Shelley sums up her process for creating a Letter Block Memento celebrating friendship of twenty years.
My dear friend, Tracy, is turning 40. Probably half of the times I’ve referred to her, I’ve used the word “friend” rather than her name – over 20 years now. This prompted “F” for the letter layer. We met in art school, which after 5 years culminated in an exciting BFA thesis show. The photo transfer on top is from a picture taken the day we both presented our work…back in 1997.
A dozen or so of us alums, although separated by many miles, fashion ourselves quite the group of friends, with lots of inside jokes, names, terminology, etc. This crew (at this point I have forgotten the context) started calling itself “lobster on a stick”, which made for an exciting, hand-painted focus. Lobsters are totally weird and fun to paint. Both side panels delve into shared memories. The photo transfer pancakes and lip prints reference some wacky footage taken by Robert Banks where we were directed to pile on loads of lipstick and play with pancakes! The sunflowers are in the style of Redbrick Studio pottery – a little business we shared that put us at many art shows with lots of time to talk about the same old stuff over and over…and, of course, laugh.
I’d have to make a dozen more blocks to capture much of the greatness of our friendship, but I tried to sum it up with a transferred quote from the movie, Boyhood – incidentally, the last movie we saw together before her big move to another city last summer. She will always be “my people.”
Letter Block Mementos are collages of rich imagery that serve as homages to their subjects. Every choice is meaningful. Each has a letter of focus, a photo transfer usually depicting a face or figure, and a hand-drawn or painted item of significance. Additional elements are used to embellish the sides – each repeated. Typically these have been simple designs, patterns, textures, or more photo transfers. Each piece is sprayed with a glossy coat of finish and can be hung or displayed on a flat surface.
-
Focus letter is taped off and colored using metallic sharpie
-
White paint is washed over the letter, making a lighter "canvas"
-
Photo is transferred
-
Sunflower sides are painted and surrounded with a contrasting black
-
Pancakes and lip prints are transferred and kissed in place
-
-
Lobster is penciled in place
-
Lobster is painted
-
Glossy finish applied
