Weeks 24-28 of the 52 Collage Journal

We have hit and surpassed the halfway point in the year and in this project!  It's funny because there are moments I fear that I will run out of ideas before I get to #52.  There are also times when I have to grab a pen to jot down all of the ideas that flood me for future techniques and subjects that I want to explore with this project. I think the biggest thing that I have learned while doing this challenge is that the more you keep yourself busy doing the work, the more ideas that will come to you. Before I started this project there were times when a week would go by where I would be too busy with life to create art.  Those were the times that getting back into it was harder.  I have been surprised at how much more confident I have become in making creative decisions. The following are weeks 24-28...

25/52 "Bardo" ...transitional...unravel...after death...before birth...

 

 

26/52 "The Middle" ...quite literally the middle...time...countdown...blossom...

 

 

27/52 "Iktomi" ...spider...trickster...dreamweaver...spirit animal...

 

 

28/52 ...nuclear...stretch...abomb...

Weeks 21-24 of the 52 Collage Journal

It's interesting how sometimes I start with a feeling or message to portray in a piece and it ends up meaning so much more.  Other times, I start by just playing with colors and combinations but the end product somehow magically tells the story of the week. The latter was certainly the case with 22/52. Life imitates art? Or the other way around?

 

21/52 "Circles" ...beauty in the breakdown...repetition good or bad...

 

22/52 "Emerge" ...transition...metamorphosis...rebirth...

23/52 "Perfect" ...there is nothing more perfect than this very moment...charlotte jane...

 

24/52 "Blend" ...whole...accept...multidimensional...

Weeks 17-20 of the 52 Collage Journal

It is hard to believe that we are nearing the midway point in the 52 Collage Journal Project.  When I began, one of my fears was that I would run out of ideas.  In fact, I have found that the more I create, the more ideas I have. Here are the pieces from the last four weeks.

17/52 "Cocoon" ...Mary Oliver...How I Go Into the Woods poem...safety...security...

18/52 "Layered" ...peel it back...

 

19/52 "Oracle" ...visualization...steps...if you dream it...

 

20/21 "Incubator" ...one day the black will swallow the red...

Weeks 13-16 of the 52 Collage Journal

Another four weeks down and I will admit, there was a week that I really was pushing to make the deadline. It was a late night but I did it. Having a self imposed deadline and a community to hold me accountable is what kept me going. It is so easy to put everything else before creative time.  That is the very reason that I began this challenge. There are times when I am tired or feel like being lazy but having this challenge  makes me go into my studio and just get down to do it.  What I have found is that once I am there, it starts to come.  It comes and then the tired or lazy feeling goes away and I am in my flow. He is what came out of that for weeks 13-16.

 

13/52 "New Moon" ...reflections...glimmer...translucent...

14/52 "Internal" ...inspection...analysis...search...

15/52 "Tidal" ...tides...waves...movement...

 

16/52 "Pause" ...slow down...meditate...mending...

Weeks 9-12 of the 52 Collage Journal

4 more weeks closer to reaching my goal of 52 weeks! I have found it really interesting to see how much the moments of the week have found themselves coming through in the pieces I create. Some inspiration is subtle while others are more literal. When I look at each one, I have a memory of the story behind it.

9/52 "Keep Walking" ...dreamweaver...path...spiders & snakes...visitors...

 

10/52 "Connected" 

 

11/52 "Anticipation" ...family...magic...vacation...love...

12/52 "Bridges" ...unity...cultures...acceptance...it's a small world...patience...

Weeks 5-8 of The 52 Collage Journal

Another four weeks and another four pieces!  I am enjoying this challenge although some weeks I enjoy it more than others.  I had a tight week for collage #8 so this is where there is a  true test....to squeeze in time for art when it is seemingly impossible. I have my favorites and some that I see as just "okay."  But I feel that with each one, I am learning.

5/52 "Boundaries" ...setting them...keeping in...keeping out...

6/52 "Pull" ...interests...directions...pulling...

 

7/52 "Bloom" ...darkness vs light...growth...beauty...

8/52 "The Clock" ...time...countdown...spin the dial...

Weeks 1-4 The 52 Collage Journal

I have completed the first month in my goal to create a collage each week  for my 52 Collage Journal Challenge. So far the experience has been really fun and enjoyable.  By having a deadline, I have been forced to push through self doubt and decision making.  Here are the pieces with a few words of backstory to them. 

 

1/52 "Renewal" ...fresh start...dark to light...rebirth...light & airy...

 

2/52 "Tying Up Loose Ends" ...to-do lists...organizing the unorganized...new year...end of year...

 

3/52 "News/Noise/News" ...news...politics...noise...

 

4/52 "No Mud No Lotus" ...unity...love...women...announcement of my niece-to-be

 

If you are interested, you can follow along with me each week as I post my progress on Instagram @the_meditative_stitcher.