Holding on to the Ephemeral

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Holding on to the Ephemeral



*”…What would I do without the absurd and the ephemeral?”*
— Frida Kahlo

This quote felt like it belonged among these paper fragments.

A handwritten receipt, faded stamps, botanical illustrations, and forgotten labels were all created to serve a brief purpose. Yet here they are, years later, gathered into something entirely new.

Perhaps that’s what I love most about collage.

It reminds me that beauty doesn’t have to last forever to matter.

Sometimes the most fleeting things leave the deepest impression.

—

Studio Notes

**Title:** *Holding on to the Ephemeral*

**Theme:** Impermanence, beauty, and the quiet art of collecting

**Featured Elements:**

🌹 Vintage botanical illustration

🌿 Botanical tag

💌 Antique receipts and correspondence

📮 Vintage postage stamps

🖋️ Frida Kahlo quotation

**Mood:**

Soft • Romantic • Reflective • Collected • Nostalgic

**What Inspired This Piece:**

I often find myself drawn to paper that was never meant to survive—a receipt, a shipping label, a handwritten note, a stamp that crossed oceans. These ordinary objects become extraordinary simply because they endured. This collage is a reminder that beauty can be found in what is temporary, overlooked, and imperfect.

**Favorite Detail:**

The Frida Kahlo quote anchors the entire composition. It expresses exactly why I collect ephemera in the first place. These fragile paper fragments may have been created for a single moment, but together they become a lasting story.

—

Reflection

What “ephemeral” object have you kept simply because it meant something to you?

A ticket tucked into a book, a handwritten letter, a pressed flower, or an old receipt from an unforgettable day?

Sometimes our smallest keepsakes tell the richest stories.

—

*Paper and Ephemera*

*Where old paper finds a second life.*

Shelves of Time

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Shelves of Time


Some places exist only in our imagination.

A room lined with old books. A vase of freshly gathered flowers. A well-worn clock quietly marking the afternoon. A landscape beyond the window inviting another journey.

This collage became a tribute to slow living—to the kind of spaces where stories are read, memories are collected, and time feels beautifully unhurried.

Perhaps the richest journeys don’t always require a suitcase. Sometimes they begin with a book, a painting, or a forgotten paper fragment.

Studio Notes

Title: Shelves of Time

Theme: Quiet interiors, books, travel, and the comfort of timeless spaces

Featured Elements:

📚 Antique books

⏰ Vintage mantel clock

🌼 Jar of wildflowers

🖼️ Landscape painting

🚂 Train ticket and luggage label

📖 Printed book page

Mood:

Cozy • Literary • Nostalgic • Quiet • Timeless

What Inspired This Piece:

I wanted to create a collage that feels like stepping into an old study where every object has a story. The books suggest knowledge gathered over a lifetime, the flowers bring a touch of the natural world indoors, the clock reminds us to slow down, and the travel ephemera hints at journeys both taken and imagined. It’s a space where curiosity and stillness exist side by side.

Reflection

If you could spend an afternoon in this room, what would you reach for first—a book from the shelf, the view beyond the window, or the stories hidden within the old travel labels?

—

Paper and Ephemera

Where old paper finds a second life

We Write To Understand

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We Write to Understand

*”We do not write in order to be understood; we write in order to understand.”*
— Cecil Day-Lewis

There are certain quotes that seem to become part of the creative process itself.

When I found these words by Cecil Day-Lewis, I knew they belonged in a collage.

Surrounding the quote are fragments that speak their own quiet language: an old piano label, postage stamps that once crossed borders, handwritten correspondence, faded receipts, and a gold wax seal that feels like the closing of a cherished letter. None of these pieces were created together, yet they now share the same page.

That is one of the things I love most about collage.

It teaches me that meaning doesn’t have to arrive fully formed.

Sometimes understanding is built one fragment at a time.

As I layer paper, I begin to notice unexpected relationships. A piece of handwriting echoes the curve of a flower. A stamp suggests a journey. A wax seal hints at a letter that may never be read. The collage slowly reveals something I didn’t know I was trying to say.

In many ways, the process mirrors journaling.

When I write, I am rarely searching for perfect words. I am searching for clarity.

When I make collage, I am not searching for perfection either. I am listening for connection.

Perhaps that is why these two practices feel inseparable to me.

Both invite me to slow down.

Both ask me to pay attention.

Both remind me that creativity is less about having all the answers and more about staying curious enough to keep asking questions.

This piece became a quiet reminder that understanding doesn’t always arrive in a single moment.

Sometimes it arrives as layers.

—

Studio Notes

**Title:** *We Write to Understand*

**Theme:** Creativity, reflection, and the connection between writing and collage

**Featured Elements:**

✍️ Cecil Day-Lewis quotation card

🕯️ Gold wax seal

🎹 Vintage piano advertisement

📮 Antique postage stamps

📜 Handwritten correspondence and paper ephemera

**Color Palette:**

* Dusty rose
* Antique gold
* Warm sepia
* Weathered ivory
* Soft charcoal

**What Inspired This Piece:**

This collage grew from the idea that writing and collage share the same purpose: they help us make sense of our inner world. Whether arranging words or paper fragments, both practices become a way of exploring thoughts that are difficult to express all at once.

