Making with MetroCards:
Q&A with Lena Feliciano Hansen
“I was born and raised in NY and can't imagine myself elsewhere. I've always been drawn to making. As a kid, I had an obsession with paper and scotch tape - so much so that my father filled my entire Christmas stocking with individually wrapped scotch tape rolls. I feigned anger but was excited to have a seemingly unlimited supply for my future creations. For me, the fun in art is challenging myself to make something unexpected or even extraordinary from something totally ordinary. What's more New York than that?” LFH
S-C-A: What inspired you to start creating with MetroCards?
LFH: After I graduated college, my ability to create was completely sucked out of me, and I had a block I had never experienced before. This was troubling because being an artist, or at least a creative person, was so wrapped up in my identity. In school, the context of creating only existed within the confines of other people’s opinions that were presented as fact or seemingly arbitrary rules for how to be a good versus bad artist.
I’ve believed that “real” and “respectable” artists were those in committed monogamous marriages with their craft. I don’t think anything is wrong with that - in fact, I so admire the artists dedicated to a singular craft: a watercolorist who spends years mastering their technique. I have found myself many times wanting to be that kind of artist. I’ll get the nice watercolor paper, the nice paints, the nice this, that, and the other, and have a very clear vision in my head of what I want to create that has very little room for deviation. But the truth is, I can’t commit myself to one craft. As an artist, I don’t have a medium that is my lover; I have mediums that are my friends.
An unassuming expired Metrocard in the back of my wallet brought me back to myself as an artist. This medium, this piece of garbage (which honestly feels so wrong to say - “garbage”) asked nothing of me. And while it may not be a lifelong love affair like the passionate watercolorist, it is a profound and deeply meaningful friendship. Like any good friendship, the materials I am drawn to do not ask me to be a master. They do not ask me to handle them in any particular way. They ask nothing of me other than to come exactly as I am.
LFH: Whenever I am in the subway, I keep an eye out for loose cards. Occasionally, I’ll put out a story on my Instagram asking people to donate any expired MetroCards they might have. I have several friends who have collected them and given them to me. I even had a friend buy a bundle online for me as a gift, and I was so surprised by the fact that people are selling bundles of MetroCards online. Most of my cards have been from telling everyone I know to hold on to ones they’d normally throw away.
S-C-A: What challenges do you face when using MetroCards as your medium, and how do you overcome them? Additionally, what advice would you give people interested in experimenting with MetroCards?
LFH: They are annoying as hell to cut! And the way I've overcome it is experiment, experiment, experiment. Because it is a material most people would throw away, it gives some freedom to try new things and learn from it. However, in the last year, there has been a sense of preciousness to them - they are going to discontinue the MetroCard and this thing that was garbage will now be an artifact. That's why I've tried hard to collect as many as possible so that I don't feel restricted in the part that makes this fun - experimenting.
If you use scissors, it’ll be difficult to be precise. If you use an Xacto, your fingers will get sore. And while they are not perfect, I still use these methods. If you use an Xacto, I would securely tape your card to a cutting mat and use a cork-back metal ruler as your guide. Don’t press too hard on the first go because it’ll hurt and need several passes. Apply decent pressure without hurting yourself and without moving the ruler. Change out blades accordingly to keep sharp cuts. You should be able to bend off the card where you scored it if it went down deep enough, but if not, you can use scissors for the final pass of the cut.
I also use hole punches and other craft punches, but there is the risk that it’ll get stuck and not cut all the way through. I’ve even used nails and hammers to make finer holes, though they can come out a bit crude. Something that expanded my possibilities was when I bought myself a Cricut machine. This is a hobbyist tool that people typically use to cut custom designs out of vinyl or paper. With lots of trial and error, I’ve been able to create my own settings on this machine to cut MetroCards. I put some abuse on the blades, but it’s so worth it. Using this machine allowed me to make fine enough holes where I could cross-stitch one of my cards.
S-C-A: Do you have a favorite piece? If so, what makes it special to you?
LFH: It’s hard to pick one. My favorites are probably the ones I feel I reimagined the material more drastically. I love my cross-stitch card. It was a labor of love, but it was so rewarding. The card was the guide for the design, which is now practically completely covered in thread.
Some honorable mentions are:
- Chain Card
- Googly Eye Card
- Pyramid Card
- Suspended Card
- AINT WET Card - this one, in particular, feels very New York
“I’m most excited about having enough of them to cover an entire wall. They are so small, and I just like the idea of them demanding so much presence. I don’t have a timeline for this project. I pick it up and put it down. When I’m in a rut, this is what I turn to—my friend, the unassuming medium.” LFH
S-C-A Q&As feature the perspectives of NYC subway users. Feel free to message us if you or someone you know would like to contribute to this series.
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