Students, Brenda and Charlotte, sharing their journal pages, May 2012. Having students share their reflections about the process and discoveries they’ve made during collage journaling is a vital element of the workshop.
On a gorgeous afternoon last Saturday I held a collage journaling workshop in Carleton Place, Ontario. Charlotte, a former student, loaned me her beautiful home and recruited students for the class. Here are some photos and thoughts…
Charlotte creating a page, May 2012
Used to working in large format, Charlotte wasn’t sure if she could work within the confines of a 5 x 7 inch journal. Rising to the challenges it presented, she discovered she was indeed able to vary the size of her collage creations!… I love it when students expand their limits.
Brenda preparing her page, May 2012
Business professional Brenda had kept a written journal before and was intrigued by the possibilities of collage journaling. Especially because she and Charlotte had tons of fragments they’d collected while on a trip to Mysore, India. I suggested that this Indian adventure would be the perfect theme for a daily ephemera journal. To my delight Brenda already had a beautiful title for it: “India: Land of Contrast”.
Mary tackling a two-page spread, May 2012
Mary, a high school teacher, was bitten by the visual journaling bug some months ago. Eager to improve her visual journaling skills, she came to class with an open mind and enthusiastic attitude – it’s wonderful to see students who embrace journaling this way!
For each workshop I have a special playlist I’ve created of my favourite music; it’s an eclectic mix of songs from the 1930’s to present; I always invite students to add a few of their tunes to it. When I discovered Mary didn’t really make it a point to listen to music while she journaled, I thought – oh, oh! In keeping with the spirit of the class, however, she offered to give it a try as well as contributing a Gordon Lightfoot song: “The Canadian Railroad Trilogy”: a fine folksy guitar rendition of early Canadian history.
Maggie devising a page about a romantic adventure, May 2012
It was Maggie “Free Spirit” Jordan’s third class with me. I love having her because her enthusiasm is so infectious. A former graphic designer, she’s currently the owner of a new landscaping business. I draw much inspiration from her free-wheeling, intuitive approach to collaging. I didn’t know what she was doing at this point but I loved the way it was coming together!
Charlotte's finished journal page; text: “Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?” The date signifies the start date of her new job
Charlotte’s finished journal page was about change and transformation. In the space of a few weeks, she’ll be starting a new job, selling her current home and purchasing a new one. The beautiful peachy tones of her page were inspired by a fragment of a handmade card she’d received from a friend. Instead of tucking this personal note into a drawer and perhaps never seeing it again and the wisdom it had to offer, I loved that she decided to memorialize it in her journal.
Mary spontaneously added the text: “What’s on the end of her leash?” to her left page. One could read much into how that text works with the imagery on both pages!
Viewing Mary’s pages in progress, I couldn’t help but wonder if Gordon Lightfoot’s music had influenced her choice of fragments: a European gone “native”, an explorer ship, map piece, native guide and an entomological drawing (insect). I was entranced by the endless horizon with bright clouds on her right page. By the end of the class she added a tiny found feather and placed it between the map and clouds – a magical gesture which lifted the page to a poetic level along with the gold speckled tissue her ship sails on… giving this history lesson/Robinson Crusoe adventure scene a touch of whimsy. I love that floating teapot on the left page as well – so surreal!
Brenda's finished journal pages.
Adjusting to personal changes in her life, Brenda created a page that would help her to visualize these transitions in a positive light. I love the calming, happy, cool breezy feel of her right page; the play of pastel colours with the red and blue tones. I was blown away by the left side of the page with its minimalist compositional feel whose words invoked a oneness of being. The way the angular block-shaped gold piece echoes and contrasts with the detailed gold rose drawing beside it is breath-taking! Brenda informed us that the red and gold tones of this page are derived from Feng Shui in which these colours symbolize vitality and wealth, respectively. It’s so cool to incorporate meaningful colours into your pages; they can become part of your personal visual vocabulary.
Maggie's mysterious finished journal page with card closed... text below card: “From de-light to the night we love”.
Maggie's finished page with card open...
Maggie Jordan sharing her journal page...
As Maggie described her journal page about a romantic vacation, she was naturally coy and sketchy about it; never giving away the more cryptic elements of her page! I love her layers upon layers: skin-like tissue paper over map pieces soften their mathematical/scientific surfaces; a card with golden uprooted marigold floats over the cartography of Europe, while inside the card, an enigmatic woman’s face which Maggie coloured (scribbled almost) over in pens adds mystery. A pocket inside the card held tags whose meaning only she could decode. Notice the beautiful randomness of the alphabet stampings on the bottom of the page… that’s Maggie playing with materials and tools allowing her wacky personality, fabulous sense of humour and brilliant graphic design sense to shine through!
Kevin taking a break ...
Kevin, my loyal assistant/hubby, helped out with my PowerPoint presentations. It’s so nice to add these professional touches to my workshops. Charlotte even had a big screen TV for us to watch them on – I was so spoiled! Kevin really enjoyed the afternoon as well.
Thanks to all the attendees: each of your pages is so inspiring! I learned much from your reflections. Thanks to Charlotte for opening up her beautiful country home to us as well as providing us with delectable goodies from the local farmers market and warm ginger lemon tea to soothe our creative souls. It was a truly memorable day!
Other Related Links:
Connie’s Journey: From Quilter to Collagist!
A Snapshot of Your Life Workshop
Creating Collage Using Daily Ephemera
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