The Leaving and the Left – Teardrop on the Fire Opening Exhibition 08.07.09 • Noteworthy* Paper&Press

Tender, Laughing and Lovely Originally uploaded by love not fear I used this photo in this piece. The only work I did on it in the digital darkroom was to adjust levels, contrast & brightness. The distressed effect of the photo in the final piece is from the glue that I used to apply it [...]

…learning much about the logistical process of putting these pieces together. One major struggle I’m having is that the metal upon which I’m mounting everything is so thin, I’m having to mount the metal itself onto a piece of wood & hanging it with wire means it pulls away from the wall quite a bit.

Leaving and the Left – First Submission Arrival Originally uploaded by love not fear Please send original love letters to be included in future incarnations of The Leaving and the Left to PO Box 7457, Missoula, MT, 59802. If you’d like to send email to the project, which will be printed and remixed for inclusion [...]

I used muriatic acid to rust the screws. Once I got them to rust the way I wanted them, I coated them with an acrylic finish to prevent further rusting.

Got the metal cut, and a camera to record the results. Am going through letters again. Scanning the letters I rip up. Not sure how I feel about this yet. Cleaning glass, cutting wire, hammering holes with the awl, affixing glass to metal. Playing with the paints, too. As well as experiments with other rusty things.

uggestion, I made one without wood, but instead used metal. His reasoning for the switch is that wood is too warm, but metal is cold, and the pieces seem to have a cold theme. I don’t think the theme is cold. Rational, yes. Clinical, maybe. While all loves are different, looking back with a clear and rational head into past relationships to learn what worked and what didn’t is a positive way to both honor what went before while building towards a successful and long-lasting relationship.

Should I quarantine each person’s sentiments per piece? For this one, I mixed letters from two different individuals with the idea that these types of emotions are universal. I’m thinking that maybe it doesn’t work within the piece, and that I should isolate feelings from individual writers. Still include both love and loss in one piece, just keep it focused on one person per piece. That will mean making more than one piece per person.

Initially, I had intended to use snippets of old love letters, juxtaposed with after-the-breakup letters to illustrate that love and sadness can exist in the same space, although maybe in different time continuums. Acknowledging and honoring both disparate feelings is important. Attempting to replace love with hate isn’t truly possible or healthy.