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Piecing Together A New World

Everything that makes you happy in one place.

By Leslie RamirezPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
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"Stay At Home" by Leslie Ramirez, March 2020.

Like a lot of us, all seven billion of us, I was looking for a fun hobby to fill my time during the first round of quarantine. The positive outlook I was trying to keep during those scary times actually had me excited to have the time to relax, and get back in touch with my creative side. After all, the long shifts as a chef and added commute in New York City did not leave me enough time for all the reading, painting, drawing, and writing that I wish I was able to do. So, I took advantage of the gift of time and I did a lot! Maybe, too much too soon? I wish someone would've told us an accurate timeline so I knew how to ration out all my activities! After a couple of weeks, I had done everything I could with my craft supplies, read all three of my books, and was back to square one when it came to entertainment. You're probably wondering about TV. Well, Netflix was always on in the background, so I'd deplete my creative and binge watching choices at the same time. I was desperately looking to try something new. I had put on Spotify radio, amusing myself with a hunt for new music. A song came up and I heard, "Run away, run away, can I bury my head, please? In a beach from your magazines that you toss on your floor." I don't know if it was the melody of the song, or the way the lyrics resonated with my situation and feelings at that moment, but it immediately became my favorite song and I played it on repeat for a month.

"Hidden Shroom" by Leslie Ramirez

I thought about how nice it seemed to spread out all kinds of images in front of you and, in a meditation sort of way, get lost in the exotic destinations, beautiful clothes, and pretty smiles. It was the same thing I could see scrolling through Instagram on a little, bright screen, but without the extra noise of likes and comments. It was just a thought though, because I didn't actually have any magazines. However, I got lucky coming home from the grocery store one day. On the way up the stairs to my apartment, I found in the lobby on top of the mailbox, a stack of National Geographic magazines. I took them home, and of course, disinfected them. I was happy to have something new to look at, just like the song said, and my wallet was happy that my daydreaming was free. On my next grocery run, I found another stack. This time, the magazines varied from People to Men's Health, to an electric guitar catalog. It seems someone's chosen quarantine hobby was deep cleaning. Guess what happened later the next day? You guessed it! I was over it. I was done fantasizing about the contents of these random, donated magazines (and of the song, too, if we're being honest).

"Guitar Place Catalog" by Leslie Ramirez

Until, I thought about one of the oldest grade school art crafts: collages! Now, that sounded like fun! It was one of my favorite crafts to bring out for the kids during my daycare days, so I am surprised I hadn't thought of it before. There are so many cool things about collages, number one being the freedom! You can do whatever you want, and I mean that. Your inspiration can come from any material you can cut and/or glue, like magazines, catalogs, newspapers, junk mail, pamphlets, brochures, maps, grocery store advertisements, old picture books, and the list goes on. Large sections of color are great for piecing together a mosaic background to fill the gaps between your images. Or, you can cut enough of different sized individual items like animals, jewelry, or whatever fits your theme, to fill your whole board like a puzzle. You can put together different pieces from various pages to create a singular image, for example, a mouth, eyes, and a nose, from three different advertisements to create one face. A sun from a nature magazine, and beach toys from a store catalog can be glued on a picture of a beach from a travel magazine. For words, you can cut whole phrases, quotes or individual letters to spell out your own words or mottos you'd like to share. You can also add text by simply painting or writing on your collage, using pastels, charcoal, or markers. On top of that, there is a giant list of extra stuff you can glue on to add another level of media to your art! Glitter, sequins, small feathers, beads, fabric pieces, paint samples, even organic items like sand, sticks, or grass. Collages are awesome for mood boards, which are full of images of things you'd like to obtain in your life meant to keep you motivated and inspired to reach your goals. So it sounded like a good craft to allow me to escape the mundane life of unemployment and quarantine.

Thanks to a lot of dry bulk items from Costco, I had an excess of cardboard I could use that was strong enough to hold up to all the glue, yet thin, and light enough to hang on a wall with a simple Command strip. Quickly, I started to turn the pages of each magazine, and laid them out in front of me. It was like forming a puzzle to see how all these items would fit together on my board. After choosing my theme, and picking out a few items during my skimming, it was time for the next step: cutting. It is so important to have good, sharp scissors that can cut through thin, fragile materials like magazines, as well as thick, strong materials like carboard, or fabric. If the paper folds every time you cut because your blades are dull, it can damage your image and it will make your experience frustrating, so make sure you skip the dollar store and invest in some great scissors that will last through all your crafting! The next step is exciting because you get a small preview of what your collage will look like. You'll want to lay out and plan where all your pieces are going to go. It's a good time to move things around to see where they'll fit best and make any final decisions. Once you glue something on, it can be hard to take off and move and cause cause damage to your image, so take your time! This brings us to our last step: glue it all together. I always think it's a good idea to have both liquid glue, and a quick drying glue stick, maybe even some tape! Some materials are prone to wrinkling or ripping when wet, while others are textured and hard to glue on, so it's smart to have different options in case one doesn't work. After your collage is all dry, you can frame it for you desk or wall, or hang it without a frame with Velcro! Personally, I like to scan them so I can save it to my computer and share them online.

I know this project may seem very grade school and not amusing for people in their 20s or 30s. You can always make your collage anti-social and a little sad to make it more age appropriate! There's also nothing to lose by trying new, childish things and channeling our creative side. Plus, the disrespect! There are so many amazing mixed media collage artists worth taking a look at for some ideas, if you'd like! Martha Haversham, Akunyili Crosby, Jesse Treece, and one of the greatest, Pablo Picasso, of course, to name a very few. I can see why these great artists have turned to collages as their chosen art form. My favorite type of collages to do were mood boards of things I'd like to have or places I'd like to go one day. During my page turning, I found myself getting lost again in the pictures of beautiful beaches, and designer rings. Maybe it was because I was daydreaming with intent this time. It was uplifting, in a way, to see something you like and say, "I want this!", and cut it out for yourself, imagining for one moment it was that easy to obtain. During rough times, even the smallest symbolism can mean so much, which is the point of creating art, I suppose. Once your collage is finished, you take a look at things that make you happy, all in front of you in one place. You see it, as if it was an old family photo book of memories of your life, and for a small moment, you are the person you wish to be some day. Collages are a great way to create a new world you can dive into, guaranteed to transport you into a happy place. When my world feels like it is falling apart, it is nice to know you can glue it back together.

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About the Creator

Leslie Ramirez

A place to get those writing urges out.

IG: @leezyramirez

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