Open Book
AKA: I call it The Magical History Tour.
I haven’t made a collage since I started blogging. And what is a blog, but a blank page to fill up with images and words that tell a story?
Some pages from my eldest son Josh’s collage journals were exhibited in an art show this past March in Winston Salem., N.C. My youngest son, Dylan, on the other hand, is not an open book. His art is made with electrical wire, plumbing pipe, and lumber.
A collage works in the same way a dream does. It’s a visual snapshot of various symbolic images that can bypass the brain’s slow process time and convey a lot of information at once. It’s like a window into a large house of many stories.
I write because I hate to lose anything and writing something down is a way of keeping it. Cutting and pasting things onto paper does the same.
Post Note: The above are photos of the collage journal I made to sum up my life when I turned 50. I’m planning to post some of Josh’s pages soon. Caught in the act: here.
May 2nd, 2006 10:09 am
I love what you said about writing and those few pages you shared looked great. I am working on one for my kids from being born to age 2. The last one I made was of all four from being born to the most recent picture I had. It is better than just shoving them in a photo album, doing this tells a story of the picture. I think It is better than keeping a baby book!:)
May 2nd, 2006 10:30 am
What a lovely post. I am in my 50th year this year and have experienced an urge to scrapbook like I haven’t before. Must be the season of life at 50.
May 2nd, 2006 11:51 am
I did scrapbooks for my parents at their 50th anniversary and for my daughter when she turned 16. I sent blank sheets of parchment paper to my parents college friends, current friends, members of seven churches he had pastored and relatives. For Nyssa the paper was more colorful and her school friends through the years, teachers, relatives and others were included.
For both I asked the same thing. Send me a letter filled with memories, specific events that meant a lot to you, congratulations, hopes, dreams, well wishes. If there were any pictures they could spare, I asked people to include them. I sent return envelopes.
The plan was to put these letters with pictures I already had and make a memory scrapbook. I bought a huge oversized scrapbook that had 50 pages (100 front and back) to decorate. The response was so overwhelming for both that I ended up filling almost two of these for each event. I put the letters in and decorated the pages.
The best part was that I kept it secret. Neither my parents or Nyssa had a clue. I presented it to them at their anniversary bash. Nyssa had to wait a few days for hers because I wasn’t quite finished, but I gave it to her when we had a dinner out with her best girlfriend so it was special.
I was amazed at how many people’s lives my parents had touched down through the years. Mom still pulls it out and reads those letters, even now five years later.
May 2nd, 2006 2:23 pm
On the first book, I can see baby Colleen smiling her pretty smile. I remember that photo well and have it too, along with all of mom & dad’s nine.
I don’t really do scrap books, but I do collect pictures and pile them into a folder of “things I like” and “things I’m gonna do,” i.e.; if I see a creative idea it goes in this folder. It’s pretty full. One of the things I’m going to do *someday* is make a collage.
May 2nd, 2006 5:32 pm
Oh Colleen….these pages are wonderful….I never remember seeing this book. Excellent expression!!!
What “srp” did sounds great too.
May 2nd, 2006 7:12 pm
I have been saying for years that I as going to do that – but it will probably never be done. Yours looks great, and I am sure it will be invaluable to your children years later.
May 2nd, 2006 7:43 pm
Perhaps it is because I am very visual.. but I love to look at colleges. For me.. they speak volumes. Yours look to be beautifully done and I would love to have a closer look.
May 3rd, 2006 7:57 am
How did I miss you being a scrapbooker? AWESOME!
Sorry I haven’t been around much lately. My Grandmother unexpectidly passed away and I am just started to catch up again.
Thanks for letting me know about the tea posts…I will have to check them out. Actually, I have a lot of catching up to do on your blog!
Thanks for being so patient. You’re a peach!
May 3rd, 2006 8:56 am
Colleen, how wonderful. I wish I could see them in person!
November 6th, 2006 10:59 pm
Hey, Colleen – Santoshi here. I just got my Museletter and decided to stop and read it – I’m in the midst of packing to go to NJ in the wee hours of the morning. I HATE packing. I put it off until the last minute and then still find other things to do. I’m off to see and hold my new grandson, Matthew. Born 2 1/2 weeks ago to my oldest son Erik and his wife, Therese. Good stuff. As I gather stuff to jam into a suitcase I find myself walking through rooms full of flowers – vases and pitchers stuffed full of glory. It was Rob’s 50th birthday and housemate Lora’s 75th. We had an Open House to celebrate the 125th. Now I must leave the flowers and turn myself over to the airplane air for a day until I reach the other coast.
Anyway, I found your blog and decided to see if I could open it. Which I could. And I’ve been visiting with you. Your writings, your photos, your life – makes me homesick and full of love and memories all at the same time. I still wish I could live in more than one place at the same time. Home is where your heart is, they say. So what do you do when your heart is in more than one place?
I love you. See you in my dreams. xoxo Santoshi
November 6th, 2006 11:37 pm
Santoshi! We just celebrated Juniper’s 50th and Alwyn’s 80th this past weekend. I feel like a girl again going to all these birthday parties!
I also have my heart in two places. Floyd and Hull.
Happy Birthday to Rob and Lora. And congratulations on the birth of your newest grandchild! I know it’s hard to see but you are in the last collage photo above. My sandtray is in that shot too! xocolleen
October 7th, 2008 3:21 pm
Colleen,
I stumbled on your site when googling for pic of robes (never did find it on your site, but…)
You have a way with a camera and a way with words. Looking through your site provided a very enjoyable interlude to my work day. Thanks!
October 7th, 2008 4:09 pm
Thanks, Pat! I was curious and so googled my site for robes and found these two (with photos). I also complained once here about how robes for men are in the most vibrant colors and woman’s robes are pastels and mostly pink. Light colors wouldn’t last a week and still be unstained with me.
http://looseleafnotes.com/notes/2007/06/the_wedding_cake.html
http://looseleafnotes.com/notes/2007/10/summers_last_call.html
August 6th, 2013 11:19 am
[…] Notes: Collaging runs in our family here. View pages from my collage journal here. That’s Josh’s brother Dylan in the forefront with him looking at Josh’s art […]