Collage Endeavor, Scaling Its Peaks

"Collage Endeavor, Scaling its Peaks"
Collage with Handmade Papers
5"x 7"

Well, lo and behold, I cannot believe I am able to post the creation above. My first real attempt at making a collage with hand-painted papers. I decided to post it here even though it is in beginning stages. I take this cue from Laura, a wonderful collage artist who sometimes shows her step-be-step process in making her artistic gems. Many weeks ago I had painted a batch of papers using a variety of techniques with my art buddy Marge, another gifted artist. All the papers were laying in my studio, waiting for the next step, to be pasted on a backboard. But somewhere, deep inside of me, lurked resistance and other dark companions. "You're having too much fun making these papers", my ego critic said. So I put the papers in boxes and forgot about them. Well, yesterday, my inner child said "It's playtime", very loudly and persistently this time and wouldn't let up. So I went to Marge's house again and I proceeded to tear and paste these papers onto a tiny 5x7 backing (I believe).Even tearing these big papers into tiny pieces was tough. I had considered my whole papers a masterpiece in and of themselves, worthy of framing (We artists have a love affair with everything we produce, or so it seems). And a tiny 5x7 backboard, well, I didn't want to ruin my bigger backboards, (hm, negative thinking here) so I let the experiment run its course. The piece above resembles a landscape, and I left the middle blank for now. I might add one of my birdie pictures there, or maybe I'll paint the white backing or add some threads or something. But I was excited about this accomplishment and needed to share it. I will continue to hike my creative mountains, regardless of rocky terrain and other obstacles. For it strengthens my heart, and encourages more endeavors.

One last thing. I remember how long it took me to get a blog going. With the support and encouragement of wonderful friends, I was able to get past my fears and resistance. Once I got past thoughts and took action, things got easier. I suppose the same could be said about the collage above. Blogs and collages, all stepping stones to a more well-rounded me.