Recently Kim wrote a guest post for Make Paper Crafts (http://www.make-paper-crafts.com), about using collage to deal with grief. After reading the article I thought it would be great for dealing with other life changes as well.
I recently and still am going through some changes in my life that I wasn't really looking forward to and didn't see coming. I don't like change and I haven't been the happiest of campers, if you know what I mean.
I used Kim's article on grieving to help me collage through these changes and help get me in a better frame of mind.
In my collage I represented the turmoil I was experiencing and trying to deal with by creating a darker area on the left side of the page. I filled this side with all the things I was hanging onto and feeling were being ripped away. I felt my security was being threatened so I added it to the "dark" side. The woman on the collage represents the blame I felt I was placing. There is a little girl with an umbrella in the center of the dark area because in my mind it represents how I was feeling, gloomy. The words Don't Run and Change were glued on as a visual reminder and reinforcement that I could handle it.
On the right side of the collage flowers were added to represent a happy place I was working on getting to and fresh growth.
That is were my story changes with this collage. A friend was over and managed to step on my collage while I had it outside drying. I don't know what he was doing but he ripped some of the middle right out of it! Geez, great now I have to start all over right?
If you are thinking Oh No!, that was my first reaction too, but I thought about it a little more and realized hey, no big deal. Kind of ironic that my collage got crushed just like my plans, but I can deal with it. I think that moment was pretty important because with a collage, is it ok to make mistakes or do things you didn't intend to do? Yes. Is it ok to make changes and adapt? Yes, of course. Is it ok to get a desired out come following a new plan? Absolutely.
So I say to myself, self you don't think your collage being squashed is the end of the world, why don't you try thinking of your life like that. Ah ok, light bulb moment. I can do that or at least give it a good try!
Our lives are kind of like a collage in a sense anyways, aren't they? A composition of mixed and mashed pieces come together to make us who we are!
At that point I picked up my collage and decided to make it even better than before and here is the finished piece!
A dark and gloomy mood turned into some flowers bringing in the promise of a woman who has learned not to be afraid because she can take charge of her life!
Thanks for reading along and I hope you remember whatever it is you have the power to get through it!
Cynthia
About the Author – Cynthia Devening is owner of Make Paper Crafts,(http://www.make-paper-crafts.com) the site where paper and creativity go hand in hand. She is also the creator of Bead Head Art (http://www.etsy.com/shop/BeadHeadArt) a whimsical line of jewelry and paintings.Thank you, Cynthia, for inspiring all of us with your story of impermanence and hope!
Love,
