{"id":9152,"date":"2017-11-28T02:35:23","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T02:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/10yearstime.com\/?page_id=9152"},"modified":"2023-09-16T22:28:46","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T21:28:46","slug":"bio","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/10yearstime.com\/bio\/","title":{"rendered":"ABOUT"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column centered_text=”true” column_padding=”padding-6-percent” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn”]\n

10 Years Time Studio<\/h1>\n

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A dedicated collage studio, workshop & gallery space in Folkestone. Charlie Elms (10 Years Time) creates hand-cut collages, offering a unique collection of original artworks, prints, and cards.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”9167″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%” delay=”150″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column centered_text=”true” column_padding=”padding-6-percent” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn”]\n

The serendipitous creations of collage artist Charlie Elms.<\/h1>\n

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Written by Charles Purdy.<\/p>\n

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English collage artist, graphic designer, and art director\u00a0Charlie Elms<\/a>\u00a0grew up in a family of fine artists, with parents who were art collectors. So from a young age, he was immersed in that world, and that\u2019s where he pursued his early artistic inclinations. \u201cI was dragged around galleries and antique fairs every weekend by my parents from a very young age, which I\u2019m much more grateful for now than I was at the time,\u201d he recalls.<\/span><\/p>\n

But as he got older and it came time to consider going to university, he changed course. \u201cFor some reason, I kind of rebelled against that, and I ended up pursuing a degree in graphic design,\u201d he says. \u201cI thought it was a better way of having an actual career as an artist, whereas I thought that for painters, your work was valued only after you were dead \u2014 anyway, that was my view at age 14 or 15.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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His graphic design studies led him to Adobe Photoshop and into the world of digital creativity, and that\u2019s when he began experimenting with digital collage, juxtaposing human figures and animal heads, for instance \u2014 but collage was always just a hobby, and it stayed that way after he left university and began his career. Currently, Elms lives near the seaside in Kent, in southeastern England, and is the head of design at a company in nearby Canterbury.<\/span><\/p>\n

But collage art, which was once a hobby, started evolving into a creative passion several years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elms remembers, \u201cMy wife and I went to a\u00a0John Stezaker\u00a0<\/a>exhibition, and I completely fell in love with him. It was his\u00a0Masks\u00a0<\/i>series, where he places postcards over old film stars, and I think that\u2019s what hooked me, really \u2014 the way he took two images that were completely alien to each other and found that connection between them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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That got Elms focusing more on his own collage art, searching for connections between found images. In 2016, he began to transition from digital collage to creating his collages by hand \u2014 in part because enjoyed the challenge of being unable to digitally manipulate his source images \u2014 and joined an Instagram community of collage artists he admires, including Jesse Treece, Mizz.Design, and Mr.Babies, who also do their work by hand.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”full_width_background” full_screen_row_position=”middle” bg_image=”10547″ bg_position=”left top” bg_repeat=”no-repeat” parallax_bg=”true” parallax_bg_speed=”fast” scene_position=”center” text_color=”light” text_align=”left” top_padding=”15%” bottom_padding=”15%” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” shape_type=””][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” top_margin=”50″ bottom_margin=”50″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]The book collector.<\/strong>
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\nThese days, Elms hand-cuts all of his collage elements \u2014 and he says a big part of the pleasure of collage is collecting the old books from which he takes those pieces. \u201cIt harks back to when I was a kid collecting football stickers and things like that, which I would become obsessed with,\u201d he says. \u201cIt all came flooding back when I began collecting books\u2026. I collect them from charity shops, and I like the idea of rescuing forgotten books and doing something creative with them \u2014 that really got me into it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The serendipitous discovery of a collection of another sort provided thematic inspiration for Elms when he was first creating hand-cut collages: \u201cA friend who\u2019s an electrician was working in a derelict house, and he found two massive bags of vintage porno mags \u2014 old\u00a0Playboy<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Mayfair<\/i>\u00a0magazines from the \u201960s and \u201970s,\u201d Elms remembers. \u201cAnd he knew I was doing collage, so he gave them to me, and this really got me into a sort of pre-digital world that was just amazing: I loved the tones and the print, and this kicked off a very stylistic route for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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That vintage aesthetic is still often present in Elms\u2019s work, even if he has moved on to new subjects. His collection of source material includes many old books on animals and nature \u2014 and he says he\u2019s especially excited when he finds books about the flora and fauna of New Zealand. Many of his pieces mix a human element with something from the natural world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I still revisit the look of the old magazines,\u201d says Elms, \u201cbut I want to maybe create something that\u2019s a bit classier, and as I\u2019ve evolved I\u2019ve found that less is more \u2026 for instance, having a picture of just a woman\u2019s hand instead of her whole figure\u2026. Often when I\u2019m working on a collage, the more I remove, the better it comes out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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A perfect match.
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\nAs he has become better known and gained followers on Instagram, clients have sought Elms out to create collages for them \u2014 but for now he prefers to keep collage work on the side and remains happy with his \u201cnine-to-five\u201d design work and the collaboration and teamwork it brings. Collage is a more solitary pursuit. \u201cIt\u2019s done at night, once the kid\u2019s in bed \u2026 I can relax and have a glass of wine and get lost in a book.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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When Elms finds an image he likes, he\u2019ll often cut it out and set it aside for potential future use. When asked, \u201cWhich comes first: Does an image inspire a creation, or does an idea set you searching for the right image?\u201d He answers, \u201cIt changes. I do sometimes want to do something specific, which sends me to search my books, and that can be quite difficult\u2026. But other times, when I\u2019ve got an evening free and I\u2019m just doodling along, I\u2019ll pick up a book, and when I find an image that jumps out at me for whatever reason \u2014 a beautiful color, a lovely subject, or just an amazing whatever \u2014 I\u2019ll cut that out, and it\u2019ll go in my collection of cutouts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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From the beginning, Elms has used a small blade and a cutting mat to do his cutting, a process he enjoys. He says it feels like the type of tracing he liked to do when he was drawing as a child. He also uses two types of spray glue: a temporary one and a permanent one \u2014 applying the latter only when he\u2019s very\u00a0<\/i>sure about a composition.<\/span><\/p>\n

The search for the perfect images and the perfect juxtapositions is what keeps Elms fascinated with collage \u2014 and that\u2019s part of the reason he sticks to a non-digital process. \u201cI think my favorite collage of all time is probably one where the two pieces from different places just fit together so well,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a photo of a woman holding her arms a certain way, and I found a bird that fits in them perfectly \u2026 that\u2019s the sort of thing that really gets me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”30″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column centered_text=”true” column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” bottom_margin=”40″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][nectar_btn size=”small” open_new_tab=”true” button_style=”regular” button_color_2=”Accent-Color” icon_family=”none” url=”http:\/\/10yearstime.com\/?page_id=75″ text=”GET IN TOUCH” css_animation=”fadeIn”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column centered_text=”true” column_padding=”padding-6-percent” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn”] 10 Years Time Studio   A dedicated collage studio,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/10yearstime.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/10yearstime.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/10yearstime.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/10yearstime.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/10yearstime.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9152"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/10yearstime.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10550,"href":"https:\/\/10yearstime.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9152\/revisions\/10550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/10yearstime.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}