Scrapbooking ~ Mixed Media Collage ~ Altered Art

Scrapbooking; today called Mixed Media Collage or Altered Art, all hark back to what was a great hobby, pastime and enjoyment of our Grandparents day, and today lives on in our generation as Mixed Media Collage and Altered Art. Each generation may call it something different, but we use our family history, found treasures and ephemera to create our imagery and a story is told...

Mixed Media Collage can involve........
 taking a few found objects, aged manuscripts. Whether you have them just framed or arranged in a shadow box, why leave these treasures packed away, when one can enjoy them each and every day.

Altered Art ..........
paint and transform them in your own unique way to create your artist statement

Genealogy Enthusiast often enjoy Scrapbooking using family documents, ……….
If one is too scared to use the family originals, photocopies will work as well or head out to your local flea market. Today the sources of materials for your artwork can come from many localities.
From EBay to local antique markets to your Grandparents attic to their basements, treasures abound.

Buying Scrapbooking Supplies Online………..
Searching - Learning key descriptive words cuts down on web time. Searching for e.g. "1800's B&W old photos" in OK, but keying in "Cabinet Cards" narrows your search and many more sources are found as opposed to a hit and miss approach.

Scrapbooking Resources may include ……….
Antique, Flea Markets and Garage Sales - From a well trained eye in a junk shop, or en-route to the Vintage Flea Markets of Paris, the fun begins...

Antique fairs are a great venue to gain historical information and proper terminology of past treasures. It is surprising how interested these folks are to share their knowledge and help educate others.
Objects of interest seem to appear from nowhere once you open your creative eyes and fine tune your hunting tactics. At times knowing what to ask for in a shop brings out the rare materials such as 1700’s French Letters, that may be kept behind the counter, only to see the light of day out when a genuine interest is shown.

Browsing antique markets and fairs can be overwhelming at the variety and volume of materials found for scrapbooking, collage and altered art.
Be very careful though, not to think that you can come back next week and find what you passed up. Here in Victoria if you pass up a rare find and dare to mention it to an artist friend... you most likely will loose out! The Art-Grapevine is faster than Twitter these days!

 

Cheers, Doug