Scrapbooking Between Art and Archive
Writing my AI in the Scrapbook Room series has made me think about why I scrapbook in the first place. I thought I’d pause in the middle of the series and share where that question took me. It turns out that how I feel about using AI has a lot to do with which part of me is sitting at the scrapbook table – the artist or the archivist.
What the artist sees
The artist in me looks at a photo from a trip and starts thinking about how to make the page feel like the day. I might pull a blue from the water in the photo, tear the edge of a piece of paper to suggest waves, or give one favorite photo most of the page. I enjoy moving things around until the spread feels right, and I love that moment when I step back and see how it all came together. The finished page gives me a lot of satisfaction.
What the archivist sees
The archivist in me is looking for the ticket stub I’m pretty sure I saved. I rarely journal on my pages, but I love ephemera, especially the pieces that tell me who was there, where we were, or when something happened. A photo might show the two of us at a concert, and the ticket can give me the name of the performer, the venue, the date, and even the time the show started. I like having those details right there with the photo.
The story also comes through in which pictures I choose and how I put them together. A photo outside the venue, a shot from our seats, and a picture of us together can take you through the evening. Add the ticket, and you know which evening it was. Years from now, someone can open that album and piece together the story without needing me there to explain it.
That’s where the artist and the archivist get to work together. The ticket might be the piece that tells me the most about the event, even if it’s an awkward size or a color I never would have picked. Figuring out how to give it a place on the page is part of the fun. Sometimes that odd little piece of paper ends up being my favorite thing on the spread.
Where AI fits for me
When I think about what matters most to me, I’m building an archive of our lives, and I want to do it creatively. I think that’s why I’m comfortable asking AI to help me design. If I’ve chosen the photos and pulled out the pieces I want to save, I might ask for a few ways to arrange them across two pages or for ideas for a title that fits the spread. I still get to decide what tells the story best, and I still get the pleasure of making the page.
I can see how that decision might feel more complicated for someone who comes to scrapbooking primarily to make art. If dreaming up a layout from scratch or designing an embellishment by hand is the part you look forward to all week, why would you want to hand that part over? And if a craft company were paying me to create a project for them, I’d approach it differently. In that situation, I’d understand them to be hiring me for my design work, and I’d do that design work myself.
Years from now, I hope someone opens one of my albums and can follow the story just by looking at the photos and the bits and pieces I saved. I hope they notice the name on the program or the date on the ticket and stop long enough to see how it all fits together. I love the challenge of making a page that makes someone want to stop and look. And when AI helps me figure out how to bring those pieces together, I’m glad to have the help.
Categories: AI Tips and Tricks, Articles
