You know you've arrived when you recieve a Valentine from Efrat Kussell. Each card is a sublime work of 100% recycled art, fabricated from the leftover fashion magazines and newsmailings of the past year. Though collage is a hardly a new technique, the Efrat Kussell Valentine makes it seem so.

Kussell's interest in collage and fashion photography preceded the development of her now-classic Valentine style. "I'd always been interested in the textures of the backdrops they use in fashion photography." Her attention to the non-sequitur details of advertising defines her cards, which often feature a Photoshop-like switching of the subject's original background to a subtly different backdrop from a separate ad. These small changes produce a surprising effect which makes the cards look electrifyingly fresh. By keeping the changes subtle, Kussell dexterously avoids the usual pitfalls of collage, where heavy-handed juxtapositions create garish, obvious results.

Kussell started making collaged cards for Valentine's Day in 2000 while hovering in the "are we or aren't we dating" limbo typical of collegiate relationships. "I wasn't sure if he was my boyfriend or not, and I thought if I made something wacky enough that it didn't look like Valentine, the card wouldn't have any serious romantic connotations." After assembling the first card from old fashion magazines lying around her dorm room, Kussell decided to do a few others, and eventually stayed up all night making Valentines. "I've done it every year since. Some years I think that I won't do it, since it takes a lot of time. But when Valentine's day rolls around I buckle down and get it done."

Kussell's card-making is an act of re-appropriation rather than one of critique. By cutting out a picture of a model pouring Kahlua and wearing a bathing suit and high heeled sandals at a cocktail party, she is able to send her friend "his perfect girl" for Valentine's Day. "I really enjoy making Valentines specific to the person you're giving them to. Since I never buy magazines in order to get the pictures I need, it's very much a search and find-type activity" limited to the images that happen to be in the cannibalizable magazines and catalogs already lying around the house. Choosing the images can be a challenge, particularly if two really good pictures are located on the back and front of the same page. At other times, the right picture can just be hard to find. "I really like animals on Valentines, especially clunky ones like donkeys or cows." Some years Vogue obliges with a fashion shoot on the farm, and some years they don't. But the luck of the draw is what keeps the cards fresh.

Though we can't all expect to posses Kussell's expert ability with scissors and a glue stick, the collage Valentine is a great way to get a lot of colorful bang for your buck. Even if you aren't a purchaser of fashion magazines, a lot of junk-mail can reach a happy afterlife as Valentine's Day cards. And it never hurts to raid the neighbor's trash for material.

>>Showcase (pictures of Valentines)

>>Step-by-Step Valentine Production