Most people have absolutely no idea what the ephemera are or what they're for. Simply put, they are just pieces of paper from everyday life. These pieces of paper can range from menus to programs to receipts and so on. There really are no hard and fast rules for what qualifies as ephemera and what does not.
However, if the person in question is an ephemera collector they may have a different definition of what is and what is not an ephemeron. For example, there are sellers on auction sites selling vintage ephemera in lots and there are antique stores selling “collectible” ephemera. These particular collections generally are not used in mixed media art, or any other type of art for that matter, but rather they are preserved in some way.
How can an ephemera collection for the purpose of art be collected easily? Here are some ideas for you:
- Rather than throwing away your junk mail, keep it in a shoebox. Sift through it once per week and remove items you are certain will never make it into one of your art pieces.
- Whenever you shop, particularly grocery shop, collect all the paper items you come across. In grocery stores, you’ll find racks of free newspapers, brochures in the pharmacy area, pamphlets in customer service, coupons scattered all over the store, and recipe cards scattered all over the store.
- Each time your run an errand or do any shopping that produces a receipt that you do not need to retain for tax purposes, save them aside for your collection.
- The next time you take yourself on an artist date, stop by an information center or your town hall and take one of every piece of paper, pamphlet, booklet and brochure out on display.
These are just some ideas to get you started. There are also movie tickets, programs from shows you attend, and post office collections that will come up along the way. Don’t forget to ask your friends and family to save aside some of their daily paper collections to add to your ephemera collection. If you have two or three collections going at once, you’ll be amazed at what you have to choose from.
Consider storing all of these items in a large plastic bin. Not only will this protect your ephemera collection from moisture, but it will also keep it from getting lost or cluttering up your creative space. Some mixed media artists sort their ephemera by type, as well, so it’s easier to access and they know exactly what the need to stock up on. Collect five or six shoebox sized plastic containers and fill them separately with:
- Junk mail, catalogs
- Recipes
- Receipts
- Menus, programs, placemats, tickets
- Brochures, pamphlets, booklets
- Maps, guides, travel material
As you can see, building an ephemera collection is very easy. Using this collection will be a snap because you know everything contained within it is easily replaced within no time at all.
