creation of the collage started on shaky ground – real shaky ground – and for a while it seemed that i would go through 2010 red-faced and collageless. i left my journal at home, see, the one i wanted to shelter the collage, and to make matters worse, my only magazines themed around fiber arts and pottery (not an oprah magazine in sight) (and how can a worthy collage be created without images and words from a staff who knows me. i mean, they really know me.) (which is odd, given that i am not a subscriber.) (or a regular reader, for that matter.)
but then i put on my martyr pants and got busy ripping, and before we got to the end of the 2nd season of lost dvd’s (the television show, i mean), i’d ripped past thoughtfully weighing the pros and cons of every. single. image. i’d ripped my way past looking for words and fonts. i’d ripped my way past justification and rationalization and a whole lotta’ other stuff that i can’t quite name.
now remember: i still didn’t have my journal
so i just crammed tucked the ripped images into my bag, figuring la-te-da i could throw it all away at home just as easily as i could fill the trashcan there, and i pretty much forgot about the whole thing until last night when i couldn’t sleep and couldn’t turn on the television without waking up the dog who would, in turn, wake up the husband who has to get up early so i try not to.
wake my husband up, i mean.
i tiptoed out of the bedroom, fished the ripped bits out of my bag, found my journal, got some glue, and sat down at the dining room table where i was immediately surprised by how many images i had. now you have to understand that spatial concepts is not my strongest intelligence by anybody’s measurement system, but any fool could see that all those images were not going to fit on a 2-page spread in my journal, and i didn’t feel like going downstairs in search of one of those big sheets of paper (and besides, where would i store it) (the collage, i mean), so i just started tearing off any superfluous paper, ripping it right on down to the quick.
to the essential image, i mean.
i eventually came to the last piece, and there i was: surprised again, this time by the hugeness of the discard pile (especially compared to the keypers). coveting wanting my little ole’ collage to be as pretty as emma james‘ vision board, i stuck my tongue out the side of my mouth and started laying the pieces out on the page. but then when i bit my tongue remembered that this is not about planning, i just started squirting glue and laying ’em down, and before i knew it, i was done. finished. collaged.
well, almost.
there was this one image in the discard pile that kept jumping out on the way to the trashcan, and when it leapt out for the third time, i said okay, fine and took it back and glued it onto a page all by itself.
i’m calling it the annex.
and here’s the really super trooper amazing part: by the time i crawled back into bed around 5 a.m., all the keypers – i mean, every last one of ’em – had found a home on the two-page spread in my journal.
and i even had a few spaces to boot.
just goes to show, doesn’t it . . .
Whew, lady, I have tears of joy and simple overwhelming emotion in my eyes at the moment. I’m so moved by this, by your entire process. I’m so incredibly happy and excited for you! I love the annex. Your collage is gorgeous. And I particularly love the sentiment, “through the surface” – so evocative!
Cheers to perserverence, creativity, insomnia, and you!
thanks, emma. i knew you’d “get” it. and let me take this opportunity to say for the thousandeth time how much i love your latest post. the one about sodoku (did i spell that right?). so much meat on that bone . . .
Whew, lady, I have tears of joy and simple overwhelming emotion in my eyes at the moment. I’m so moved by this, by your entire process. I’m so incredibly happy and excited for you! I love the annex. Your collage is gorgeous. And I particularly love the sentiment, “through the surface” – so evocative!
Cheers to perserverence, creativity, insomnia, and you!
thanks, emma. i knew you’d “get” it. and let me take this opportunity to say for the thousandeth time how much i love your latest post. the one about sodoku (did i spell that right?). so much meat on that bone . . .
I keep rolling the phrase, “shelter the collage” around in my mind. To shelter this work of art, of soul is such a beautiful homage to that which shines through you. It is beautiful, and so are you, sugar (love that one). And, like Emma, I love the annex.
julie. sugar. i read your sweet comment, and i declare, every time i read it i saw “. . . beautiful homage to that which SHRINES through you.” interesting, eh? i am so glad you are now in my life.
I keep rolling the phrase, “shelter the collage” around in my mind. To shelter this work of art, of soul is such a beautiful homage to that which shines through you. It is beautiful, and so are you, sugar (love that one). And, like Emma, I love the annex.
julie. sugar. i read your sweet comment, and i declare, every time i read it i saw “. . . beautiful homage to that which SHRINES through you.” interesting, eh? i am so glad you are now in my life.
Dern bloglines has been acting up and hadn’t clued me in that you’ve been posting for eons now … taking a collage course at JCCFS later this month … your newly discovered post is situationally perfect!
Now I need to go back and browse through the last 2-3 months of posts!!
hey julie! sorry i’ve been so out of touch. will explain via email later this week. you’re taking a collage course? now that sounds like my kind of paradise. i love creating them, but as we see here, there are moments of angst.
Collage college?
don’t i wish. wonder what letters i could get added to the comma after my name. bs/ed, ma/tla, ph.c?
Dern bloglines has been acting up and hadn’t clued me in that you’ve been posting for eons now … taking a collage course at JCCFS later this month … your newly discovered post is situationally perfect!
Now I need to go back and browse through the last 2-3 months of posts!!
hey julie! sorry i’ve been so out of touch. will explain via email later this week. you’re taking a collage course? now that sounds like my kind of paradise. i love creating them, but as we see here, there are moments of angst.
Collage college?
don’t i wish. wonder what letters i could get added to the comma after my name. bs/ed, ma/tla, ph.c?
