A Good Score

Handwriting makes an interesting background for painted papers and old handwritten papers add nice texture to ephemera collage....so I'm always on the lookout.

I picked up a two volume set of Universal Classic Manuscripts at the used book sale at the library.  Each one is filled with copies of handwritten letters from famous people from history.  They are massive books...so much so that I had to take breaks as I walked them home from the library.                                                                              

The books are old so the pages are a little fragile....but still very usable.  They could just sit on a shelf somewhere, end up in a landfill or incinerator....or get used in some art projects. I'm going with art projects.  Making the first cut was hard....I just kept thinking about that incinerator.                                                                       

I wanted to see how the pages took color on the gel plate....so that's where I started yesterday.  Much to my delight they picked up the paint really well. 

One of my first thoughts was cutting strips for trees....we'll see how they play a role in my art. I do think the books were a good score.... handwritten score....that is.