Other People’s Photos

Dear Liza,

I have told you about Buy Nothing, an online organization for trading, sharing, and helping neighbors out. The huge network is divided by neighborhood, so the folks you are giving to (or getting from) are within walking distance.

This past winter we gave away coats, Mardi Gras beads, and car chains.

And last week I walked down the block a ways and got a giant envelope of old photographs. I have started using photos for some collages, and wanted some more to work with.

This package was really interesting. It had some family photos, but also some pictures of the James River, Virginia flood of 1940 and the old Grace de Havre Bridge in Normandy, France, taken in 1928. Some will be useful for collages, and some won’t be.

Some were professionally taken pictures by a photographer named Arthur G. Davis. He lived and worked in a little town called Beallsville, Maryland, but I can’t find out when he worked, lived, or if he is still alive.

There was also this fabulous picture of a distinguished looking man overcome with disbelief. He seems to be in a play of some sort, but there is no clue I can see.

I’m not sure what I will do with these pictures, because collage depends on finding all sorts of bits that go together to make an interesting picture. It can take a long time to find all the bits.

For example, here is my first successful use of an old photo in a collage. It includes an old photo of a cousin, a cat food ad, the top of a Kleenex box, a wallpaper sample, dabs of acrylic paint, and words cut from magazines.

This kind of art takes time, thought, and patience. But it sure is fun!

Love,

Grandma Judy