Sunday, March 2, 2014

Vintage Typewriter Tag & Ransom Note with Eric Hoffer Quote

On a recent visit to  http://www.theinkpadnyc.com/ the Ink Pad, I splurged on a great stamp of a vintage typewriter. It spoke to me for several reasons: it is a striking graphic image, I work as a both a writer and graphic designer, and I am also married to a long-time newspaper reporter/editor/publisher. It also reminded me of a really cute photo of my daughter, Amanda, when she was about three. She is sitting in Dad's office chair poised at the manual typewriter, and it is clear that she inherited the writing gene.

I tried the stamp two ways: as a tag and as the centerpiece to a ransom note. I inked the stamp with a black Stazon pad for both pieces. I love the contrast and simplicity of it on the yellow tags that I found at my neighborhood http://www.jampaper.com/ Jam Paper. A little checkered ribbon, and the tag was done.

I have been working on pieces in the Ransom Note style, so it seemed like a good idea to put a typewriter stamp in the center, surrounded by some words on the border. I chose a quote by the philosopher Eric Hoffer: "Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength." Living in a city that is famous for its rude people, it struck a bell...not that I really feel that people in New York are exceptionally rude as a rule, but it seems to be a mecca for extremes on both sides of the aisle.

Do I love this little piece of artwork? Not really...the print of the typewriter is a little uneven, the newsprint in the background of the border doesn't add the oomph I had hoped for, and the spots of color in the letters fights the crispness of the black and white.

What I DID learn from this little piece is that I don't have to make a masterpiece every time. I can learn from mistakes and I can redo pieces if I feel like it. I am a Virgo, so I am always striving for perfection and seldom achieving it, and I have to tell myself that it is okay to not be great, okay to make mistakes, okay if a piece doesn't turn out the way I envision, and that it is the process of doing art--especially collage--that is healing in itself.

1 comment:

sonja said...

perhaps process is the art, the fact that you have hands and materials to express what your environment informs you and ability to express what that looks like before it flees. the Journey.