Working with Vintage Papers
Today, I finished a small collage for day twenty-eight of my Hundred Day Project. I have two carts full of boxes of book parts in every color next to my studio table, but I worked only out of one bin. The variations of a single neutral white, when time is added, are beautiful: the browning of a newspaper, the mellow gold of book pages, and the marks of water stains all effortlessly complement each other. The black text and lines of these pages were my starting point, as I figured out ways to cover up some lines and balance others.
The materials can’t stand completely on their own, as they do need a little manipulation to add even more texture and variety. I fold and tear the edges of the book pages when straight lines are too stark. Paperback book covers are often too crisp, so I sanded and folded a piece to remove the shine. I focus on gluing the elements together in a way that conceals some text and reveals others in order to hint at a story the viewer can continue.
The benefit of working only with neutrals is that I don’t have to worry about colored inks bleeding from the elements onto surrounding pieces. I’ve had to make many changes to my compositions to account for messes that need to be hidden.
A focus on texture, line, and composition is an excellent way to start working with vintage materials. You won’t be able to resist them after you see how much you can do with just one color and a bit of black