Saturday, June 22, 2013

A New Take on Altered Clipboards

Over the years, I have clipped and printed several articles related to altered clipboards.  In my 2013 quest to be a "doer," and not simply a "collector of ideas," I decided to finally act upon the inspiration, starting slow, with a few smaller-sized clipboards I purchased at an office supply store.

When I sat down with the clipboards, I knew that I wanted to collage them with the papers I had acquired at the Allentown Paper Show--vintage photographs, old documents, well-traveled postal envelopes, and postcards--along with international currency I scored at Brigg's Auction.

But as I started to collect items together that I wanted to incorporate onto each clipboard, a new idea was born.  Instead of cutting up the ephemera to glue onto the clipboards, I decided to layer the selected pieces to create a kind of document collection clipped to each board. 
My intention was to display the altered clipboards anyway, rather than use them in the traditional sense, covering over the alterations with my own stacks of day-to-day note-taking. 
This revised approach, while "an easy way out," to be sure, allows flexibility and assures the integrity of the vintage items I was including in each piece.  Nothing is cut, nothing is pasted. 
Everything can be removed, re-conceptualized, and re-arranged. 
The three clipboards have become a display item in Studio 791, hanging from nails between the door to the room and the closet opening. 
I may yet alter a clipboard in the more "traditional" sense of the project, but for right now I am enjoying the fruits of this approach!

8 comments:

iHanna said...

It's like made up story boards! You could write a book about each "life" that is featured on your wall. I think it looks very sweet and romantic.

Rita said...

What an interesting idea. I agree they are like story or inspiration boards. I love clip boards and use them as the hard surface for most of my paper art so I find this especially cool. Thanks for sharing!

eli said...

qué preciosa idea, Andria!

Patty said...

Love this idea, Andria!

Maria Ontiveros said...

I love these, too. I have an overstuffed inspiration board that needs to be cleared out a bit.
rinda

Karen Isaacson said...

Brilliant idea! You have all the beauty of your compositions on display, but you still have the ephemera intact for future use. You can become a curator of your own stash - rotating what goes into the display on a regular basis.

Shopgirl said...

This is a sweet idea, no glue in your hair or paper cuttings falling to the floor. I love this! I have been MIA from comments, so much to do, so little time. Have a great summer, Mary

uncustomary said...

The clipboards are beautiful! And I also love the crap out of that wall color.