Cut 'n' Paste
by Nan Fischer

When words just won't do...

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We use our journals to express ourselves. Sometimes, though, we have something to say, but we can't find the words. The feelings are there, but words are not. 

I have plenty of artwork, from collages to quilts, that have expressed strong emotions I couldn't seem to get on paper. Maybe a 30 minute writing spree isn't long enough to expel those feelings. Perhaps they're so intense, they need days or months to filter out into a tangible form.

Two years ago, I had a big falling out with someone very dear to me, one of those friends that is more like family. We were not in communication for several months, yet I had so much to say! Besides writing unsent letters, I found myself making collages of my thoughts to pour out what was stirring inside. When it was over, the collages were very similar. The feelings were not being discharged; the issue was not getting resolved. It went around and around inside, because of the lack of communication. It was almost like a recurring dream!

Collages are an effective way to cover a lot of feelings with one medium at one time. They can represent emotions, people, events, time, the future, the past, dreams... anything! And although they are created in the moment, they take on different meanings with the passage of time. 

Cut 'n' paste is NOT just computer terminology in our house. We do a lot of it when we need to get creative on a seemingly endless day. I, personally, use it to express emotions when words are lacking. 

My girls and I have a HUGE stack of magazines and catalogs for cutting up. These have come from friends and the local library for free, or cheaply from yard sales and second hand stores. We also have a "collage box" full of "stuff" - glitter, feathers, pompoms, popsicle sticks, stickers, small scraps of fabric, doilies, and small shapes of construction paper. Art and hobby stores have a lot of this material. You'll have to get creative for the rest of it!

To make a collage, just cut and glue pictures and textured things on paper or cardboard. Whatever catches your eye in that moment, anything pleasing or satisfying on a gut level. Don't think about it, just as you wouldn't think about what your pen is spewing during a freewrite. They are both subconscious processes.

I find glue sticks work better than bottled glue. Your artwork doesn't need to cover the entire sheet. It can be three pictures with brief captions. You can combine that with doodles and scribbles in colored pencil or marker. It's very subjective, so do what feels right! Cover the page if that feels right!

Artwork scares people that like words, just as words can scare artists of other mediums. But give it a shot! Stretch yourself in expressing your inner being. Journal art knows no boundaries. I have pages simply covered in color. I'm not a realist, as far as painting or drawing. My background is in color and design, and my journals show it.

For this week's exercise, combine writing and artwork. Don't be afraid! We won't look!

First, take a sheet or paper separate from your journal. Somewhere, anywhere, draw a door. Simple or ornate, spend as much or as little time on it as is comfortable. Now open that door and walk through it. What's there? Write about what you find. Go back to the door page and make a collage on it, keeping in mind what you wrote. It doesn't have to depict the writing, exactly. It can take the writing one step further and even in a different direction. You can also write about the collage afterwards.

This doesn't have to be a one-day project, but I have managed to do the whole thing within a 2 1/2 hour class. Making a collage can be like a freewrite, when there are time constraints like that. You just cut pictures according to whatever appeals to you at the moment, and glue them down in haste. There is no time to edit or design. It's your emotions on paper in a different form. Another similarity is that you begin with a blank page and fill it with yourself.

You can also write about your reactions. Where did your door lead? Did the collage relate to that? Did you have a hard time expressing yourself in a different way? Did you write about the collage? Did this broaden you journaling horizons? 

Be sure to have fun with this! Visit Found Elements for some fabulous collage materials!

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