Back in 2012, I won a bid on eBay. Someone in Europe was selling 14,000 Czech matchbox labels. 14,000! I debated whether or not to bid, and, encouraged by two alleged friends, I entered a low amount, and to their surprise and delight I won the bid. And I'm thinking, uh-oh.
They (the labels) arrived a couple weeks later, all packaged nicely, sort of like Saltines when they used to be in those long, waxed-paper-like tubes.
I began poring over these small pieces of paper like some crazed philatelist, dividing them into groups of like subject matter, wondering what the hell am I going to do with these now? There were five in particular that depicted sports. I liked the overall simplicity of the artwork and the interesting color palette.
So here you see how the matchbox label looked originally, and then you see how I added a background, adding a bit more size and a bit more drama.
I’d not thought of these labels until today, when I was looking for examples of the color orange — my Photomotivation assignment for the month of March. Looking at more of the labels, I’ve got even more ideas. One down, only 13,999 more to go!
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