Creating a Space....

My studio has become a wreck-- there is no other way to say it! So today I began to clean it up and organize things. As I did I remember an idea I had a while ago of creating a shadow box/portrait of my dad. I wanted to use some actual memorabilia to make a collage of childhood memories of my dad. I have a couple items-- nothing much, in an old tattered box. It contains a special birthday card and an old carved horse head that have some significance to me. I thought of how I need to display these things in my home in a way that memoralizes my dad but how? To stick these things on a shelf just won't do it, so I thought about doing some artwork as the backdrop in the shadow box. I could use the 3D items as part of the collage. Something that conveys the flavor of my memory! Something I can hang on my wall and look at it and feel the connection-- hold on to the memory! My memory can be recognized as something special just by the mere act of creating something beautiful out of these simple things and having it on display.

As I was cleaning my 'space' I found so many things that I could use to create a real meaningful art piece- dried roses from my grandma's coffin, an antique picture frame, my grandmother's old hats and jewelry.... and on and on. I found a plaster handprint of my daughter and her baby clothes. I could find all kinds of way to create a memory shadow box from that! Her little bonnets and footies!

So now the goal is to not just THINK of these things but DO them. Coming soon-- 'Memory Shadow Boxes Custom Made for Your Loved Ones'! :) What fun!!! Maybe some tears too but good tears!

If your going to recycle materials in art why not memories as well?