iMatch:
THE NEW MEMORY GAME BY FRANCES PEETS
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Green#RAFT s Spring 2015
It is clear to me that everything is rooted in memory. Everything I do, everything I feel, everything I will become, is built on memory. Before I choose what changes me next, I first need to remember. After connecting with feelings or emotions, the memory begins to surface. The iMatch game was first imagined when working with crisp iTunes images while downloading a few free song codes from Starbucks. I began to think of visual matching games from childhood and how much I loved to play them over and over. I’m certain, I thought, that I was good at the game and repetition only brought rewards. The faster I could match up the images, the faster I could begin again, and the faster I could tell myself how smart I was at this game. Pride welled up inside my young body and there wasn’t a moment that could top that matching moment on any given day. I collect almost anything Starbucks; their paper quality and images define a part of my life that is hard to explain. I suppose they tell me where I am right now in my life and in my artist’s life. When these images fade and change in my art, they too will become memory. Starbucks’ marketing materials are simple yet
appealing, so I like to reuse them in my art. These days, I mostly make a plethora of envelope designs for my handmade cards using their paper bags. I usually bring home a few extra iTunes cards and share the codes on freecycle.org. I think of myself as a resourceful artist, which means I don’t need to rush to the craft store to buy something to make the project. There are so many household materials I can use in my art if I just open my eyes and think. Upcycling anything challenges my inner artist. To reuse something and remake it into something new makes me reach and stretch and dare my imagination into creating. My keen eye notices anything I can reuse. I have been collecting, sorting, and storing materials before they are trashed, and turn these materials into art. Today, children play with gadgets and there is an app that does just about anything for you. Although it makes me smile when I see children entertaining themselves, I see this sort of entertainment, at times, as lonely, isolated, and addictive. Change and technology are inevitable, but memories always resurface. Just as I learned by playing with something tangible, tactile, and sociable in childhood, there is still choice today to choose
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t echni que With each iTunes card faceup on a nonstick surface, apply strips of washi tape, row after row, until card is completely covered (extending tape on either side of card, almost as if you are taping card “down” on surface). Gently peel tape and card away from the surface, turn over, and cut around card, trimming off excess tape. Cover the other side of the card with washi tape if you only want the image to show. Stamp name of game or get creative and stamp your child’s name on front of card. ◆
art on a daily basis, using proven goal-setting methods for completing
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t oo ls & ma te ria ls
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Ink: Jet Black (Tsukineko - StazOn)
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iTunes cards
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Rubber stamps: alphabet (Making Memories)
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Washi tape
Green#RAFT s Spring 2015
old and simple methods of playing and learning with your child. Make a set of these iMatch cards or, better yet, help your child make a set. Play with your child and see how much you will learn about them, about you, about your inner artist, and about togetherness. Not to mention, creating green means minimal cost and only asks of your time, which is also green!
Frances Peets is a self-taught artist and crafter on a journey to create artwork in small chunks of time. She also teaches scrapbooking
iTune cards are available at Starbucks for free!
call for submissions
(photo archiving and storytelling) to seniors in Toronto, Ontario.
Create With Me is an ongoing department in
GreenCraft Magazine — Create With Me
GreenCraft Magazine. If you’ve come up with a
22992 Mill Creek, Suite B
project that utilizes repurposed and recycled
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
materials to make a chic and artistic project for kids, we invite you to send it in to be considered for publication in a future issue of GreenCraft
Deadline is ongoing. If you have questions,
Magazine. Please read our Submission
please email the managing editor at
Guidelines and send your creations to:
greencraft@stampington.com
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