From the Vault
Writings from my travels in Europe, my jewelry life while living in NYC - and more …
The magic of collage … an exploration of creativity, process and fun!
“Collage is like a hall of mirrors.
Every direction you look,
you see something different
and visually stimulating.”
- Nita Leland
Playing with all the possibilities!
In the summer of 2020, when all of us were in lockdown, in one form or another from the pandemic, I embarked on a creative project to fill my days with something other than the alarming and depressing news that surrounded us. With a passion, I started cutting out images and words from the magazines I had laying around. I spent days doing this and found relief and joy in the concentrated task I had set for myself. I had recently made a collage postcard for my sister’s birthday, with positive messages and beautiful images tailored for her life. I loved the idea and wanted to create more of these with messages that anyone could relate to and possibly benefit from.
I ordered some blank postcards online and when they arrived, I was ready with my boxes of collage material. I already had a large folder of images I had collected from years past - now it was time to start using them all in a playful and creative way. Play, being the operative word here. No agenda of what any of it needed to be, it was simply an exploration of picking out images and words that looked visually interesting together and delighted me.
A few of my first postcard collages, summer of 2020.
I created about 20 postcards collages over a couple of weeks and it was fun, consuming and very fulfilling! I still have most of the collages I made that summer and am considering what I might do with them. I would love to make them into cards and am researching the etiquette of using found images from magazines. We’ll see! :)
I think the most important thing about that project, is that I just went for it - without any particular end result in mind. A chance to explore something I was interested in and play with it. Of course, having a lot of free time due to the pandemic lockdown, didn’t hurt and felt like an amazing gift at the time - but that concentrated time of play with collage taught me a lot and was oh so satisfying. And… I’m still making collages today.
Anatomy of a collage…
Above: Collage process includes the initial layout, then gluing down images in the correct order, making adjustments along the way, and voila!
After having made individual collage birthday postcards for my sisters and closest friends in the last few years, I decided to make one for myself in honor of my birthday a couple years ago. As you can see above, I started with a layout that felt right for me, the image of the eyelet lace and the woman gleefully carrying suitcases were ones that I had in my collection for years and loved. You can even see that I originally used the suitcase image in my very first collage from almost 14 years ago, “I can see clearly now” which I featured as my first blog on this website last December. Luckily, that was a temporary collage that I didn’t paste down, so I could use that image again.
When making this collage, I was really feeling my connection to when I lived in Hawaii many moons ago, so incorporated the vibrant images of plumeria blossoms and tropical sea. I wanted to convey the message to myself of the importance of feeling blissful, as me - and when I am in the tropics I innately feel that way. There was also the message of travel (suitcases), so important to me - and originally, the stack of books with the magnifying glass which reflected my love of research and writing. However, as you’ll see, by the time I was ready to paste the book image down, it didn’t feel right to me. I pondered this for awhile and realized I not only wanted to incorporate jewelry into this collage, I wanted to add the feeling of being blissful in my own skin. I scoured more magazines until I found the image of the woman in the tropical dress wearing a necklace. Somehow, with that image I could feel the tropical breezes caressing my skin - I was that woman and all of a sudden, my collage was complete.
I have this collage framed in my home, and it is a wonderful reminder of the importance of not only being me, but doing it blissfully.
New eyes, life, trust…
Love the visuals on this one - and the simple but powerful message…
Recently, I’ve been re-watching episodes of one of my favorite PBS series, Craft in America. It is literally one of the best shows out there and if you are a creative or are in need of some inspiration, I highly recommend it. The show features artists and makers of all kinds from across America and points a spotlight into their creative lives. Every single episode I’ve watched has been informative and inspiring, whether it’s quilt makers, wood turners, metalsmiths, potters, glass blowers, weavers, jewelry makers or people doing and honoring their indigenous craft, there is something for everyone.
The common message I hear over and over again from these artists, is to follow your intuition and not be swayed by what you think people want you to create, or want you to be. I think they’ve all learned this lesson in one way or another but ultimately, when they create what they really want to create, even if it doesn’t make sense to anyone else, that is when they have found success and fulfillment in their work and careers - and there are a lot of people out there making crazy and wonderful things!
I love doing and creating many things and sometimes I feel I should rein it in and stick with one thing - but honestly, where’s the fun in that?! If I’m a multi-creative, then I’m a multi-creative and I want to express myself in whatever form or media I want. Honestly, I think we are all creatives to some extent and if we embraced that, explored that and let ourselves have fun with that, I think we’d have a happier, more fulfilled and healthier society.
In my view, creative expression can be anything from cooking a delicious meal, to flower arranging, to singing, to decorating your home, to gardening, to knitting, to dabbling with poetry, to having fun with photography and pretty much anything else you can think of. We are a creative species and I think our lives actually depend on it.
Go BE Creative! Have Fun! Why Not?!
So, what if you carved out two hours of your week (2 one hour tv shows) and dedicated that time to the exploration of something creative? What if you gave yourself the permission to do that and to have fun with that? Heck, even going for a walk and picking up interesting rocks, shells or leaves, is a creative pursuit. Bring them home and make a fun little arrangement (tableau) on your desk or dining table. You’ll be surprised how good it makes you feel :)
-Wendy (aka: gemsatourguide)
-All collages and images are my own