**Mood Words:**

Reflective • Literary • Collected • Quiet • Thoughtful • Timeless

—
Reflection

Do you create to express what you already know, or do you create to discover something new about yourself?

Perhaps the answer changes with every page.

—

*Paper and Ephemera*

*Where old paper finds a second life.*

A Portrait Beyond Time

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A Portrait Beyond Time

There is something captivating about historical portraits.

Long after names are forgotten and stories fade, a painted face continues to meet our gaze with quiet confidence. We are left to imagine who they were, what they loved, and what filled the ordinary days between the moments history chose to preserve.

This collage began with the portrait of a woman whose elegance immediately drew me in. Around her, I layered fragments of travel, newspaper clippings, postage, maps, and advertisements—pieces of everyday life that contrast with the formality of her portrait.

I love that tension.

Portraits often represent the extraordinary. Ephemera represents the ordinary.

One preserves a likeness.

The other preserves a life.

A train ticket. A postage stamp. A newspaper clipping. These small paper fragments rarely find their way into museums, yet they often reveal more about daily life than the grand portraits hanging in galleries.

That is what continues to inspire my collage practice.

I enjoy placing history’s quiet details alongside its celebrated images. Together, they become something new—not a record of the past, but an invitation to imagine it.

As I worked on this piece, I found myself wondering about the woman in the portrait.

Did she enjoy reading by candlelight?

Did she keep letters tied with ribbon?

Did she press flowers between the pages of a favorite book?

Of course, I will never know.

But collage allows me to ask those questions without needing definitive answers.

Sometimes the beauty lies in imagining the lives hidden behind the paper.

—
Studio Notes

**Title:** *A Portrait Beyond Time*

**Theme:** Portraiture, memory, and the beauty of everyday history

**Featured Elements:**

👒 Historical portrait

🗺️ Vintage map fragment

📮 Antique postage stamp

🎟️ Vintage ticket

📰 French newspaper advertisement

📜 Layered archival paper

**Color Palette:**

* Deep slate blue
* Antique ivory
* Warm sepia
* Dusty rose
* Aged parchment

**What Inspired This Piece:**

I wanted to create a collage that felt like a meeting place between fine art and everyday history. While the portrait draws the eye, it’s the surrounding fragments that quietly tell the story of ordinary lives, travel, correspondence, and the passage of time.

**Mood Words:**

Elegant • Historical • Reflective • Collected • Literary • Timeless

Reflection

If you could step into any historical portrait for a single afternoon, what question would you ask the person looking back at you?

—

*Paper and Ephemera*

*Where old paper finds a second life.*

Among Books and Wildflowers

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Among Books and Wildflowers



Some collages begin with a single image.

This one began with a feeling.

An open book, a pressed botanical, a handwritten note, and a well-worn specimen label slowly found one another on the page. Together, they remind me that reading and collecting are quiet acts of noticing. We gather words, flowers, memories, and fragments—not because they are rare, but because they help us remember who we are.

Perhaps every collage is its own little library, preserving beauty one paper fragment at a time.

—

Studio Notes

**Title:** *Among Books and Wildflowers*

**Theme:** Books, botanical studies, and the quiet art of collecting

**Featured Elements:**

📚 Open book

🌿 Vintage botanical illustration

📝 Handwritten manuscript

🏷️ Antique specimen label

🐎 Vintage postage stamp

**Mood:**

Literary • Botanical • Gentle • Collected • Reflective

**What Inspired This Piece:**

I imagined the desk of someone who loved both books and the natural world—a reader who tucked flowers between pages, copied favorite passages by hand, and collected small paper treasures wherever life took them. I wanted this collage to feel like opening an old journal filled with discoveries.

**Reflection**

What would be found on your desk if someone stumbled upon it a hundred years from now?

Would they discover books, pressed flowers, handwritten notes, or small keepsakes that tell the story of your life?

—

*Paper and Ephemera*

*Where old paper finds a second life.*

Between Wonder and Becoming

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Between Wonder and Becoming

Some collages don’t tell a single story—they gather many.

A dragonfly, a dream, a Renaissance portrait, a moonlit sky, and Da Vinci’s timeless study of the human form all found their way onto this page. Together, they became a quiet reminder that creativity often begins with curiosity.

I don’t always know why certain fragments belong together. I simply trust them until a story begins to emerge.

Perhaps art isn’t about finding answers.

Perhaps it’s about remaining open to wonder.

Studio Notes

Title: Between Wonder and Becoming

Theme: Curiosity, transformation, and the creative imagination

Featured Elements:

🪲 Vintage dragonfly illustration

🎨 Classical and Renaissance-inspired artwork

🌙 Moonlit landscape

🏛️ Architectural motifs

📖 Inspirational words and paper fragments

Mood:

Dreamlike • Curious • Reflective • Hopeful • Wonder-filled

What Inspired This Piece:

This collage grew from my fascination with the way art, nature, and history continually inspire one another. The dragonfly became a symbol of transformation, while the paintings and architectural details reminded me that beauty can be discovered across centuries. Together, these fragments became a visual reminder to stay curious, to keep learning, and to trust the creative process.

Reflection

What images or ideas have stayed with you throughout your life?

Sometimes the smallest sparks of curiosity become the foundations of our creative journey.

—

Paper and Ephemera

Where old paper finds a second life.