fifi’s graffiti and graveyards

I have a bad habit of collecting clipped pieces from ads or magazines. I see something that I think has potential for a collage, so I cut it out, file it in a shoe box and forget about it. Somehow my small investment of time, of selecting, brainstorming, and cutting with scissors results in a feeling of not wanting to let go of the piece I’ve invested in. What if I screw up? I won’t have that piece to use anymore. This is a trick of my brain to prevent me working. It takes practice to get better, and practice includes mistakes. It takes experimentation to know what works for you, and that includes mistakes, too. Clippings are just clippings; shards of paper that have no value. There are thousands more equally unique and colorful images waiting to be clipped by me and used. If I have a particular attachment to something, or if it is very old and unlikely to be found again, I make a color copy and use that.

My nerves were on edge this weekend knowing there would probably be layoffs at work in the coming week, so I used that nervous energy to do a bit of experimenting. I’m happy I did.