IT'S A COLLAGE!

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In case you missed it! I've been a collage artist for many years but only recently have had the courage to start sharing some of my favorite pieces. 

The framed collage below is based on the book I Love My Hair! by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley and illustrated by E.B. Lewis. The collage grew from a very tattered paperback with pages falling out. 

This is a fabulous book that I read to hundreds of students as a teacher in Boston. (See Ms. M’s Materials on Ms. M’s Mass Media). 

It can take me several weeks to complete a collage. My visual art process starts with writing and I create a précis of the story. A précis is a summary of the story that includes the critical elements. I like to think of it as the essence of the story. I ask myself, what words could tell this story completely if I could only use a few sentences? This is like the process I might use when I introduce a story to my students. What is this book about? Why am I reading it to my class? Why is this an important book to share? In the case of I Love My Hair the text that appears in the final collage is a combination of the the original précis and the pictures that I used to tell the story. Not everyone can own my collage, but everyone can read the book. I hope that all my collages encourage MORE reading.

I’ve made quite a few Recycled Stories since my first and do not have the wall space to keep all my beloved art. The one-of-a-kind collage is framed and measures 18” x 22” and comes complete with a new, hard cover copy of I Love My Hair!  Contact me for pricing on the collage if you have a place for this gem in your world!