Early Delving

As a child, I often gathered all of the nearest magazines and catalogues to "order" items from them. I'd circle all the things I wanted and scribble over pictures of things I didn't want. I did this for hours, creating stories in my head, pretending to order things certain characters would want, or just making up themes like “birthday party” or “ballerina.” I’d look through the same Oriental Trading catalogue hundreds of times, mentally organizing all of the Hawaiian-themed stuff, all of the girly stuff, all of the jewelry, etc. When I got a bit older, I remember feeling self-conscious about the game. It was something I preferred to do alone, probably in order to avoid the proverbial parental suggestion, “Why don’t you go play outside?” I recall throwing a blanket over my head at one point so I could scribble in peace. I eventually stopped marring the pages with pen ink because it made it harder to see the pictures and thus hindered my ability to play the game more than once. Instead, I’d tap each picture with the end of a pen or pencil and describe how and why the article would be used for the character or theme I had chosen.

My parents think that my magazine obsession predated my penchant for collaging. I don’t remember when I started collaging so I don’t know how accurate that is. I think my little game expressed my tendency to obsess over projects and endlessly organize things without actually getting much done. I simply can always recall the compulsion to collect and organize, mostly mentally, a compulsion to discern patterns in order to simplify a world of excesses.