Tag Archives: collage

Behind the Pages: Message from an empty page

Posted on by
Reply

May, June and July were sort of empty.  I mean, there was no shortage of activity.  The Brilliants are Coming and Going and Becoming and Excavating.  It is a collective household sort of thing, as R and I, in our season of a full-nest-that-is-about-to-burst-into-emptiness, are Becoming and Excavating too.   This all bleeds into my creativity and creates holes and spaces.  Things feel blank.

Empty, but not quiet.

Empty page door

Things are turned inward to a place of questions and consideration.  The necessary contemplation of what’s-coming-next?   I am in a deep study of the shift.  Wondering which doors to open and close and walk through…

As I pulled out the camera to share pages, I felt conflicted about what to capture and share.  Most of the words are too private for my introvert-self to comfortably share, and several of the pages are decorated but blank.

Empty, but not quiet.

Funny, it still catches me by surprise when my journey emerges on the pages.  Even though this is what I believe and say aloud to other people.  I’m pretty fond of saying, “If you approach the pages honestly, they’ll tell your story, even if you don’t know it yet.”

So, here are some blank pages.  Things are shifting and re-defining themselves.  I don’t have many words yet, but I’m Coming and Going and Becoming and Excavating.

Empty, but not quiet.

Empty page pink

Empty page pink

{scrapbook paper scraps, decorative packing tape, white acrylic, pink ink pad}

Empty page doily

Empty page doily

{doily, gesso, graphite}

Empty page scrap

Empty page scrap

{gold acrylic, scrap from paper that I put behind journal pages when I’m painting them, notebook paper scrap}

Empty page leaning

Empty page leaning

{magazine image, gold acrylic, gesso}

Empty page iris

Empty page iris

{packing tape transfer of photo from the front garden, origami paper, paper tape}

Empty page blue floral

Empty page blue floral

{scrapbook paper, origami paper, paper tape, masking tape, gesso}

Empty page bird

Empty page bird

{acrylic paint, gesso, origami paper, Derwent watersoluble Graphite, paper tape}

Behind the pages: A rough draft

Posted on by
2

Thought I’d share a little of the process on this day.  Today’s morning pages ended with a couple of collages and a poem.  Too often as writers, we hide our first drafts – our disjointed thoughts and not-quite-right word choices.  It’s easy to forget our awkward starts.  Easy to create the illusion of ease in arriving at the end.  On the back of this scrap is a poem.  I actually forgot about the first scribble and started to cut up the words on the back for a second collage.  Ooops.  A little glue and tape saved the day.

The Thoughts

First Draft

I’m all about word pictures and metaphors.  Flowing streams; walls and windows; and birds in flight are all infused with meaning in my world.  Everywhere I look, I see information about how the world works.  As if the universe can’t help but reflect and reveal itself.  So pencils whisper of the trees that formed them and buildings come and go proud, and then aged and crumbling just like their builders.  Today, I am a collage.  Aware of the torn pieces that have come together to make a new life – an artistic expression of forgiveness {and} redemption.

The Metaphor

my brokeness has come together to form the wings that have given me...

...definition and flight

“my brokenness [misspelled] has come together to form the wings that have given me definition and flight.”

The Poem
I am a woman of words and flight
of transformation and glory
Beauty and grace rise from the ashes
of mistakes and sabotage

I am a woman of words and flight
No longer cutting-anger-of-my-wounds,
but story-encouragement-and-gift
No longer skillful-retreat or running-away-before-you-hurt-me,
but airborne-to-new-destinations

I am a woman of words and flight

Art in the Crevices: Journal pages & chocolate wrappers

Posted on by
1

Easter calendar page copy

I am often asked how, as a full-time homeschool mom, I manage to create art.  The answer is quite simply, that I create in the crevices – in the little nooks and crannies of my schedule.  {and in the occasional odd location}  I have learned to create in scenarios that are not ideal. {at least not up to the standard of what I consider to be the “perfect” environment”.}

I carry my journal everywhere.  {along with a bag of supplies like glue sticks, masking tape and gel pens}  I create & collect in spare minutes spent waiting, in the early morning before the day officially starts and in the late night if I awaken.  I sketch in the car, doodle while watching {well, listening to} TV and do post on photos while waiting on the Brilliants to finish rehearsal.  The quantity of my art increased when I gave myself permission to create in spaces other than my studio.  Seems simple, but my perfectionism runs deep and until a few years ago, if I couldn’t get quiet in my set-aside space, I didn’t really make art.

However, a shift happened when Rands bought me a camera.  I started taking it everywhere and got into the habit of seeing and capturing daily.  Carrying the camera, awakened the old habit of carrying a sketchbook/journal which in turn facilitated drawing and writing skills that had lain dormant.  What started out as sharing photo galleries with family, eventually became a blog, which lead to even more self-permission.  As I started labeling more in my life as art,  seeing and creating became a daily practice.  Art-in-the-crevices is a way of life for me.  I believe that art exists in everyday life, if we simply recognize and make room for it.

Today’s art-in-the-crevices happened when I:

* painted a  journal page that had writing

* wrote on a page that had paint {pages happen in spurts.  I rarely finish a page all in one sitting.}

* had a meaningful conversation {and took notes – decorative & functional}

* ate beautiful food

* ate regular food with a side dish of family time that was full of good storytelling

* sketched while watching TV

* saved tea tags, coffee packaging and a chocolate wrapper for future collage

Where does your art-in-the-crevices happen?

DSC_0081

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time.  You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.”

{H. Jackson Brown, Jr., author of Life’s Little Instruction Book}