The Final Collage

The Framed 2012 Spiritual Growth Collage

I tracked down a frame and after much fiddling managed to pull it all together.  I'm glad the the collage is protected from wear and tear, and I'm glad I was able to include my favorite quote.

The Wise Words of Abraham Lincoln

I first read this quote on a bag of Goodearth tea.  I latched onto it, and rather than throw it away, I taped it to my computer.  When I got a new computer, I found another Goodearth tea bag with that quote, so I pasted it on that computer, too.  It seemed fitting that it should go on top of the collage.

This quote helped me through two of the roughest years of my life.  While the words didn't necessarily make things easier, they did help me push through several low points in my two years teaching in a high-poverty school.  When it seemed like everything was out of my control and the odds were impossibly stacked against me, I would square my shoulders and decide that none of that mattered--the only thing that mattered was my determination to make things work.  I have the suspicion that this quote will see me through much, much more before I'm tired of it.

When I made a collage, I had some left-overs...

I decided to take the scraps from the giant wall-collage I made to create my original vision:  a collage that I could keep at the front of my life-planner.  So I took the pieces that I loved but were just too small or didn't fit on the first collage and made a miniature version.  I came up with not only a collage, but a cover for my planner.  Score!

Creative Habit Planner Cover.

I love the Joseph Campbell quote, "We must be willing to get rid of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us."  Sometimes I forget that even though I have lots of plans and goals, there might be something even better around the corner if I am open to it.  Adding the caption "Don't stretch--reach!" might not make lots of sense, but it's a mantra that I've used before in dance class that sometimes helps me reach a little farther and move a little faster.

2012 Best Year Yet Life Planner Collage

This seemed to capture specific interests in a different way than the other collage--here I was able to put words like "Theater" and "Healing" and "Telling Stories"--powerful reminders of the things that bring me flow and joy.  The girl writing on a poster could be me.  The woman hanging upside down on the swing is clearly having fun--something I want more of in life.  There was a smaller version of the massage picture, so I threw it in there, too.  Even in the mini-collage, I fit in plenty of fruits and vegetables to remind me to eat a healthy diet.  The sunflowers and beach symbolize nature, and the yoga positions are there to remind me to tap into my spirituality.  

I love the collages I created this year, because when I look at this I feel a little more at home in my skin, a little more sure of who I am and how I fit into the world.  

I made a collage...

2012 Best Life Collage

Sometimes I need a creative kick-in-the-pants.  When this happens, I usually try either a change of surroundings or a change in activity.  This time, I decided to make a collage.

The first collage I ever created was a fifth-grade science project that involved lions.  It rocked.  Since then, I have secretly loved making collages, even after I discovered that the activity's promoted as a self-help tool.  You can make collages of what you want in the future, things that appeal to you now, or any variation that feels right.  It ties into the laws of attraction and manifestation and those sorts of new age-y concepts.

But more importantly, it's fun.  I love collages because they don't require actual skill above and beyond cutting, pasting, and arranging.  I started this project by raiding the local library's magazine pile and purchasing the whole thing.  For ten cents a magazine, I bought three Fitness magazines and seven Sojourners magazine, (which I discovered was Christian-themed).  I added three Experience Life magazines, since I have a subscription.  I stacked them all in a pile, then tore through them, ripping out anything that appealed to me.  I had been a little nervous that I didn't have much selection, but I ended up with an amazing stack of images and phrases--way too many for the modest letter-size collage I'd planned.  So I spent an afternoon arranging the images, and when everything finally felt right, I painstakingly pasted the whole thing into place.  It was worth it.

I plan to frame the whole thing, but I have to get the largest poster-frame available, because it's an awkward size:  27x30 1/4.  I'll post a final image once it's framed and I'm satisfied.  What really surprised me at the end of the project was how the collage seemed to sum up my crazy mix of interests, ideas, and passions--dance, writing, environmental justice, music, social justice, reading, performing, animal husbandry, parenting, exploring the world, and experiencing joy.  Sometimes it feels like all of the parts don't fit together, but it's the crazy mix of things that make me, well, me.

Delicious Kale and Water Buffalo

This captures how much I love swimming, my desire to eat healthy and explore the world, and the summer I spent driving oxen.  I love the yoga stretch in front of the sunrise, because it reminds me of the flow I get when I dance.

Cool Reading Mural and Empty Stage

The child holding a book looks like he is surrounded by the characters from that world.  It reminds me of how I feel when I read.  One of my goals this year is to learn how to play the guitar.  It's a little hard to see, but underneath the guitar is an empty stage.  I have been performing onstage since I was little, and I would love to start acting and dancing again.

Meditation and Pregnancy

The meditating hands captured the stillness and peace I'd like to experience more often.  The pregnant woman is a reminder that hopefully my husband and I will have children and raise them with love and play.  The picture with the caption, "Be someone who does something about poverty" struck me as a powerful message.

Healing Massage and Environmental Justice

I love massages--both giving and receiving.  This picture is a reminder to touch my husband more, and to ask for loving touch in return.  The picture of a dancer stretching is another symbol of my passion for dance and movement.  I chose the image of a man standing at the base of a hill leading into the wilderness because it was an interesting contrast with the city in the background.  Isn't that a choice that each of us must make?  It went well with the message of saving the earth.

Sunflower Field and Mountain View

The woman basking in the sun, surrounded by sunflowers made me happy--and the caption Spread the Joy will prod me to share that happiness with others.  I tried to work in images of nature throughout, and the mountains in this picture remind me of our trip to Oregon this year.

Dancing and Wilderness

The man in the top corner is twisting mid-air.  The look of intensity on his face captured how I feel about dance.  It's an interesting contrast with the woman in pink twirling in a ballroom--to me, they are both dancers, and they are both beautiful.  There are three images of people interacting with nature--the woman with the horse, the person walking towards a field, and a model smiling in the forest.  I feel more alive when I am in nature, so I want to remember that this year.  They tie in with the picture that says, "What sort of world will you give them?" because I want my babies to live in a clean, beautiful world.  The choices I make today will impact the world they inherit.

Woman and Cat Sun Salutation

I chose to put the woman and cat doing a sun salutation in the center because it was both serene and silly.  It was originally a cat food advertisement, and I covered over the promotion for healthy cat food with the words "Choose your radiance."  For me, that's what it's all about.  In any given day, I can choose what I devote my time, energy, and thought to, and I want to devote myself to things that make me feel alive.