Vintage postcards for inspiration

November 19, 2008

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Lately I’ve been busy with some projects that I’ve had no extra energy to blog… but tonight am writing several entries that I will post over the next few days.

Earlier this summer I was working on a series called “Wish You Were Hair,” a series of world monuments transformed into humorous hair styles. You can see the progression of some of these drawings and quilts here and here.

This is an old wire clip stand in my office that holds some vintage postcards that inspired this series.

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Sometimes I just like to look at old things, things that have been places I’ve never been and belonged to people I never knew — it gives me a sense of traveling beyond and out of myself and my small place in the world. It’s different than just reading magazines or stories on the internet, because these objects seem to hold lingering traces of their past. And it’s good exercise for the imagination.

Filed Under Inspiration 


Comments

7 Comments so far

  1. Judy on November 19, 2008 10:18 am

    I love old postcards and seeing what people wrote and their style of handwriting. Life seemed so much simpler then, and I often wish that I was back there with them. I love the postcards where it looks like someone has taken a crayon or watercolor pencil and colored in areas. Your wire clip stand is very interesting too.

    xo

  2. natalya on November 19, 2008 11:41 am

    I love old postcards too. I have a collection of postcards written by my great-grand parents, while he was wooing her. Very cool stuff, but I still haven’t figured out a way to display them or use them in art without loosing any sides..

  3. PaMdora on November 19, 2008 12:09 pm

    That would be amazing to have postcards actually written by family. I don’t have anything that precious, was he a real lady-killer?
    It would be hard to know what to do with something like that, maybe scan them so you wouldn’t harm the originals?

  4. Kristin L on November 19, 2008 12:41 pm

    Is that l’Arche de Triumph on the left with water around it? I don’t remember it having water around it. There must be a bridge now, or maybe the water’s been drained.

  5. PaMdora on November 19, 2008 1:17 pm

    Hi Kristin,
    No, I think that’s another postcard of a river that is layered under the other one, but it is confusing in the photo. I think that’s one that has a strange bridge that inspired my twin-bridge drawing.
    http://pamdora.com/blog/2008/09/18/collages-for-the-creamery/

  6. Gerrie on November 19, 2008 2:12 pm

    Well, I am glad you have not left us in the lurch, wondering what happened to you!!

  7. PaMdora on November 20, 2008 5:21 pm

    Hi Gerrie,Sorry for the long lapse. I just felt like I was in another world for a couple of weeks, but I’ll try and get back into the swing of things!
    You are so consistent, it’s hard to live up to your example!

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