I have created this practice myself, inspired by the intuitive collage practices of Shelley Klammer, the Expressive Arts Florida Institute, Minette Riordan, and Sibyl Dana Reynolds.
in sassy red boots
I climb an ancient staircase
pressing onward now
MATERIALS:
Blank journal or sketchbook
stack of magazines
glue sticks
scissors
baskets or shoe box
writing implement
PROCESS:
- Create a sacred or meditative space by lighting a candle and spending a moment in silence
- Thumb through your stack of magazines, tearing or cutting out images and words or phrases that “call” to you in some way. Perhaps an image or word holds energy or evokes an emotion or sparks a memory. Perhaps you find an image beautiful or interesting. Perhaps a word is inspiring.
- Gather about 10-15 images and 10-15 words and make a pile of these in front of you.
- On the left side of your two-page spread (if you are right-handed), audition images for your collage. (If you are left-handed, I would create your collage on the right side of your two-page spread.) In creating the intuitive collage, begin with a large image and then select smaller images that seem to “speak” to the large image in some way. Arrange these images on the page.
- Once you have the images in place, sort through the words you have collected. You might simply select words that call to you at that time. Or you might consider these questions: Do any words or phrases seem to “speak to” the images? Do any of the words or phrases create a sort of story when combined with the images? Arrange the words atop the pictures. You might use a single word, a single phrase, or several of them.
- Once your collage feels complete, move your collage arrangement to the side of the journal. Next begin glueing down the pieces onto the page beginning with the background images and then on to the smaller images and words.
- Take your leftover images and words and place them in your basket or shoe box to use in future collages.
- With soft eyes, look at the collage you have created and contemplate how it feels to you or what it might mean.
- On the opposite page of your two-page spread, write today’s date and then journal with prompts. You might consider the collage as a whole and journal with the prompt “I feel…” or “I see…” You might in turn consider each element of the collage and journal for each one with the prompt “I am…” Once you have spent time exploring the collage with these prompts, you might return to the collage as a whole and free write or begin with the prompt “I wonder…” I also respond to the question, “Where is the Sacred in this?”
- End your journaling process by creating a haiku that has grown from the collage and from your writing. A haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that consists of 3 lines. The first line consists of 5 syllables, the second line is 7 syllables, and the third line is 5 syllables. Perhaps a word in your collage will inspire a line of your haiku. Perhaps a piece of your journaling will show up in the haiku.
- Read your haiku aloud while considering your collage. I have found the haiku process to be a worthwhile distillation and ending of the whole intuitive collage experience.