you by image, and me via paper.
@Mariam, I also have a box of birthday cards which I do not know what to do with. If you come up with any ideas, please let me know! I saw a great idea in the comments section in Alyssa Kelle's blog post (http://gned140304artsandcrafts.blogspot.ca/2012/09/grandmas-love-cards.html) where a lady used old christmas cards to make valentines. Maybe this would work for us as well?
@Allie, I think it is wonderful you were able to keep track of everything you experience in your travels. I do not know how many times I have gone somewhere, and then when I am showing pictures off later, I forget the name of a place, or building. What you have done is an amazing idea to not loose that information. I am planning to travel to Europe next summer (I hope!) and am definitely going to steal this idea!
@Kathryn, isn't it wonderful to be able to look back at something, like your pamphlet, and recognize the significance of it. Even though the trip to the zoo was vague for you, you still have the piece of paper to remind you of the experience you had. That is the exact reason I keep everything, to be reminded of my past.