Ephemera Collage

 

P1000340

A year or so ago, Fergal’s father gave me a box of old books he was throwing out. Amongst them were some gorgeously old books, with yellowing pages and many with the old Gaelic font. I also got a few copybooks from his time in school with his beautiful cursive handwriting, a veritable treasure trove!

As I was sorting through the books, I found some real finds: some of the books had belonged to Patrick Ryan, Fergal’s grandfather, who was part of the Garda Síochána (this is translated as “Guardians of the Peace”) On one of the books I found his signature and handwriting, and on another, his official Garda stamp and the date 1935. My sister-in-law, Deirdre, the genealogist of the family, had given us copies of old photos of Patrick Ryan from over seventy years ago. I then pieced together a collage of all the bits and pieces I had, photos, Garda stamp, handwriting and added in an old Irish stamp and lace.

Screen shot 2013-07-13 at 19.23.44

I love using ephemera, especially that which has an emotional energy to it! I am working on four more memory boxes and a few paintings. Hopefully pictures of those soon.

Have a great weekend from a very sunny Ireland (at last!!)