Reliving the past as you create
Thoughts on creating with old photos and the messages within them.
Yugoslavia before the fall, created with the “The Past is Another Country” Collection
If researching my own (and my partner’s) family history has taught me anything, it is that the way people are doesn't really change.
The famous quote is “The past is a foreign country” but I like to think of it as ANOTHER country, because so much does stay the same. But the world around us certainly does change - in small, incremental ways or in big leaps.
Creating with old photos is a form of meditation for me on that. Whether it be photos of me in the same place but years apart, or treasured old family pics. I love reliving it in my mind as I create, or wondering about the life of the people in the photo. When it is an old photo of me, there are always a myriad of hidden messages from the past that bubble up as I create (such as lessons I have learnt, or things that took on much more significance over the years). Sometimes I may include them in the journalling, other times I may just think on them as I work on making a ‘pretty page’.
On the subject of photos, I always shake my head a little when I see ads or tutorials on how to remove ‘distractions’ such as cars, passersby, telephone lines etc from travel photos. Yes, often you want that uncluttered shot with the focus perfectly on the person or building or view you are trying to capture. But in my own travel albums I always try to include photos that also capture the TIME as well as the place.
Those boring cars that are in the background will one day be a charming and fascinating detail to those viewing the photo.
THE PAST IS ANOTHER COUNTRY COLLECTION
Rachel and I have a brand new collection at The Lilypad for BYOC (‘Build Your Own Collection’) weekend.
There are mixed media elements, templates, pocket cards, a kit of papers and elements PLUS the best-value full bundle of everything.
Note though, that the already massively reduced bundle will not count towards ‘buy more, save more’ BYOC discounts.
Check out the video Rachel made for us:
And here are some more of my own creations with the collection, one of me in the north of England where I was born, and two of me in Athens. Note the car in the background of the first one! It was pretty vintage even then (as was my dress!) but I was probably hoping it wasn’t in the background at the time. And I am particularly fond of the ‘then and now’ page.
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That's such an interesting point about the over editing of photos and removing objects, you are so right about that, as in it's so interesting to look at photos many years later and reflect upon 'how things were', how people dressed, and what our everyday life looked like in the moment. Lovely to read your thoughts on reliving the past as you create