Category: Collages

Shine is about us. It’s about who we are, inside, and who (or what) we’ve pretended to be.

Yes, sometimes pretense is about privacy and a sense of personal safety. It feels like protection.

Sometimes, pretense is just for fun. The aspects – or even complete identities we adopt, even briefly – can actually reveal nuances others might not have seen. (Or perhaps they saw glimmers of them, and weren’t sure what they were seeing.)

We’re multi-dimensional people. Sometimes one side is highlighted while another is hidden, accidentally or on purpose.

I like to think that the world is changing. I want to believe we’re emerging from the default of categorizing people with tidy labels.

There’s no time in which a single label reflects the full person – their strengths and vulnerabilities, and their uniqueness. Labels prevent us from learning from one another and experiencing true connections.

Some people step onto the stage and embrace the attention. They can read the audience and respond. Is there such a thing as “authentic pretense”?

Perhaps.

Others, including me, know we’ll be judged, and perhaps unfairly. We adopt stage personas, muttering, It’s show time, before we step into the spotlight. And then, after the performance, we bolt to the safety of a green room or dressing room.

Many of the elements in this collage were chosen deliberately. Others were entirely intuitive.

The makeup tray is about race and equality.

The woman, looking slightly timid, and the lower legs in the red image to the left of her… that’s about finding courage. Not staying hidden.

The rest, and how you interpret this, is up to you.

It’s one of those days when I realize my art may reveal more about me than most people will see, if they meet me in real life.

Size: 8.5″ x 11″

Materials: Poster board, torn magazine images and words, Yes Paste

Voice. It’s not about noise, but self-expression and authenticity.

That’s the essence behind this collage.

Now is the time to move beyond monochromatic living and tidy, clasped hands.

It’s about travel and adventure and exploring our boundaries.

It’s a simple, straightforward collage.

[Note: After photographing it, I saw that part of one image hadn’t adhered properly. I fixed it, and will replace this photo, later.]

Size: 8.5″ x 11″

Materials: Poster board, torn magazine images and text, Yes Paste

This collage started with the dog with the plaid bandana. Then, it grew with Christmas images.

The more it grew, the more I realized I was creating a vision board of my perfect Christmas.

It might be in England. It might be in New England.

But, next Christmas (2021), I want to spend the holidays in one of those two places.

Size: 8.5″ x 11″ 

Materials: Poster board, torn magazine images, Yes Paste

If you sense turbulence around the edges of this collage, you’re right. It was one of those days when the world seemed to tilt just enough to feel off-balance. A day when I should stop following the daily headlines, and just find my “quiet place.”

And so I did, in this collage.

The word “welcome” and the lighthouse are about that sense of calm. For me, New England and the beach – or at least a view of the ocean – give me a sense of stability and… well, the word I’d use is “limitless.”

That’s a feeling of space. The wide-open space I need to rediscover – and be – myself. The bracing salt air, the choppy waves in the distance, and the comfort of seagulls walking alongside me.

It’s where I feel most at home.

The images in this collage are also about textures and contrasts and variety. I drew some vertical lines for a sense of stability. And, of course, the words “keep calm” were a good message, if only to myself.

In the current series, this was the first collage that I actually signed. It was the one where I realized I’m creating art, here.

Size: 8.5″ x 11″

Materials: Poster board, torn magazine images and text, Yes Paste, metallic markers (for the lines).

In this collage, “where we grew up” isn’t just about place. It’s more about the happy, fantasy worlds we escaped to in our childhood.

For me, that was fairy tales. I probably read every Andrew Lang fairy tale book… all the colors. And then discovered “A Wrinkle in Time,” and so on.

Those are the realms of my childhood. It’s where I escaped to, when things at home were dark and scary.

In my mind, books were my real home. They’re where magic happened. Where wishes came true. Where anything was possible.

Today, I’m realizing the importance of embracing that same sense of wonder and optimism.

So, this collage is simple. It references childhood, the pursuit of adventure, fairy tale castles, and more.

I look at it regularly, to remind myself what’s important.

Size: 8.5″ x 11″

Materials: Poster board, torn magazine images and text, and Yes Paste