Artistic Exploration Through Collage

A few months ago Matt came home from a scouting job and had a flyer and a 4x6 card to give to me. It was information on a collage class that the owner of the home he scouted offered. Her name is Delisa Sage and she is a local artist here in Marin County. She owns a store in San Francisco named Collage which is a home decor store and art gallery.

I looked everything over and had the call to attend a class. It took a couple of months to schedule the time, noon to 5 on a Sunday but this past Sunday was the day. I showed up in the company of 9 other women, Delisa and her husband. Her home is wonderful. Full of art and wonderful decor. She had transformed their great room into a studio. A large table with surrounding chairs over a blue tarp to catch our mess. Drawers filled with supplies and buckets and a table with tons of things.

We started the process by painting on a canvas that was covered in paint to get us to experiment with texture and to just warm us up. Then, we were each given an 11x14 canvas to work with. She had all of the supplies we would need, paper, ribbon, beads, books, scissors, glue, paint etc. I didn't bring a ton of things from home but I did have the idea to bring a few things that called to me. A couple of things I brought were my fingerprints from when I was a teacher many years ago and a fortune from a fortune cookie.

I can't remember the last time that I spent time creating. Time just sitting and making art. Not feeling rushed or like I should be doing something else, be somewhere else or that I was neglecting my kids. Actually, if you take a look at Matt's post of the day, you'll see that they were completely taken care of and had their own artistic afternoon.

I love what I created that day. I send a HUGE thank you out to Delisa for sharing her time and her talent. To all of the women who were there participating. It was a wonderful afternoon filled with artistic inspiration. One thing I find interesting is that when I look at it, it feels like me, like my art. I think now, after creating art for so many years, I'm finally seeing who I am through my art. Elements that I like to incorporate in my work, mirror, and a limited color pallet. Bold design that is minimal in content. There I am, finding myself more and more through art.

If you're local to the area, I HIGHLY recommend taking her class. It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Artist or non-artist, she pulls the creativity from you and helps transfer that creativity to a canvas. Truly remarkable. Each piece from each woman was wonderful.

On a side note, I had gone to church earlier that day and what came to me as I sat listening was that I wanted to step out of the way and let the talent that God gave me shine through. To quite the self critic and just create. I love the result...