I've saved and repurposed/reused things for as long as I can remember. There have prob already been posts about it. I learned it from my parents. I've always been attracted to it in art. I love Nara's sketches on envelopes, Ghetti carving in pencil lead, a prisoner unraveling socks to make tiny embroidered pictures, painting on found objects etc. Of course some of it is terrible, really, but I'm inclined to find myself charmed but something humbly handmade. Again, I sadly, regularly hate the product, but I will still probably admire the effort.
In this new life of little $, I find myself using what I have. It feels pretty good. Like making curtains from fabric I have had forever (not done, hopefully future post). So, got flannel sheet set from brother and SIL for Christmas and pulled out those cardboard product cards in those plastic sleeves. They were on the table with a pile for recycling. I took a coffee break. There was a control 66 sticker on the card - I doodled a design around it. Then I drew some stuff that was on the table: pencil case, eraser, book of matches from restaurante in Baltimore, juniper wood coaster. Drawing practice while enjoying coffee. I stuck it back in it's plastic holder. This isn't really a thing made. This is really more of a combination of things that I am trying to combine. I am trying to combine: making things, reusing things, telling stories, collaborating with people I like and documenting. Ah, see, sometimes I'm the last one to know why I do things. I am trying to realize the combining in my upcoming zine. If that's what I'm actually up to and all.
