Monday, July 5, 2010

Playing with paper and a winner announced



I am the maker of this particular version of the world (with a little help from cut-up magazines). This week, I went crazy with the craftiness of collage-building. After finding pictures that suited my novel-in-progress, SEA DAUGHTERS, I played around for hours, shuffling images from one spot to another. Sigh.

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But before I talk more of that, I need to announce the winner, chosen by random draw, of DELTA GIRLS by Gayle Brandeis.


Winner is: Jemi Fraser!


Jemi, please e-mail me your mailing address and I will send the book with haste.



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And now back to playing with paper.


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Here is my protagonist, a teenager who loves to surf and is falling for a guy at school who is aiming for the pro circuit.





They have some good times, but there's something in the water--






























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Here is Boyfriend. Do you require more?







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I didn't paste the images down or make collage boards. I scattered these montages after photographing them. It reminds me of sand-painting, a creation made for a moment in time and then erased.


Of course, I hope my story will go on living--someday in a book that draws readers into this world. I think this visual, textile playtime was good for me as a writer. I spent time with my characters in a dimension outside my head. Sort of.






30 comments:

Stephanie Thornton said...

Yay for Jemi!

I read an interview with Sue Monk Kidd- she also made collages for her stories and then found ways to fit the images into the story. I thought that was pretty darn cool.

Jade said...

Love it! I'm always putting together visual inspiration for my stories. It's my favourite form of procrastination!

Boyfriend looks hot. More please.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Congratulations Jemi! I like the collage idea. I once found pics online of real soldiers who resembled my characters the way I envisioned them. I copied and laminiated them and set them up by my computer. Seems silly now but I think it helped to translate my imaginery people to visual reality. I'm sure that your story will go on living in book form.

Claire Dawn said...

I talked about visual and textile on my blog today too. Great minds??? Hmm. Nice stuff. I like working wiht my hands, so I may just have to try this. :)

The Words Crafter said...

Love the collages! I love visual aids, too. And congratulations to Jemi!

Natasha said...

Those collages look fantastic. And I love the idea of not pasting the images down, but keeping them so you can move them around.

Tabitha Bird said...

What a great idea! Its like spending time writing outside the box :) Love it!

Wen Baragrey said...

I love doing that. I do a photo collage for all my WiPs. Since I'm an artist too, I'm really visual and I need pictures to help me visualize my characters. It's great fun, isn't it?

Liza said...

I've been tearing pictures out of magazines...

Stina said...

Yay, Jemi!!!!!

I've never tried creating a collage for my wip. Maybe I'll have to try making one this summer while my kids work on art projects.

kah said...

Congrats, Jemi!

Yay for something being in the water. You already knew I'd love these montages. I can't wait to see your story on my Borders bookshelf!

Hope you had a great 4th.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Stephanie: That's very interesting. Does she make them before she starts to write? Most of these images were things I've already written in.

Jade: Ah, I hoped someone would say that! I love that photo of the guy in a suit standing in the surf.

Yvonne: I don't think that's silly, at all. I wish I could've found a girl that really looked like my character but couldn't. Anyway, most of the pictures are more action-oriented and that's what these characters are.

Claire: I love your post! It's really interesting to think about all the senses and how we can use them.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Welcome, Words Crafter, and thank you!

Rayna: I decided not to paste as I played with them. Years ago, I made collages that were pasted, and that was fun, but this time I felt the story needs fluidity and the ability to change.

Tab: Exactly! It was a lot of fun.

Wen: I didn't know that you did that, but I'm not surprised now that you say so. I love that you are a visual artist and writer--what richness to have so much creativity.

Liza: Isn't it fun to do? Have a great time!

Stina: What a good idea--to do it while your kids are making art. You can spend time together and be thinking about your WIP.

Karen: Lucky for me I had all these surf magazines (and some others) so ocean images were at my fingertips.
I hope someday both our books are on the shelf, luring people into the world of the sea.

Lydia Kang said...

That is such a great idea! NExt time I see something that inspires me in a magazine I'm getting my scissors.

Congrats Jemi!

Dawn Ius said...

What an awesome idea. My friend is an artist and he's currently painting a mural on my wall that will grow over time - it includes a piece" of something from my current WIPs. Visual inspiration works for me!

Hannah said...

That's really cool! I've never done that before. I do search the interwebs for inspiring photos. I don't have that many magazines. :)

Congrats to Jemi!!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I think this is such a cool idea. I love it when people share their collages. One of these days, I'm going to give it a try! :-)

And congrats to Jemi!!

Robyn Campbell said...

Pat, where do you come up with all these awesomely wonderful ideas? This is next on my to do list. I can't wait to see all the images I can come up with for my new story.

Thus, you have once again inspired me. :0)

Sherrie Petersen said...

I like your collages. I always have a file with images of my characters, even their homes, when I write. It helps me make the story more real.

Jemi Fraser said...

Wow! Thanks so much!! You just made my day :)

I love collages - but I never make them. Don't know why. Maybe because I don't own magazines?? These give great visuals for your book - can't wait!

Thanks again!

Char said...

wonderful collages

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Lydia: Snip! Snip! It really is fun and you could start a file of photos for the day you're ready to assemble something.

Dawn: Wow! A mural with something from your novel--that's impressive.

Palindrome: It would work with digital files, too. I happen to have a stack of surfing magazines due to my answering a marketing call at a vulnerable moment. ;)

Shannon: Oh, please do. You will have so much fun.

Robyn: You'll be able to do a cool one for that story, I'm sure of it!

Sherrie: I wish I had a lot more time. I'd also like to paint some scenes, to play with this even more. To, as you say, make it real on a visual level.

Jemi: Yay!
You should try it, you'll have so much fun and doing "art" for a story adds three-dimensional aspects in your mind, I think.

Char: Thanks so much!

Sage Ravenwood said...

Congratulations Jemi!

I've been seriously contemplating doing something like this. If nothing else it gives a different visual than the written words. (Hugs)Indigo

Donna said...

I love what you said about the fluidity of the collage images. Perfect for a rewrite, which is where I am right now as well.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Indigo: Try it, I really think you'll like it! Truly.

Donna: Exactly. I didn't want to feel "fixed" in place.

VR Barkowski said...

Congrats to Jemi!

The collages are awesome, Tricia. I write in Scrivener and keep tons of digital images in project files. I'm not much of an artist, but I am irredeemably visual. Working with the images like this would be an inspiration. Great idea.

Unknown said...

What an interesting design! I can totally get a sense of what your book is about just by looking at the images. And I LOVE the conflict involving the environment. Very classy.

Suzanne Casamento said...

I love the idea of playing with images and seeing your story through pictures before text. That's amazing.

Usually, the pictures are drawn as I type. I don't see any of it beforehand. So cool!

Faith Pray said...

What a great way to get into your current project! I love this idea.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Hopefully, it's safe to post comments again. Yesterday, most of these disappeared but seem to have come back.

VR: Thanks, I'd love to see you create something with your saved images!

Beth: Thank you. That's pretty darn wonderful to hear.

Hi Suzanne: It really adds another dimension, I think. And, besides, it's fun. ;)

Faith: With your artistic skill, I bet you could make some pretty awesome collages!