The Magic of Collage

I’ve been playing with digital art for about 8 months now, and in that time, I’ve fallen in love with the practice + process of collage -- not only as an art form but also as a way of seeing + relating + building.

In my collage art, I take bits from lots of different images + put them together in new ways.

Which is a fractal of something much bigger.

In a way, anything we make is collage, and creating collage art has tuned me in to how I practice this -- and how I might practice it more in other ways.

First, collage requires us to make the most of what we have.

When I make my art, I’m working with the images I can find (a built-in limit + occasional source of frustration).

Sometimes, I have a vision in my head, but I can’t find what I’m looking for, so I have to use something else + try to fit it all together in a different way.

But getting inventive when the raw materials are less than ideal is a useful skill in art + life.

I think of this past year -- how we all did what we could to make life livable + functional in a pandemic -- how we figured out zoom + home offices + virtual school, explored new hobbies, connected in different ways, and more.

Life became a patchwork of different threads. And that definitely didn’t make it all okay. There’s been lots of grief, loss, and chaos.

But lots of creativity + possibility + change too. Because we had no choice but to rearrange the pieces of our lives to create a different collage than the one we expected.

I also think about how a collage often starts with one tiny magical thing.

Sometimes, a complete vision comes to me for an art piece that I want to bring into form. But more often than not, I start with one bit of one image that feels electric + alive -- a person, shape, landscape, object, etc. -- and then explore how I might build a whole story + complete work of art around it.

These fragments + treasures become the magnets that pull in more ideas + move the currents of creativity.

Sometimes, all we need is one bit of magic, one touchstone that feels alive, one special ingredient to get started.

We can build a lot from a single seed of possibility.

And finally, there’s magic in collage around what happens in the layering, touching, and relating.

Because a collage is more than a collection of images that look good together. It becomes something other + something more.

The bringing together of what we don’t always expect but inexplicably works is a wonder.

It opens possibility, challenges expectations, and inspires us to keep exploring + creating.

So if this resonates, I definitely recommend collage as a creative + spiritual practice. What might you collect, bring together, and create?

Sinking into the Deep Place

A few years ago, in the aftermath of a shattering heartbreak I knew would change my world forever, I heard a voice inside me say: “you are living a deeper life now.”

This voice had the resonance of truth + immediately calmed my nervous system.

I knew this was the path.

I knew my heartbreak was inviting me into something else + something more.

I knew there was work to be done -- but not the kind of work I was used to.

Ever since, I’ve turned toward depth.

I’ve done a lot of digging, sinking, and settling in. I’ve tried to ask big questions + make space for mystery. I’ve wandered in the shadows + journeyed into the darkness + searched for the magic underneath it all.

And I’ve turned my attention to creating deep places -- spaces where we’re invited to tell the truth, sit in unknowing, and feel for what’s real -- where there’s room for *all of us* + all of what we bring + feel + know + desire.

Because, as I've learned, “living a deeper life,” has less to do with the action we take + more to do with the space we create.

This deep place is where I go to create my art. It’s the place I go to heal + answer the call of my grief. It’s where I find magic + remember awe. It’s the space I create for my clients in my one-to-one work.

And it’s the place where I find my way back to myself -- into what I know + who I am.

What's calling to you in these shadows + spaces? How might you sink into their depths? What might Deep Place look like for you + how might you begin to create + cultivate it for yourself?

The World Needs Your Art

Six months ago, I was not painting. In fact, I had not picked up a paintbrush in more than a decade.

Five months ago, I brought home some watercolor supplies and started dabbling.

Three months ago, I started painting a lot and sharing my work.

Art has been the lightning-bolt epiphany of my 2018.

I am so happy to be making art, and although I can appreciate and understand the timing of it all, I am also sad there was a decade of my life that I wasn’t.

I had two primary objections to creating art of my own: I believed it didn’t really matter (or at the least the kind of art I would make wouldn’t really matter), and I believed I was not artistically gifted enough.

The shift started when I heard Fabeku Fatunmise talk about art and how/why it matters - that art is a transmission of energy and talisman of magic. I began to see for myself how art is a portal into a language, experience, and world beyond words, how art creates a bridge into what we can access no other way.

I began to notice how art was transforming me. And then I began to imagine how I might take the energy inside of me and make it into shapes, forms, and images on paper too.

Suddenly, it didn’t really matter how much talent I had. I wasn’t trying to paint a picture that could be mistaken for a photograph; I was trying to take an energy inside of me and make a thing that transmitted that same power and frequency.

Art has created so much magic and connection in my life this year – as I’ve taken in others’ art and shared my own.

If you have your own objections to making whatever art calls to you, I hope you recognize those as the lies they are - and see that the world needs your art and will be a more magical and alive place if you create it.

The Power in Transformation

To me, one of the most beautiful things about being human is our ability to change - that we have the power to expand into otherness, shift our ways of thinking, and step into previously unconsidered possibility. It takes effort and willingness on our part, and sometimes hard and scary stuff gets in the way, but our capacity for transformation is one of our human superpowers.

Earlier this week, at the end of our conversation, one of my coaching clients said: “I’m always amazed how I can feel one way coming into these calls and feel completely different an hour later.” I was amazed too (I always am) but not surprised. Because this was simply a reflection of her ability to change her mind, move energy, and open herself to new possibilities - which are powers we all have.

I also think of a DV client I ran into one day at the airport, long after we finished our work together. After a decade in a toxic, abusive relationship, she was now safe, happy, and working for the airline I was flying. She had help and support, but ultimately, she was the one who did the work of taking the risk, changing her mind, and transforming her life.

In moments that feel impossible, I need to remember stories like these. I need to remember the times I’ve seen change happen in myself, in others, and in the world.

Life is hard. Trauma is real. Injustice exists. Not all of us make it out. If we’re awake, we see evidence of this everyday.

And this is also true: there is a power and a magic within us that creates worlds. We are truly remarkable creatures. Let’s not forget this, okay?