Creating For Your Own Sake

"Creating For Your Own Sake"
Collage
(Acrylics, Dimensional Fabric Paint,
Rubber stamps, Scraps of Paper
and Mat Board as Backing)

FINALLY. I gave myself permission to pull out a big bag of rubber stamps collecting dust on a shelf somewhere. $3.00 was all I paid for these treasures I found at a September rummage sale a few years back. It was time to play. The ideas brewing in my head for a few days needed an outlet and today was the day.
Recently, I came across some old business cards of mine. I began cutting them up as the e-mail and website address were no longer relevant. But rather than tossing them away into the garbage, I decided to keep the tiny little photo prints for future creations. From what I've read, collage artists never throw anything away. Was I finally embracing some of those very same characteristics myself? Hm. Into a cigar box, still with a lingering aroma, the tiny creations went, perhaps to collect spider webs for a few years, as I'd probably forget I put them there.
Then on Sunday, I felt the urge to use my rubber stamps. After stamping a woman, some butterflies and roses and stems, I grabbed my distress ink pad and began to directly imprint some square shapes around the outside border. In my mind, I was thinking that the shapes were turning into windows/frames. Ah ha, I thought, I'll past my little photos in there. So I did. The woman in the middle who had a Leonardi DiVinci invention feel to her became a central character (I felt a personal kinship) and I squirted some fabric paint around to connect her to the photos. I also painted the woman with some paint to give her a more human feel.
Finally, I felt the urge to put some words down. I've always been intrigued by words in a collage and wanted to try it myself. I pulled out a few "word" stamps but could not read the words on them (they are printed upside down and backwards so the casual observer cannot decipher them). So, I took a chance, and began to stamp them in various random places. I was quite delighted with what emerged. One said "Create Art For Your Own Sake" and the other said "Her Art Disturbed Her". I actually liked these two sayings, seemed to fit my inner art personality just fine. It appeared the universe, and my intuition, gave me a hand here.

All in all, I was happy that I had let some ideas simmer in my head for a few days before I took action. It all fell into place. I also remembered a teacher who had once told me to just put the color down and let the shapes that emerged lead you into your creation. I think I did that with this image, going with the flow, and felt quite joyful surrendering to the process.

Happy Creating!!