Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Bank Statement Art

First of all let me say that I am fully aware that my blogging duties have fallen short over the Spring and Summer.  As I've noted before...I've been f&*%ing busy.  However, I'd like to think that I'm going to make a very special effort to do better now that Fall is here.  But, I'm not making any promises!  Now, with that said, I need your help!  The other day I pulled out this box of old paperwork.  Years ago some guy I did not know showed up at my front door bragging about all the pieces of furniture he had bought from a old antique store.  He claimed they were from my house. At first, I though he was trying to sell the furniture back to me and that he was completely crazy. Until, he produced a box of paper work found in one of the pieces of furniture.   He said he had no need for the box of paperwork and offer to give it to me.  I think he really just wanted to see my house.  The box contained mostly old bank statements, canceled checks and other type receipts from the 2nd generation owners.  I'm sure he kept anything of value - including the furniture!  There were a few post cards and letters but mostly financial papers.  I pushed the box in the corner of the attic and forgot about it until two years ago when I needed a name for this blog. 


The box has been sitting on a shelf in my office since.  Not long ago I pulled it back out and thought how much I liked the look of the old statements.  Actually I find them quite interesting and have been wondering what I can do with them.  Most of them are from early in the 1900's to the mid 1930's.  If nothing else, I find the paper alone to be really pretty, albeit a bit fragile. 



I have month after month of bank statements from several different banks spanning several decades.


I guess I have about 200 canceled checks. 


I love this one.  The bank and the town have been crossed out and written over with another town and different bank.  I'm going to try that with some old Citibank checks and see how Wells Fargo likes it!



There's also a full booklet of what I'm assuming are promissory notes - about 100 in all.


This is actually from a REI store in New York.  These are stone lithographs tablets dating back to the 1900's which were unearthed during the store's construction.  One thought I had was to mount my checks and statements on some type of thick board and mount unframed, but the paper is so fragile I think it needs to be under glass.


This is sort of interesting.  They're illustrations randomly attached to the wall with decorative tacks.  But, again not under glass.


Since my pieces consists of generally 3-4 different sizes, I thought about framing them all in the same type frame and filling a wall floor to ceiling.


Or only using like sized pieces and each framed the same and then hanging as a collage.

If I was a better blogger...or had more time I'd search the blog-a-sphere for great ideas.  But, considering I barely have time to pee, I'm seeking out ideas...

Your thoughts?
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