While my husband is finishing his two weeks’ notice at his recent workplace – and I’m working in our Disney Springs hotel room – I’ve completed five new torn-paper collages.
I kind of love how my art is becoming more layered (figuratively, at least) and meaningful.
Getting a good night’s sleep again, after over a year of noisy neighbors, 24/7, is making a huge difference already.
Anyway, here are the collages from this past week. Each is about 8″ x 10″. The first two were assembled using entirely tourist brochures and booklets.
First collage (8 Feb 2022): “Create.” For me, this is about moving forward, creating more – especially art – and embellishing life in general.
Second collage (8 Feb 2022), “Awesome”: This one is about escaping the everyday – as nice-ish as it may be – and moving towards awesome. Pursuing experiences that are memories we’ll cherish.
Third collage (9 Feb 2022): “Finding balance”. This collage started with the latest Harper’s Bazaar* magazine, and a quote about “an exceptional place.” But, in this case, I broke the word “place” because I wanted it to have multiple contexts: a mental place, a geographical place, and a place in time (past/present/future).
Likewise, “balance” has a literal meaning (illustrated by the Cirque du Soleil figure) as well as a reference to the past (the crumpled paper beneath the word), and life in general.
The images are more varied because I found some of my collage supplies (favorite magazines) in our storage unit as I was weeding-out what we’re not shipping to New England.
Fourth collage (10 Feb 2022): “Art lives here”. This one started with the word “original,” suggested by my husband; he noticed the word on a box of Triscuits that he’d just finished.
(I love how he encourages my art, and not just in a “oh, that’s nice” way, while also avoiding the overbearing “what you really ought to do is…” approach.)
So, I saved that word and built this collage around the concept. The tiger is about being ferocious about creativity. The crocodile is about the apparent perils of being “out there,” creatively, and not allowing that threat to stand in your way. Go for it anyway.
Fifth collage (13 Feb 2022): “Concept becomes future”. This one features the Epcot “golf ball” (Spaceship Earth attraction) as well as mountains and New England landscapes. It also includes a wistful image of Gillian Anderson; that amused me because she was in an episode of a show that parodied some of my nonfiction work. But mostly, her expression matches how I feel as I think about moving back to New England.
I’ll continue making collages as we continue this journey. With three more nights in Orlando, I may complete several more collages before we’re on the road… and on our way to our next adventures.
*Yes, Harper’s Bazaar magazine was originally spelled Harper’s Bazar.