365 Collages | Week 12 | Freedom to Choose
Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain… To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it.
Kevyn Aucoin
You can have your own wings, collage by iHanna.
Hello my dear,
it’s still summer warmth every day (as most of May has been) here in Sweden, and now all of us miss the rain. Who’d thought I’d miss clouds and rain? But I feel as thirsty as the earth must be for rain right now… Maybe that is why the collages are night sky dark and blue this week?
Do as the Artist does, collage by iHanna.
But we do not get to choose the weather. Or when it should or shouldn’t rain. Maybe that is a good thing, because we would all choose differently.
Escape if you can, collage by iHanna.
We do however, get to choose time for a little creativity in the day, or not. At least most days, right? What do you choose?
Freedom to choose, collage by iHanna.
Dreams turned to reality, collage by iHanna.
I usually name my collages in English, because that makes it easier for me to display them here without an explanation, but this one wanted to be called Kärlekens höga visa. It’s from the Bible, and it means “Love’s high Song” in Swedish, but it is from Song of Songs/Song of Solomon. I think the Swedish title has a nice ring to it… and there are some beautiful quotes that can be found in that poem, don’t you agree?
Kärlekens höga visa, collage by iHanna.
The text I cut out of a vintage magazine spells: …inte skulle drömma om att använda Kärlekens höga visa, meaning …wouldn’t dream of using Love’s High Song. Not sure why, but that what it says. There can be freedom in not choosing too, I think.
If you’re especially curious about a special phrase in Swedish, just let me know and I’ll translate it for you. We don’t have any secrets here, right?
Glistening Midsummer water, collage by iHanna.
Is it midsummer soon? Time flies.
Blue, and darker collages than usual. A collage experiment. Found bits of blue and gold.
I’m not sure I love any of these, but would love to know what you think… Was it a successful experiment?
If you like this project and my collages, please feel free to PIN this to your Pinterest boards:
Thanks for being here.
Follow along
Follow me on Facebook and then check out Pinterest to see what others are creating in our 365 Somethings Project. You can also check out / follow the hashtag #365somethings2018 on Instagram for artsy updates there. It’s all good.
Bonus: Feel free to leave me a comment on a previous week 12 of collages, from back when I did a 365 project in 2013, in case you don’t remember it or didn’t read my blog back then.
Please tell me below in the comment section which of my collages you like best – and why. I’d love to know what you like, or dislike, about these.
Previously: Week 11: Bambi came to visit | Next up: week 13 | This project is part of my 365 Somethings 2018 and I call it 365 Collages by iHanna | Other Participants and Resources.
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Your artistic work makes my day. You have a unique talent. Thanks for sharing with your followers.
Barb
Aw, thank you so much Barb! Hugs to you.
Hi Hanna,
Your collages are lovely as always.
I was wondering if you add the paint and doodles afterwards or are they already on the pieces of paper you use?
And do you decide the theme of the collages and collect the paper scraps before you start collaging or is it a surprise for you as well how they turn out?
For a course I have to make five little collages which have a common link with each other, but I am a little struggling how to approach this. Normally when I make a collage it develops organically, just using a scrap of paper to begin with and see what follows next. I am curious how you approach making more collages at the same time.
I hope you don’t mind asking so many questions, but I am really struggling with this new way of creating and always like your style. People often say I just work intuitively, but I guess there is a certain systematic way of working behind that as well.
I hope you can help me out a little bit here.
Warmly,
Alice
Thanks Alice, I’m glad you like my collages and are giving collage a try yourself. I’m sorry to say “it depends” as an answer, but sometimes I use papers with paint and doodles already on them and sometimes I add them later, “it depends”… :-)
But as for starting, I often choose one paper or image, and work from that piece. In these it was the blue paper wrapping paper with gold on, that inspired the color scheme, and made me look for images and other papers that would match or fit together with that one. So starting with a paper you really like, that might be a good start. How to pick the rest of the elements, is like you say going on “intuition”, but the more years I have created the more I’m learning to watch my own process and learn from it, too.
It’s intuition, but also experience, preference, and after a while, I might see a theme emerge. I never have one set up before I start!
I hope that helps a bit? Also see my blog post about an excercise by Jane Davis collage studies in a series and try it out, it’s a great & easy to do exercise! Let me know if you have more questions.
Hanna thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. It definitely helps me. Having, choosing a starting point and let the process evolve from there. Having trust that it will.
I also read the blogpost you gave me the link to. That’s exactly what I was looking for. After reading I actually ordered a copy of Jane’s book myself. I really like collaging and I guess the book can help me explore this more and try different techniques outside my comfortzone.
So thanks again Hanna, your creative process and especially your collages played a big role in me starting collaging too.
I wish you a good and creative weekend…
These collages were all great. I don’t LOVE everything that I have created, but see it as a stepping stool to something that I will.
I agree, and with a 365 Project like this, where you must keep going no matter what, there is no way you could love everything equally. Some collages are stepping stones to another, brighter week. :-)
I especially love the one with the birdcage. I really like your repurposed target paper. I have some big sheets somewhere – who knows where?! Thanks again for this project Hanna – hard to believe we’re alsmost 1/2 way through already.
Thank you! I’m using Target-papers? Is it the blue ones? We don’t have Target in Sweden, so it’s probably the blue wrapping paper with gold specks (?) because I know what kind reader sent me that piece of paper. :-)
Collage is a collaboration between the artist and the whole world, right?