The other day a heavy box arrived from my sweet and thoughtful sister-in-law. Imagine my delight when I discovered it contained a collection of extremely old books! They included vintage titles printed in Russian, German, French, and Latin, a richly illustrated book on the history of clothing design, an engineering manual written entirely in Chinese, a book of Arabic proverbs, even a hardcover catalog from France's 1889 Salon Illustre. (More on this last item in a future blog.) This gal's heart very nearly stopped when I saw what a treasure trove of collage materials the box held!
I love using vintage book pages in my mixed media collages. They have an irresistible visual appeal that draws viewers into the work. (Not to mention being a pleasure for the artist too.) I'm absolutely nuts for incorporating pages with foreign languages and symbols and vintage illustrations in my art. The challenge for me is finding sources for it. My sister-in-law knew this. She obtained these books for me through her city's library system which holds periodic book sales. I am giddy with gratitude!
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