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Charlie the Tuna, a pleated skirt and a jack-o-lantern smile

February 15, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo Leave a Comment

It is such a wonder to me that even photos from our past that have almost no visual context (like a school portrait) can bring back so many connected memories. In this horrible, wonderful photo of me from second grade I notice:

The sweet sweater vest my mom knit for me
My jack-o-lantern smile
The very precise way my hands have been arranged
That awful haircut (I mean, really?)
My Charlie the Tuna pin

The details that aren’t in this photo but that come flooding back to me just by looking at it are:

The way my classroom at Immaculate Conception School looked
My homeroom teacher, Mrs. Strittmatter
Being escorted up the hill to school every morning by the next-door neighbors’ dog, Barney
Watching in fascination as Mike Batiste, who sat in front of me, turned his paper upside-down to write his notes left-handed
How much I loved my shoes for that year, which were tan and navy tie ups with a turtle embossed on the side

Some photos might not tell you a lot about themselves at the outset. I have found that sometimes just sitting with a photo like this one and casting yourself mentally back to that time—to the feelings of that time—can work a little memory magic.

My second grade school portrait, 1974-75

Now for a little note about the design of this page (because I’m not sure if it’s obvious in the photo above). I wanted to imitate the skirt of my school uniform—a blue, gray, white and black jumper—so I pleated blue checked paper across the bottom section.

Have a Coke and a purr: One-photo layout

February 11, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 2 Comments

Today’s layout is one I have been wanting to complete for some time. This photo is from 2003, which means it was taken with one of the early digital cameras. Do you remember the ones that took 16×12-inch photos in 72dpi? That’s a small low-resolution photo, which means that in order to print it and retain good resolution I had to make it 4×3 inches.

So, the question was how to take a darling but small photo (in relation to the 12×12 page) and keep the focus on it without sacrificing the fun of design. Simplicity was my answer. By mirroring the size and shape of the photo with one patterned paper and underlining it with a border sticker from the same line, I satisfied my need to use patterned paper (my weakness) without overdoing it. Then I finished off the look by using my Silhouette to cut the title from a free Coke font I found online.

I really love complex, layered designs. But sometimes simplicity leads to a more dramatic result.

Our cat, Oliver, caught on camera sniffing around my drink

Do a layout of a feeling

February 2, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo Leave a Comment

I recently read a touching blog post by photographer Joe McNally. The headline caught my eye—Take a picture of a feeling—and I’m happy I followed that link. McNally describes having the feeling while visiting his aging mother over the holidays that it might be the last time he would see her. Although melancholy, he followed through on this feeling and captured her in photos. His mother passed shortly after that visit.

His article coaches, “Every once in a while, you might get a feeling you need to shoot a picture. I would follow through on those, no matter how awkward, or sad, or inconvenient it might be. Over the years, I’ve made pictures of some feelings. Missed lots of times. Some, though, I still have a picture of, and I’m glad I do. Those pictures, of those feelings, have become my memory.”

Do you take pictures of feelings? I fear the majority of our photos document the facts, like who was at an event and what was served for dinner. And these are obviously important photos to take. But when was the last time you looked through your photos of a family event and were able to really relive the moment because of the emotion you captured? The photos we take because we follow the feeling that the moment is important to capture—as McNally says, in awkward, sad or inconvenient times—are the ones that really capture us. They are the ones that we can stare at. Get lost in. Those are really moments to remember.

To McNally’s urging I add the scrapbooking corollary: Do a layout of a feeling. This may make some layouts more challenging to do because focusing on the feelings that motivated you to take the photos will bring them back—the painful as well as the joyful. But I believe these will be layouts worth the effort.

Emotion can have a powerful impact on memory formation. Following is a layout I did a few years ago about a painful time. Whenever I look at it I find myself taking a deep breath and really remembering, which is important to me because I don’t ever want to forget that feeling and the moment it marked.

Do a layout of a feeling

White water: one-photo layout

January 26, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo 5 Comments

There’s a great sketch (#85) over at the Twisted Sketches site, and the twist is “white.” Here is my interpretation. I used layered strips of patterned paper cut with border punches to create an abstract wave effect (which takes the place of the circle in the sketch).

I just love the feeling in this photo of my parents white water rafting. They’re the two at the back of the raft, right in front of the guide, with huge smiles lighting up their faces. I could just stare at their smiles for ages. I love having a photo of them looking like care-free kids.

Mom and Dad on a white water rafting trip in 1998

Scraplifting is the highest form of flattery

January 21, 2011 By Janice Daquila-Pardo Leave a Comment

I took school and my school work very seriously (probably a little too seriously!), even at the start. Because of this I believed that copying off another student’s paper was cheating, no matter what. So when in first grade a little girl copied off my artwork, I went home upset and fussed about it to my mother. I didn’t think it was right for her to take my idea, and I wanted my mom to help me figure out how to make her stop. It’s funny how clear this memory is for me—both my feelings about the girl’s behavior and my mother’s response. She said, “Honey, she’s not really cheating off you because it wasn’t a test. She liked your drawing and wanted to make hers like it. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, you know.”

I’ve thought about those words many times over the years. Fast forward a few decades and I realize how much my mother’s lesson sank in. Now I would say my philosophy is that we should all do our own work, but when it comes to creativity I think we should take inspiration wherever we find it.

I was actually quite surprised when I found out that not everyone thinks scraplifting is kosher. I can remember reading a magazine article a few years ago that discussed scraplifting like it was a practice that we no longer need to be embarrassed about. We should even consider doing it occasionally. “Occasionally?” I thought. Don’t most scrappers do this? Don’t art students copy the masters so they can learn the craft?

I hereby officially and proudly proclaim that I am a scraplifter. There are so many wonderful designers sharing their layouts with us in magazines, books and online. Why wouldn’t I copy a layout I really love when I create my own? I can’t think of a good reason. I mean, I don’t go out and buy the exact supplies the other designer used so I can replicate her design to the last detail. I use my own supplies and photos, so it’s naturally going to be different when it’s completed. And I really do believe that imitation is the highest form of flattery, so if I copy your design you know that I am applauding your design skills! 🙂

The layout below is a lift of this Keisha Campell design I saw back in September. I loved every detail of Keisha’s page, so I did everything I could to copy it. I love her original, and now I love my own version as well!

A layout about my husband's maternal grandmother

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