I love Star Trek, Old Movies, Making Collages, and Good Conversations. LLAP!
My Collages
Hi kids,
As you know, I love to create silly collages, and it was a collage I made of the hat Princess Beatrice wore to William and Kate’s wedding that inspired me to make another one for T’Pau on Star Trek, which led to Kirk surrounded by little Bea hats, Tribble-style, which led to me thinking “Hey, I can make funny Star Trek comics like this!” and hence the beginnings of “StarTreKomics which in turn led to this site!
So, without further adieu, here’s some of my non-Star Trek collages! (oh how I love to cut and paste!) Enjoy, Therese
So my friend Bill, an avid Trekker since the 70’s with me, took this beautiful picture of Burdock Thistle in his yard. Now, I’ve seen lots of Milk Thistles in my area, but not this variety. Anyway, Bill took a great shot and graciously let me use it here:
Bill’s picture.
And me, being me, couldn’t resist turning into something silly! After all, it did have a somewhat alien appearance! So here’s my abomination — I think McCoy would say: “That’s not a thistle, Jim!” 😉
Hope you’re all keeping cool through this awfully hot summer. I’ve been busy with family matters, but I managed to have a little time to make a new collage.
This one is called “Carried Away” and I’ve been meaning to create it for a long time. It’s based on one of the oldest tropes in sci-fi/monster movie history – the damsel being carried away by the monster! In my research I wasn’t too surprised to see how often this trope was used in advertising — sometimes even when it doesn’t happen in the movie! But when you consider the audience of mostly young men, it’s not too surprising!
I had fun finding variations of the theme too – men carrying women, monsters carrying women, robots carrying women, women carrying women and sometimes women carrying men! I included many classics (King King, of course) as well as horror, sci-fi, some obscure movies, and even romantic comedies!
See how many you can find on the list below the picture! Enjoy and stay cool! – Therese
Well, since my original might be a tad overwhelming, I made made copies of my massive homage and divided it up into eight bite-size pieces so you can see everything a bit better! This way you won’t have to got to the DeviantArt link as much either! Enjoy, and check the list below for images you might have missed! 🙂
Detail #1 The Banner. Along the top I basically gave a Spock Timeline. Beginning with a concerned Sulu seeing Leonard in his tiny part from Them. Then Spock’s evolution from The Cage to The Corbomite Maneuver, with a nice fact-to-fiction composite of wee Leonard (age 10) learning water purification during WWII, and Spock fiddling with some chemistry hardware in a publicity still.* Then Spock plays a Vulcan harp and Leonard plays guitar while Flamenco Spock puppet-masters it over both! There’s Court Martial Spock through Hats and Bloopers (and laughing on Platonious) while Spock cuddles Isis. Publicity Profile of Spock and my profile portrait of Leonard in 2013. And to bookend Sulu’s screen, Nimoy’s Bookshelf! Detail #2 The Writers Corner. Where the collage began. I did not want to make this exclusively Spock, so I started on Leonard’s creative pursuits. Writings include his poetry and photography books, greeting cards and the full lyrics toMaiden Wine. Also a poster and scene from Never Forget, a beautiful, touching letter he wrote to a bi-racial teenager about how Spock manages in the world as an alien. A pink telegram to the White House; it reads “In the name of decency, don’t pollute with bombs” Posing with McGovern supporters and supporting the Writer’s Strike. Images from his photography books include Shekhina ‘linking arms’ with The Satyr from Secret Selves. A 1978 poster from his lecture series ‘Mr. Spock and I’ (where I first saw him), and a couple images from that event. A row of theater moments with himself as Theo from Vincent in the 70s, and my photos from 2013 at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater in NYC discussing Vincent. (what a joy). As a toddler, a very early publicity photo, and performing at the Pasedena Playhouse. Further down left, Young Mr. Nimoy with his parents, in High School, his Wedding to Sandra Zober, in the Army, Publicity still and poster image from Zombies from the Stratosphire, and family life with lots of love and dogs (more of this later). Detail # 3 That Plaid Blazer and the Fan Girls. A cornerstone of Leonard’s wardrobe in the 70s was his beloved beige plaid blazer, worn here in everything from an early interview, through In Search of, Baffled!, public appearances and in The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Pat Boone’s hat too! And even after Star Trek was canceled, Cleveland Amory’s article wondered why women were ‘spaced out’ over Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy modestly describes Spock as tall, dark, alien, and exotic, with a brilliant mind and “Oh, so cool!”