Joy Warrior

Ingredients/Bibliography: 

 -3D paper model of a goldfinch

- Timelapse photograph related to phosphorescence study from a Connecticut College magazine

I have a confession.  I am a paper hoarder. Old magazines, pretty wrapping paper, greeting cards, songbooks, origami paper, vintage sewing patterns, calendars.  And then I have the “good stuff.” You know – the paper made with cotton and pressed flowers incorporated into the sheet. The crazy thing is, all of this lovely paper inventory is filed in my mental catalog of collage possibilities.  I oftentimes have had the paper for years before it appears in one of my collages.  

When I need a bit of quiet, contemplative time, I make my way out to my studio space.  I light a candle, say a prayer and my fingers wistfully walk through the pages of my stash.  I pull out papers that speak to me. (Sometimes a paper avalanche chooses the pieces for me.)  I sort and scissor snip to my heart’s content. Once I have a color combination that sings together, I play pray – moving everything around and repositioning the pieces until the pieces tell me they are home.  Once they tell me they are settled, I glue them into place. That might be the “finished” result. But for me, this is another beginning…

Look for my article “Joy Warrior: Going Deeper with an Image” in the next issue of The Source: Fall 2019. 

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If this contemplative collage process sounds like something you would like to try, please join me Thursday, August 15th 6:30-8:30pm in the Anam Cara room at The Spiritual Life Center.  Please visit https://spiritlifectr.org/creative-ways-to-pray for more details.