Text By Ellen Gardner • Photography by Borella & Company

Blessed is the recipient of a gift from St. Louis artist Linda Solovic, when it’s wrapped in bits of the past. Her collection of vintage and handmade papers often finds its way into her collages, but a few lucky friends are honored with gifts artfully done up in these carefully preserved pieces of yesteryear. “As an illustrator, I’m always attracted to anything with pattern on it,” she says. “I started collecting Christmas decorations and other holiday things back in the 1980s. The wrapping paper is a natural extension of that. Everyone responds to the quirky, naïve joyfulness of the designs. I use a lot of it in my work, but always set some aside for presents.”

(a) Vintage wrapping paper, and boxes from the 1940s and ‘50s, (b) and (c), are part of artist Linda Solovic’s holiday treasure trove. Inspired by the cheery patterns, she tends to hoard it, but occasionally uses it in her artwork or to adorn a special gift. Some of the packaging here came from department stores in her hometown and evokes memories of her childhood holidays.

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