Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The Junk Collector


When I was a girl, I was quite a junk collector. I saved every trinket I could find and 
traveled with my Junk Collection, an assortment of gumball machine toys, Cracker Jacks prizes, 
feathers, broken jewelry, and rocks delightfully housed in an old Pringles can. 
I still have trouble leaving sparkly bits and trinkets behind.


Thankfully the world of mixed media art has renamed junk and raised its status in doing so. Useless pieces of junk are now called "found objects." What was previously a greasy chicken sandwich wrapper found on the side of the road is now called "found paper." I love the new terms. 
They reflect the sense of mysterious good fortune I feel when I find something to save.


I like to find such objects and paper in junk mail, on the floor, and in the scrap pile left behind when I work on a project. Last Saturday I decided to tear all 
my found pieces into tiny bits and sew them together. These are some of my creations. 


 

3 comments:

  1. Love your "found object" masterpieces. They would make cool pins if you attach a bar pin to the back (assuming the size is right for that). Or wear as a pendant! Or earrings! Oh, the possibilities...
    I'm wondering which was more fun - the collecting or the assembling?

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  2. They are a little large for jewelry, but I can make smaller! Good idea! Or wouldn't it be fun to make an enormous one? I will certainly never run out of supplies with this. Hope all went well with your market yesterday!

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  3. Love these, Jenny! They are so colorful and happiness-inducing - I couldn't help but smile when I saw them! =)

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