I just love this project, and can’t help but smile at your process. I think art of any kind is much more fun to create when you have no idea what the finished product will look like when you start. It’s so freeing to just start down some creative road and see where you end up. Looks like you ended up in a good spot! Thanks for the inspiration.
i usually have no idea where i’m going with anything i create.
pssst…it’s a collage, babe. overthinking need not apply and in saying this to you i am essentially tying a memory string around my own finger on the subject. just wrote the most apallingly ranting and rave-ish email to you so i thought i’d attempt to atone for that by coming around here and MAKING IT PERFECTLY PLAIN that i perceive your writerly voice growing stronger and stronger and this is such a good thing. So good. SO. GOOD …
can’t talk. going to check my email now.
I just love this project, and can’t help but smile at your process. I think art of any kind is much more fun to create when you have no idea what the finished product will look like when you start. It’s so freeing to just start down some creative road and see where you end up. Looks like you ended up in a good spot! Thanks for the inspiration.
i usually have no idea where i’m going with anything i create.
pssst…it’s a collage, babe. overthinking need not apply and in saying this to you i am essentially tying a memory string around my own finger on the subject. just wrote the most apallingly ranting and rave-ish email to you so i thought i’d attempt to atone for that by coming around here and MAKING IT PERFECTLY PLAIN that i perceive your writerly voice growing stronger and stronger and this is such a good thing. So good. SO. GOOD …
can’t talk. going to check my email now.
Sorry, I’m gonna come back after I compose myself after reading, “red-faced and collageless.” You’re a kick! (I really did let out a laugh!)
takes a kick to know a kick, bonnie. and again let me just say: i love the way your windshield thinks.
OK, I’m back. You remind me why I get crazy making collages! Funny read, thank you. That first sentence is a “Blog Hall of Fame” award winner. I was going to go through the process of cutting and pasting it here for emphasis, but something tells me to respect it, right up there where it is. (Do know – that I read it aloud to make myself laugh)
As for the annex – you are a pioneer of the collage, well on your way to your ph.c!
(By the way, what are those 3 annex items? are those smooth pecans? loaves of bread? hamburger buns? am I hungry?)
thanks for the windshield love ~ B
and do you know that i read aloud, too? i always read aloud anything i write to check the rhythm and tone. i read other things aloud, too, to give me a laugh or change my mood/attitude, to rev up my energy level, or whatever. reading aloud is a lost art, i tell you. a lost art.
***caution: i feel a blog post coming on here.***
and about the annex – damned if i know. i just rip, glue, and go cause (and think of the coach in “a league of their own” when you read this aloud): thinking? there’s no THINKING in collaging . . .
Sorry, I’m gonna come back after I compose myself after reading, “red-faced and collageless.” You’re a kick! (I really did let out a laugh!)
takes a kick to know a kick, bonnie. and again let me just say: i love the way your windshield thinks.
OK, I’m back. You remind me why I get crazy making collages! Funny read, thank you. That first sentence is a “Blog Hall of Fame” award winner. I was going to go through the process of cutting and pasting it here for emphasis, but something tells me to respect it, right up there where it is. (Do know – that I read it aloud to make myself laugh)
As for the annex – you are a pioneer of the collage, well on your way to your ph.c!
(By the way, what are those 3 annex items? are those smooth pecans? loaves of bread? hamburger buns? am I hungry?)
thanks for the windshield love ~ B
and do you know that i read aloud, too? i always read aloud anything i write to check the rhythm and tone. i read other things aloud, too, to give me a laugh or change my mood/attitude, to rev up my energy level, or whatever. reading aloud is a lost art, i tell you. a lost art.
***caution: i feel a blog post coming on here.***
and about the annex – damned if i know. i just rip, glue, and go cause (and think of the coach in “a league of their own” when you read this aloud): thinking? there’s no THINKING in collaging . . .
Love the post. And I’m coming back to read the comments again. HI-larious.
yeah, sometimes i think the best conversations happen in the comment sections. they can be quite entertaining. or not.
Love the post. And I’m coming back to read the comments again. HI-larious.
yeah, sometimes i think the best conversations happen in the comment sections. they can be quite entertaining. or not.
Jeanne, this is priceless! And the Annex – ohmy, I love that. So much depth in the collage – the zipper really grabbed me – and, oh – the whole collage – depth, depth. And like Bonnie I laughed out loud over “red-faced and collageless.”
i haven’t begun to articulate this. is that okay, my collage friend?
Jeanne, this is priceless! And the Annex – ohmy, I love that. So much depth in the collage – the zipper really grabbed me – and, oh – the whole collage – depth, depth. And like Bonnie I laughed out loud over “red-faced and collageless.”
i haven’t begun to articulate this. is that okay, my collage friend?
Jeanne I have been ripping and cutting out of magazines over the last few days. I might have to re read this again right before I sit down. Both for a laugh and some inspiration! BTW I am a read alouder too 😉
well, welcome to the rac (read aloud club) – there’s just nothing like reading aloud. we used to have to do that in elementary school, and i think we should bring it back. is this your 2010 collage you’re working on cause if it is, omg, you’re even later than i am, and i love you for it;) i’ll be looking for some pictures of yours, ya hear?
Jeanne I have been ripping and cutting out of magazines over the last few days. I might have to re read this again right before I sit down. Both for a laugh and some inspiration! BTW I am a read alouder too 😉
well, welcome to the rac (read aloud club) – there’s just nothing like reading aloud. we used to have to do that in elementary school, and i think we should bring it back. is this your 2010 collage you’re working on cause if it is, omg, you’re even later than i am, and i love you for it;) i’ll be looking for some pictures of yours, ya hear?