Vintage Maps and Player Piano Rolls

Finding new materials for my collage art is often just as fun as making the actual art. Over the past few months, I’ve accumulated a large amount of maps and player piano rolls, and my work shifts as I’m learning how to use them. You’d think it would be the other way around, that I’d just keep making art in my normal way, with new material, but it doesn’t happen like that. 

I wanted to share some of my discoveries and perhaps inspire a search for new materials. If you’re not an artist but simply appreciate art and vintage, I hope you’ll appreciate the story and techniques behind the pieces I create. 

The first thing I found was vintage plat map books, which were being sold by a firm that was downsizing their office space and couldn’t keep all of them. They are massive! The maps are all backed with fabric (either linen or cotton), and they are separated from each other with what look like the largest ruled index cards you’ve ever seen. If you’ve purchased stencils from me, I’ve been packing them in pieces of those index cards. 

What I’ve figured out about these papers is that the paper and fabric can be separated, which gives me double the material to work with. I’ve been painting the fabric and maps, using them on the gelli plate, and letterpress printing with them. The paper is so heavy, especially when the fabric is still attached, that only a heavy gel medium will work to adhere it to the wooden panel. 

I also can work with no substrate and create assemblages. The maps are visible on the back.

These might prove to be a little tricky to frame, but it could be as simple as floating them between two sheets of acrylic. When you get tired of looking at one side, all you’ll have to do is flip it over to the map side.

I’d been using player piano rolls in my collage class, a material that I used to use all the time, but had forgotten about. I was running low, so I started looking in vintage shops and finally found a local seller on Facebook Marketplace. The prices of these vary from $1.00 to over $15.00 each, so look around until you find a good price.

My son and I spent a few hours unloading and sorting them. I was delighted that there were even some unusual colors in these boxes. Many of the rolls begin with a beautiful graphic with the name of the song. You can see part of one in the collage below (right image).

The rolls are interesting because they have cut-outs that would let the player piano read the music, which makes them both a little fragile and adds textural interest to the collage. The lyrics, when shown, are in reverse order, so it can be a puzzle to figure them out when they are seen on a collage. 

The paper can be tricky to use as a large piece. Not only because of its tendency to tear and roll back up but also because of the material itself. It takes a lot of matte medium to adhere this paper, and it wrinkles easily. The adhesive will also leak out of the holes, which causes the paper to bubble. When that happens, I either leave it as is or cut into the bubble with a utility knife, add more medium, and piece it back together. 

All of these materials have been influencing my new work, which is why I love mixed-media art so much. Why limit yourself to just painting when there is a world of materials to discover?