Cloth Paper Scissors Demo - (Page 10) crafting tales o n the journey of art making, have you a fun way to get inspired. A back story is simply the narrative history or background of a particular person or situation. Working with found objects, vintage papers, and other acquired materials, we don’t always know the true history of the items we collect. However, as artistic interpreters, we get to make up that part. Using back story as a creative tool, you create an imagined narrative about the objects and images you find. Think of it as casting the characters of a play you are producing. You become the author of a tale that weaves unrelated materials 54 building a back story for creative inspiration I discovered a dusty jewelry box at the bottom of the pile. Inside the jewelry box were a damaged heart-shaped locket and a water-stained book of love poems. Thinking “no great treasure here,” I removed the book, revealing an old cabinet card of an attractive young woman dressed in typical turn-of-the-century garb. Hidden among the pages of the poetry book were two handwritten letters, each from a different gentleman. Both were dated 1907, and one of the letters closed with the words, “Affectionately yours.” I looked at the photo. I looked at the locket. The creative wheels began to turn. Did the locket belong to the girl in the photo? Why were letters buried in a book of love poems? This collection of objects—a broken locket, love poems, hidden letters, and a forgotten young woman—sparked the idea of a lover’s triangle. The main components for my back story were in place. I was ready to begin my interpretation of “love gone bad.” ever hit a creative roadblock? Do you have a prized found object you’ve been saving for just the right project that never seems to come along? Are you always looking for new ways to get the creative juices flowing? If any of these questions hit home, here’s a technique I often use to conjure up ideas for my assemblage work. I call it “creating back story.” Whether you collage, stamp, stitch, or sculpt, creating a back story can be together. This creative thinking exercise can spark all kinds of ideas—from whimsical allegory to dark drama. My mixed-media assemblage “Jealousy” started with a back story for an old photo, a piece of jewelry, and some letters. a story of jealousy While unpacking a big box of old recipe books, vintage linens, rusted utensils, and orphaned doll parts that I snagged for 10 bucks at a local auction, by k. wayne t hornley September/OctOber 2008 | ClOth Paper SciSSOrS®
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