. But we know better, right? He got lots of love from his fans too, (from beauty queens to Playboy Bunnies) and never denied them their chance to say hello or even a hug. I included my lucky self among the fan pictures, as well as Louise Stange (his fan club president) Theresa Victor (his ‘Girl Friday), and my friends Bobbie and Linda. 🙂 I wonder who the 8 Lucky Ladies were who got to have Breakfast with Mr. Spock? I like to think women drove Trek fandom in the first place (e.g. Bjo Trimble, and fanzines like Spock Enslaved. Some prime examples of Spock/Nimoy canoodling here!Detail #4 The Nimoy Kick Line. I had so many full length images of Leonard that it only seemed fair to give him a “Kick Line” (think Rockettes). The idea began with gun-belted Nimoy as a sheriff in The Virginian which naturally followed with Spock in a gun-belt in Spectre of the Gun. Three chilly Leonards in Patterns of Force, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and The Balcony, and so on with Spock, Paris, that amazing denim patchwork suit, bumping with Flip Wilson, Catlow, etc. You’ll see Dr. Mayfield giving Columbo a copy of I Am Not Spock and just above that, the same two actors in The Balcony.Detail #5 Westerns, Family, Community, and Pets. BeforeTrek, Leonard made much of his bread and butter with TV Westerns and I found seven samples of him as a Native American, plus a couple of cowboys as well as all types of bad guys. But it all supported his family which made it all worth it. In this time his love of photography flourished, as well as pets. (Brunsie, Max, more) You see Adam and Julie grow from little ones to caring adults. And you see ‘Poppi’ with his grand and great-grandkids, as well as with everyday folk at telethons,political events, reading programs and ALS benefits. As Leonard wrote, “The miracle is this; the more we share, the more we have.”Detail #6 We’ll Always Have Paris and Who’s in that Limo? Beyond Star Trek, Leonard found successful work on Mission: Impossible and so much more. I’d say that of all the Trek ensemble in the 70’s, Leonard was the most active. You can see him here with the cast of M:I and some prime Paris moments. He did Game and Variety shows. Yet through the rest of his life, Spock was never far behind, like those guys in the backseat of the Bangles limo here. Despite some initial trepidation, he embraced Spock and was grateful how that character led him to his dreams of photography and directing. From In Search Of to Three Men and a Baby, he kept on going, making many friends along the way. Detail # 7 Golden Throat. Leonard engaging in his recording days, hence the Golden Throat. and animated Spock comforts crying Spock: “Hey, the albums weren’t that bad…” I threw a lot of similar themed pictures here, both as Spock and in real life. It wasn’t always easy, I’m sure it got tiring. But you could see the love in all he did. See several images of Nimoy just looking great, and four images of Leonard all looking up to their left. Bottom right Dr. McCoy and Spock with dear friends De Kelley and Leonard in front of them. Detail #8 He Lived Long and Prospered in Life’s Garden. What better way to make a ‘finale’ to this piece than with a forest of “Live Long and Prospers”? The now iconic trademark gesture reminds us all to live our best lives, in the moment, in the world, with each other (it even helps us greet friends in the pandemic!) You’ll see Leonard with his sweet Buick Riviera, with his Piper airplane, with his wife Susan Bay and his Star Trek Friends. He passes the Vulcan greeting with grace and love for over 4 decades, beginning with its first appearance in Amok Time, to endless personal appearances, the double blessings at Conventions and in synagogue. In the center above his famous final quote, Leonard sends out a big hug. Near Leonard’s grave plaque, you see Spock nearing his death, but the memories and spirit go on. You can see an artist’s conception of the Live Long and Prosper statue that is being planned for the Boston Museum of Science.
