Have you ever gone to an after the funeral get together, or memorial wake, and felt like you wanted to bring something, but had no idea of what to bring? Its a frustrating feeling. You want to help, but how can you in such a devastating circumstance?
When a member of my husband's family died at a very young age, his wife decided to host a friends and family weekend wake/memorial service at the beach. I decided to make a remembrance collage:
- I first had my mother-in-law drag out all of her scrapbooks. Together we went though them, and pulled out pictures featuring events in our recently deceased loved-one's life.
- I took the pictures to the local copy center (they love me there), and had all the pictures enlarged and color copied.
- Then I looked at the pictures, put them into categories
(wedding, fishing trips, holidays, etc.) , and then cut them out. Many times I merely separated the front action from the background. Sometimes I cut people out entirely.
- At this point I always clean up my area - it somehow makes it easier to "create". I tossed all scraps, and put duplicate or extras that would work better some other time, out of my sight line.
- Then I took a picture frame that came complete with glass and mat, and laid out a cardboard or mat board piece that would fit the frame exactly.
- Then I started arranging. Similar events — as I described in #3 above, should be close to each other on the board. Pictures that were taken at more of a distance, I put in the back — or top — of the board.
- Work your way "forward", or down the board. Overlap pictures. In cases like weddings, you might even want progressive pictures.
- In one case, I used one of those pictures frames with the different sized holes for pictures. Put major pictures in behind those frames. Then put the next pictures directly on the provided mattboard. This adds depth to your design. Continue to fill in the spaces, using pictures from similar events around the central important pictures that have been centered on the holes cut for pictures in the matt board.
- Once your board is filled — not completely opaque, clear spaces are part of the design — clean the glass and put the frame together.
- To make your creation extra special, using a very stong glue (hot glue if you like), decorate the frame with objects that might mean something to whatever, or whoever, the collage is about. If its for someone that has died, put on items that remind you of the deceased. Did they have a hobby, enjoy the beach, love music? Use objects to represent their passions. Golf balls (you can have them sawed in half) and tees, sea chells and agates or beachglass, musical notes or pieces of written music, (which you can decoupage to the frame), can all be glued to the frame.
- Glue your articles in clusters in the corner areas. Do just one corner if you like. Do not space them evenly around the frame! Remember, in general, symmetry is boring, and usually a bad design. There are exceptions, but be very careful.
-Kathy
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