Over the course of the (few) years, I have been making art, I have discovered the great value of small scraps of paper, leftover as the result of larger projects. In 10th grade, I had an AP Art class and ended up saving, and using, almost every scrap that was leftover from others, and myself. These scraps ranged from random pieces of matte board, long strips of watercolor, random chunks of mixed media paper, etc. At the end of every class period, I would go to the art slots that were dedicated to extra paper and the AP art class and take
home whatever would have been thrown away.
At first I just took them because I thought it was a huge waste of usable paper that had nothing wrong with it other than being small. I was also influenced by the fact that much of my art was (and still is) created on medium to small paper, whilst most of my classmates worked on larger scales. I was determined to find a use for them, regardless of what it was. It didn't take long for me to discover that they were of great use for experimentation, color and medium testing, sketches, and small-scale, quick pieces of art. I ended up using them all the time for sketches, and even drawing random things in other classes or at home. My favorite ways to use them during that time was to create small artwork that was either mandalas or stipple form planets.
I have so many little pieces of paper that have random little pieces of art on them, from afterthoughts of watercolor, leftover acrylic, doodles during classes, or the beginnings of ideas. Whenever I pull them out, I get this weird, giddy, feeling. I may not particularly like most of them, but I have them, and they make me happy regardless. Some of my most favorite art was created using those small pieces.
In addition to creating art that I love, I created a very plentiful amount of art and testing pages that I didn't like. I felt bad about spending time on them and then just throwing them away, but then I discovered that if there is a piece of art that I just really don't like, or testing pages, I can cut it up into strips, or leave it as is, and then I have some new bookmarks! I would also use them for some other project or comparison colors and design. However, I think that it is also important to save and reuse what we can, but it's also okay to let some stuff go, and to move on.
After the class ended, I continued to save art paper and find other uses and ideas for them. This also extended to other random pieces of paper that I found that had colors that I liked, or designs I found intriguing, that I also saved. I chose to save these for journaling, testing, color matching, inspiration, and so forth. There are so many uses for your scraps of paper, and can be wonderful sources of inspiration if you give them a chance, regardless of whether you keep it, use it, or throw it away.
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