Bonus Pop Culture and Silly Details: Spock and Nimoy inspired a LOT of pop culture. See if you can find all of these:
Funko Spock Figure in original uniform
Funko Spock holding Isis the Cat
Funko Dorbz Spock
Four Al Hirshfeld drawings featuring Leonard as Spock and himself. (Colorized by me!)
A “Trekkie on Board” sign
Animated Leonard with Spock Ears on Animaniacs
Leonard, in a Spock uniform fighting Bender on Futurama
Real life Leonard holding animated Leonard’s ‘head’ from Futurama
Leonard on The Simpsons
Working Daze cartoon featuring a tribute to Leonard shortly after he died.
The Nimoy Boar from Battle Cats
Mego Spock Doll
Mego Mirror Mirror Spock Doll
Mattel Spock Doll
Yellow Spock Stamp
A Spock Nutcracker
Calvin and Hobbes dressed as Kirk and Spock
Family Guy Spock
Squidward as Spock (aka Spockward, by Therese Bohn, 2012)
Mad Magazine, The Mad Star Trek Musical
A Dachshund figure dressed like Spock with “Live Really Long and Prosper” on its uniform shirt
Here is the link to my ultimate Leonard Nimoy collage! It was so darn BIG it wouldn’t fit here! I had to shrink down the original to post it here.
(Be sure to click on the link to see it in full size)
As you may know, I’ve been working on this collage for quite a while now, and whoa, I am spent! But working on this has been worth every moment, and even though we are past what would have been his 90th Birthday, I think this speaks well for the incredible life Leonard Nimoy lead!
I really didn’t think it would take nearly four months to complete this, as my Shatner Birthday Tribute only took about two weeks to make. But this was different; Nimoy’s life was so active and diverse, like an octopus with a three dozen tentacles, the more I researched pictures to use, the bigger and bigger it got!
I like to tell stories with my collages as opposed to just slapping random pictures together. And Nimoy’s life tells quite the tale.
It seemed easy enough to start with the basics, family, early career, StarTrek, and hobbies. But I found myself getting new ideas with every new picture I’d find. (e.g., There would be a picture of him in real life that correlated with a role he had on screen, or similar candid poses, or a particular laugh). Then there were his public appearances, promotions, conventions, charities, bloopers and of course dozens of images of him giving the Vulcan Peace Sign. So many I had never seen before, and I added some from my own personal collection as well (and some of m They all twirled together in my mind as well as my poor computer. Lots and LOTS of editing, from cropping and color balance, to making a 3D-ish banner and stacking pictures so they’d meld and compliment each other, as well as making ‘mini-collages’ to complete portions.
And then the ultimate choices, which pictures should I use? I think I found a lot of Spock/Nimoy greatest hits. Often I’d think “Oh I have to use that one!” and sometimes “How could I have forgotten that one?” Indeed, just as I proofed the final piece before publishing this here, I found a theater reference lacking that I know was very special to Mr. Nimoy, and I’m glad I caught and added it before posting it here!
You will find a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor throughout too; Spock as a hood ornament? Nimoy getting ‘pinched’? Who’s in the back of that limousine? You might need a magnifying glass to see some tiny details, but it’ll be fun 😉 Like I said, the ideas kept coming. I might have to start a business of memorial collages; I love making these.
As ever, you are welcome to share this, just please don’t edit it in any way. I make no money on this, it is for pure fun and enjoyment. Thank you my friends, Therese 🙂 <3
Well, I’ve been working on this a while now–and I appreciate your patience! It’s the collage I was making to commemorate Leonard’s 90th Birthday — Maybe I should just call it a BirthYear Anniversary! Ah well, he would have been 90 all year!
