6,000 Post-its make one big Abe Lincoln

BLOOMINGTON, Ill., March 12 (UPI) -- An art student at Illinois Wesleyan University has used Post-it notes -- 6,000 of them -- to create a giant portrait of Abraham Lincoln.

Chris Killham told the Pantagraph, a Bloomington, Ill., newspaper, he was inspired by the art school director, Miles Blair. Blair, examining one of his creations last year, told him he should work bigger.

"Well, I decided to run with it, you know, rub it in -- and I've just made this ridiculously large," he said.

Killham displayed the work Tuesday for two hours spread out on the floor at the student center. "Hugs & Kisses, Abe" is to get a longer exhibit in April.

Working with Post-its meant converting a black-and-white portrait into the Post-it colors. Killham used pink for black, orange for gray and yellow for white, the Pantagraph said.

He worked out the design on computer before mounting the Post-it notes on 105 poster boards.

Killham tell the Pantagraph that his artistic influences include pop artists like Andy Warhol and movies, both bad science fiction such as "Plan 9 From Outer Space" and film noir classics.