"Imagine", Mixed Media/Collage Journal Page, June 19, 2011
Recently, many of you have received my holiday card, “Imagine”. So, I thought it might be nice to give you a little background on the piece.
As an artist, the question: “what if” propels my imagination when I’m collaging or making just about any form of art. When I’m getting ready to make a piece, I like to think that anything is possible, that nothing is beyond my grasp to express how I feel about my subject matter… worlds, people, places and things centuries apart all collide and come together to rest on my page as fragments. I work diligently to transform them into a seemingly seamless whole. When I can create a whole new world that’s both familiar and unsettling, for me, this is one of my greatest joys of life – that for just a little while, I can construct a world of my own choosing. I exist on this journal page as the young woman, swirling around like a whirling dervish, in pure ecstasy imagining her next visual conquest or, slightly above, as the bold Victorian lady peering out of a viewing apparatus at some beguiling subject matter. Sometimes I think, if we could all learn to approach life with this kind of “what if” mentality, that perhaps we would be able to face our future with far less fear and a bit more excitement.
Making “Imagine” was my way of celebrating my goal of finally being able to show in a City gallery this year. As I sat down at the end of December to reflect upon my accomplishments for the year, I was quite proud of myself. I’d faced many demons and challenges in 2011 and still managed to pull through despite them. Many of these challenges couldn’t have been as easily overcome without your support of Collage Your World… so thanks to all of you for helping me make my dreams real this year! I hope you too will take the time to review 2011 and take pride in your accomplishments for the year no matter how small… in my experience, one single change in a life style can lead to so many more! And, please don’t be disheartened if you’ve found you still haven’t met the goals and dreams you longed for – you have yet another year to continue to strive for them and slowly make them real. My dream of holding a solo exhibition in the Atrium Gallery took 15 years to realize (!)… and it only began to take shape once I took the time to slow down; imagine something I really wanted and took note of the steps (in writing!) I needed to undertake to make this dream a reality. So try to take time this month for dreaming, planning and writing down some goals and strategies for reaching your dream (even next month or later is okay – it’s never too late to transform some aspect of your life). I wish you the best in making 2012 a year to make your dreams real! As you do, know I’m always happy to commiserate with your trials or share in your triumphs along the way as you have with mine.
Tips For Realizing Your Art-Related Goals:
At this time of the year, I always love to recommend these authors which have now become my staples of knowledge related to the business of art… If you’re seriously interested in making your art career a business, take the time to review the blogs and websites of Ariane Goodwin, Jennifer Lee or Alyson Stanfield; these art coaching sources are a font of information for allowing you to think about what kinds of goals and strategies you need to consider through their books, DVDs, on-line classes/seminars/teleseminars and one-on-one coaching sessions. It’s thanks to them that Collage Your World is now a reality for me.
Alternately, if you’re having challenges just making time for art in your life and know it’s something you’d really love to incorporate into your plans for well being this year, Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way is a highly acclaimed book which relays many great tips for incorporating creativity into your everyday life. For those of you who’ve already read this one, Cameron has two other inspirational texts: “Artists Way Workbook” and “Artists Way Morning Pages Journal” which may also spark your interest.
Image References for “Imagine”:
Woman Imagining: Painting fragment by Brooke Shaden, Blue Canvas, #6, 2010. See more on Shaden’s work at Blue Canvas magazine and Brooke Shaden’s website.
Other Background Images and Victorian Woman: World of Interiors and various art magazines.
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