Sunday, April 11, 2010

Recycled Lines~ Poetry Collage




















Every time I go to the thrift store I go to the used book section. I'm usually looking for good vintage graphics or a well worn cover for altering and collaging. I've got quite a collection of old children's encyclopedias, typing books, steno books, dictionaries and any sort of book with good old fashioned diagrams.

I always notice the shelf of donated chap books, mostly college poetry books that have been published by students. Every once in awhile I'll page through one or two just to get a feeling for the time frame. There are usually some pictures of students art included.

The other day I had the idea that perhaps some may think a travesty. I dissected the poems line by line quite literally with scissors and set about to create a new poetry, a poetry collage with the snippets of dozens of poems from a couple of booklets. What you see here is my reassembling of the snippets. Let me know what you think!

27 comments:

  1. Ooh! I just love this. This is such a wonderful idea. I am going to share this with my 9 year old daughter Emily of Super Stitches, www.sewingsister.blogspot.com . She has been getting into poetry lately and looking for different ideas to help her write some. She will love this challenge and find it very fun.

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  2. I think this is smashingly great fun! Several steps up from refrigerator poetry magnets. Did you make the paper backgrounds? Very creative.

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  3. HI Kim. No 2 is particularly haunting.

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  4. It's amazing what happens when a line or two are taken out of context, it can be arbitrary or full of new meaning. On my list of 'things to do' is to add a word or 2 to my corregated cardboard & paint collage. I will go & do that now!

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  5. Loved your shell beads btw, sorry, I forgot to stop by when they were posted!

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  6. That is genius i can see me making a project for my kids out of that one i could get them to illustrate the poem too.....mmmm thanks for that Lorna ps I am delighted to tell you that Kim has kindly said Candace can come to me after she has visited her .....the teenies can hardly contain themselves !!!

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  7. awesome poetry and they make fun collage!!

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  8. Trudy- It will be fun to see what your daughter comes up with. You have such a creative gang!

    Kass, Thanks, Some of the paper is monoprints form an art class I took in the 90's. The biggest green one is a flyer that got run over by cars. and one is some paper I got in a swap.

    Annie- it is challenging to make the phrases seem to convey meaning in their entirety. Kind of like collage that way.

    Emma, that's what I do with most of my ACEO's/ATC's. I make the pictures first and then add the text. They seem to come out more whimsical that way. And thanks about the beads.

    Lorna, I'm glad that you and Kim connected, I may have some more folks for Candace's itinerary after you. I think the poetry project could be good for kids, although maybe not cut out of college poetry books!

    Thanks, Caterina and Starfishes too.
    It's fun to wake up to so many comments!

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  9. I love this idea, I cut up books too. Okay, now the world knows about it, ha ha! I love your pieces, they are creative and fun to read. Thanks for posting! Riki

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  10. Hey Kim! What a fabulous idea. I love this creation of yours - recycled poetry - you've blessed these lines with new meaning! (Strangely I've been working with paper strips - from a dictionary, put through a shredder to use as a background). Very re-creative x

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  11. Love the word collage and mixed media backgrounds!
    I used to do the refrigerator magnets and when that ceased to satisfy dissected old books and glued new words and lines to sheet magnet to create my own. What a release this is. Its like your eyes scan the page and then your heart recognizes what it wanted to say!
    Crystal

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  12. What a clever idea, why blasphemy, you are creating something from a snippet that leads to another thought entirely. I love it!

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  13. It's like quilting with text. I like it.

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  14. Wow, what do I think? I think I love it, the simple backgrounds with the meaningful prose...I really love it. beautiful. xo - Julie

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  15. I think this is a fabulous idea...the poem is so highlighted this way! Great project!

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  16. Old books are so great ..and I love this found poetry you have created from them...great to collage with too for sure...thanks for dropping by the other day to my blog...supria

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  17. I love the poetry and the way you've arranged them on the beautiful backgrounds.

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  18. fabulouus !
    We are getting on with the matchbox swap doing ten - details on my blog xx

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  19. love this idea..glad l just found your blog.Oh and by the way l LOVE rust toox waving from Londonxlynda

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  20. Found your blog through oopsIcraftmypants. I enjoy your poetry collages, and look forward to following your creative adventures.

    -Jennifer (Prettyinpaisley.com)

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  21. Woo you have made completely new meanings...
    Frankie
    xx

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  22. Thank you all for your comments. It's exciting to me to share my funny ideas with you all and have them somehow resonate with so many.

    Kim

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  23. Great idea Kim. A way to get your imagination ticking.

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  24. Hi Kim
    Fabulous and one that Nick Bantock employs similarly in his workshop ironically! He had us take two paragraphs and switch around the nouns from one into the other. Not poetry but there are some rather amusing outcomes. Thanks for your comments - G & S was the inspiration for what is now 10 years of exploring collage!
    Love your blog, beads, thoughts, and that's a backyard!!!

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  25. That's really interesting to hear Trudi, and thanks for the follow up. Thanks for checking it all out.

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  26. These r awesome. This post popped up as a random on the bottom of ur made it post. Good luck with the ipad. Am writing on ipod now. Hope diet going well.

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