Making collages is something that I only ever want to do in a very specific frame of mind. I can’t be too happy, or too busy, or too depressed. I have to be full of thoughts and nervous energy, but not so many thoughts that I can’t find a clear outlook. Melancholy sometimes helps. Listening to music always helps. The best time for me to become absorbed in niggledy tasks like cutting paper is when I have an experience in my near past that no longer causes me pain to think about, but that I haven’t quite learned a lesson from yet. Making collages, writing and blogging are all things I use to come to terms with who I am and how I see the world. There is a quote by Flannery O’Conner that goes “I write because I do not know what I think until I read what I say”. This has always been true for me, and conversely, I never know what I feel until I see what I make. This is my first attempt in a long, long time, so it’s not up to my usual standard, but I thought I’d post it anyway, just because I’m really happy to be making them again. I know it signals healing, and learning, and a thought-harvest.
Labels: Art, Scrapbook
