The Process Is The Passion

Theraputic art especially visual art helps me heal, reduce stress and enjoy more joy, peace and harmony in my life. Collaging helps me increase my creativity, intuition and self expression. I've been using collaging as a tool to envision what's possible and also what's next. When I am cutting images and words out of a magazine to make a collage, I am unlocking the power to wonder. I am willing to exchange old beliefs to curate news ones and process new emotions to release pain and provide clarity.

Scissors are to me the most important part of this process. Without the scissors, you could rip a new vision apart from trying to tear the page out or not be able to capture a new way of understanding a phrase by leaving out words and cutting just the key ones. I even have a tattoo of scissors to remind me of these two importance things: the power of cutting something out like a bad habit or learning to let go of the dross and to keep the good. They're an important reminder of how we can create new meaning again.

I have been using theraputic art throughout my life in a variety of ways. Expression helps me to understand the depths of my experience whether through abstract symbols or language. Sometimes our minds need both to understand at a deeper level. It has been an enriching tool to evoking and inspiring joy in my life as well as in others lives around me. When I create collages, my passion for change cannot hide because the act itself is a process of recreation. So is journaling.

Not only am I able to collage in journals but too, I am able to create a world that supports my visions. I have about nine of what I call "junk journals" and these are filled with collections and combinations of visual art, poetry, lists, quotes, how-tos and even receipts. The pleasure and joy of doing this theraputic art is getting to learn myself over and over again; how I've changed or am changing. There is no pressure to be a certain way because when revisiting my collages and journals, I'm always finding that I change.

Or that I've gone through something similar to what I may be struggling with currently and I overcame it. My journals show me that I am crafting myself to exist in infinite possibilities. That brings me so much joy to do, to know and to share. To find out more about how to collage, read on. There are many different ways of collaging but no matter what, you are definitely gonna need a bunch of magazines, a pair of scissors and a lot of workspace (like a whole table or floor).

Next, you wanna decide what kind of surface you want to build on. As you can see in my photo, I used a bulletinboard with push pins to collage with. I didn't to use glue and it was way more convenient. In the past. I have used glue before, hot and stick is fine but the only downside with this option is that you cannot move things around once glued. I found that using push pins gives me flexibility to change and overlap. Some people have also collaged with fabric but I haven't quite mastered technique yet.

Then there's just traditional paper collaging but there's also different layouts (index cards, cardboard, book size, etc). It's important to know what surface you want to use cause it will help determine what other tools you may need for the next part which is getting creative. Prepare to go through many pages in those magazines looking for striking pictures, touching words and other work. Begin collecting by cutting these out and putting them in piles (you can organize these if you want).

After you've got all your stuff collected and cut out, now we begin curating. Some people like an order to their chaos and some people like chaos. Regardless, here are three questions to ask yourself:

1. What is my vision? Motivation to move forward? A new sense of style? Whatever you decide, once you begin putting things together, you begin a building a new vision.

2. Where do I want to put this? This depends on your surface too. In my journal? On my bedroom wall? At the office? Where do you need to see it most? Wherever you put it will determine too:

3. How often do I want to see it? Everyday? Only when I'm working? Keep in mind this is suppose to support your healing and bring you joy. How often do you need inspiration or a reminder of your goals?

I hope this helps you to create without judgement and dream big. May you cut out new beliefs and patterns and recreate yourself with passion. May you experience more confidence, more joy and more self awareness. I hope you feel the change and thank you for reading!