When I started it in mid February, I didn’t think it would take too long — but no!
I had finished my Shatner 90th collage, and started making this one on my same ancient format (don’t laugh-much) Printmaster 16 from 2010! Well, suffice to say, that program, though easy to use, was getting overwhelmed by the 100+ photos I was using here and it kept crashing! It wouldn’t let me transfer the image to another file so i could finish it properly, so I decided I’d have to start ALL OVER AGAIN! (Time to ditch that program)
But it was worth it — Photoshop to the rescue. Not only am I learning better as I go but I’m also editing my overzealous use of too many photos! And yes, there are SO MANY wonderful pics of my subject matter, it’s a little hard to choose what to edit, but it’s worth it. Also, in the original, the various pics didn’t always work together, and I like to tell a little story in my collages. It’s gelling up nicely. 🙂 Here’s a little portion celebrating Leonard’s favorite plaid jacket!
Sooo, if you can all hang on a little longer, I hope to have this up soon!
Well, since I made Leonard Nimoy meeting his younger self, I just had to make a series! Here’s our beloved Deforest Kelley posing with his younger, Dr. McCoy self! Yesterday, (February 20) would have been his 99th birthday! Loved and missed. What a wonderful actor and gentleman!
Here’s an idea I’ve had for a LONG time and I finally got it to come to fruition. As I’m sure many of you have seen, in the past I have made many silly collages which combine the two best pop culture phenomenons of the 1960’s; Star Trek and The Beatles! You can see my previous ‘Beatle Trek’s’ here.
Anyway, for ages I wanted to recreate the famous Sgt.Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band except make it with memorable Star Trek Characters. As the centerpiece, Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty replace the Fab Four, and I poured over many pictures to find just the right character to fill in for all the originals (and a few more) for this cover.
You’ll note that the Klingons replace the waxworks figures of The Beatles, Mohammed Ali’s robed boxer is replaced with robed Lord Garth from Whom Gods Destroy, glamorous Droxine and Carolyn Palamas take over for Marlene Dietrich and Diana Dors. I’ve added many other characters in positions close to the originals: notice Miranda Jones’ hand behind Kirk, just as Issy Bonn’s hand was behind Paul McCartney’s head in the original! I also have many more women in this version than the Pepper album. But as The Beatles chose their favorite heroes for their album, I chose my favorite characters for this. And of course you will find our dear Celeste Yarnall (Martha Landon in The Apple) in the mix. Although she sadly passed before she could see it, her widower, Nazim assured me she would have enjoyed it. Indeed, I have always found creativity a balm for sorrow, and I recommend creating something yourself, anything with your heart and hands, to help you at your sad times.
You’ll notice that most of these characters are not crew members, as I did a massive collage of as many Enterprise members as I could in the past. I also intentionally posted some characters in black and white instead of color, like on the original. If you look closely, you’ll see Alexander from Plato’s Stepchildren in Shirley Temple’s place and Balok from The Corbomite Maneuver flopped out like the doll in Rolling Stones sweater too! I even used Star Trek plants to replace the flora of the original. And be sure to look out for 4 hidden Spocks (as well as the main one in the center)!
If you can’t identify all the characters, I created a numbered key for the poster below. Enjoy, and please let me know what you think! Thanks, Therese <3
Key to Characters in“Captain Jim Kirk’s Comely Starfleet Brand
Ruk (Ted Cassidy) in What are Little Girls Made Of?
Our fellow scrapper Corylea gently pointed out to me that last Saturday was Bill Shatner’s Birthday! I knew this somewhere in the back of my brain, but I’ve been very busy lately with work and projects. So without further adieu, Happy Belated 83rd Birthday to our sweet Captain Charming! Love ya, Bill!
(I’ll get your weekly dose of Spock up later today 🙂 )