Your Fortune In A Cookie

You’ve finished that delicious Chinese dinner, one from column A, two from column B, not too spicy, not too salty. Everyone’s happy. Last, but not least, the little baked object in plastic arrives. The Fortune Cookie! Yay! You break it open, eat the cookie and read your fortune on the little piece of paper inside. You say “yeah” or “meh” and leave it on the table. Maybe you make note of the lottery numbers on the back for your next lottery ticket purchase, the one that’s going to be the winner. If you are like me, you press it flat and take it.

While I don’t eat Chinese food often, I seem to have amassed quite a collection of those little slips of paper. They have been waiting patiently for the time (a long time) when I would do something with them. And so, the FORTUNE COOKIE PROJECT was born.

COLLAGE was the perfect vehicle for the fortunes. Here’s how it went.

I started by printing a monotype on paper. Stencils of leaf shapes were inked and  printed at the same time as the monotype. Why leaves? I thought the implied floating would work well with the words moving across the paper (added later).There are four pairs of prints in the series because I worked on the “ghost” print of each monotype. The ghost image is what remains on the plate after the first impression is pulled.

Here is the sequence for the first collage:

1. Monotype with overlay of leaf stencils inked and printed (#1412.1).

#1412.1 Fortune Cookie-Don’t Pursue Happiness-Create It

2. Additional collaged cut out shapes (#1412.2)

#1412.2 Fortune Cookie-Don’t Pursue Happiness-Create It

3. Final layer/final collage with FORTUNE words as collage (pencil, colored pencil and cut out letters from old prints). #1412

#1412 Fortune Cookie-Don’t Pursue Happiness-Create It monotype w. pencil, collage 30×22 2023

The ghost print of the pair shows the lighter main color with ghostly leaves plus additional inked and printed leaves, additional collaged shapes, and fortune cookie words (#1413.1, #1413.2, #1413

#1413.1 Fortune Cookie-Trust Your Intuition

#1413.2 Fortune Cookie-Trust Your Intuition

#1413 Fortune Cookie-Trust Your Intuition monotype w. pencil, collage 30×22 2023

Here is the second pair showing only the final print/collage. #1414 and #1415

#1414 Fortune Cookie-Your Mind Is Creative, Original, and Alert monotype w. pencil, collage 30×22 2023

#1415 Fortune Cookie-Big Journeys Begin With A Single Step monotype w. pencil, collage 30×22 2023

Here is the third pair. #1416 and #1417

#1416 Fortune Cookie-Your Example Will Inspeire Others monotype w. pencil, collage 30×22 2023

#1417 Fortune Cookie-Your Virtues Are Priceless monotype w. pencil, collage 30×22 2023

And, the fourth pair. (#1418 and #1419)

#1418 Fortune Cookie-Endurance and Persistence Will Be Rewarded monotype w. pencil, collage 30×22 2023

#1419 Fortune Cookie-You Are Talented In Many Ways monotype w. pencil, collage 30×22 2023

In this series, as in everything I do, I explored the POSSIBILITIES of doing/making. I encourage you to EXPLORE the possibilities of seeing/thinking.

I chose the most positive and uplifting fortunes from my collection. I hope they read that way to you. Feel free to take to heart any or all of them.

From Geoffrey Holder dancer, choreographer, actor, singer:

“Say yes to everything – then figure out how to make it work.”