Magazine collage.
Few words uttered by teachers during my school days carried such hope.
The glossy saturated colors. The silky pages. The images of faraway people, textures and places that made my sparkle sparkle and my imagination wake.
Generally, the teacher who assigned the collage project hoped for self-expression, a representation of what each of us cared about, what made us us. I couldn’t wait to begin. Some kids dreaded this, but, more than I could admit, I relished these explorations of my inner self.
After just a few minutes of clipping, my work space filled with photos of dogs, woven baskets, a comfy-looking couch, tribal dancers, gardens, mountains, ocean waves, squares of emerald green, coral, turquoise. I could snip for hours, but too soon, the teacher would say, “If you haven’t started gluing your pictures in place, you should start doing that now.”
I’d panic. There’s no way I can fit all those scraps onto one piece of paper, I thought. Can’t I just keep cutting? Should I choose the flowers or the puppy, the two girls deep in conversation or the shell? Which ones say more about me?
Eventually, I would settle on some pictures, paste them down and accept the result as good enough. But I never liked that I had to rule out beauty.
And here’s what I love about life: we don’t have to rule out a scrap of it.
In my life, I can continually choose to draw near to the present moment, the one filled with its own marks of lovely. Each week’s, each day’s collage is different. Some days mine fills with ravishing passion shades. Other days it’s mottled by glue drops and curled at the edges. But it’s mine. The unique art of my life.
So today, I am choosing to gather up my armload of clippings and savor a few of this week’s beauty moments. Among them:
– My J-Bug running gleefully through wet grasses, smiling eyes inviting me to follow
– After dinner sister entertainment — back-up “loud mimes” included
– Syrupy sweet on baby cheeks
– The plunking of gems into J-Bug’s “Joy Jar”
– My Lala girl running around the rack at Fred Meyer to hug me as if we’d been separated for years
– Scarlet maple leaves under my feet
– My big Sici girl remembering to turn off her reading headlamp so she could give me a really good kiss good-night
– Love words from husband, mama, papa, sister, friend that remind me of my value
– Crafting a class newsletter with an enthusiastic group of 4th graders. It’s going to be “epic!”
– Pretend camping trips and journeys to Hawaii in the basement
– Rain drops on my sunglasses
What “lovelies” are you savoring this week? And tell me, am I alone in my love of magazine collage?
Connecting through the power of stories written, spoken and lived
![Sometimes nothing says it quite like the way of a child. Before the rest of the house wakes, I read the account of Easter morning in the Jesus Storybook Bible: "And it seemed to [Mary Magdalene] that morning, as she ran, almost as if the whole world was singing for joy-- the trees, tiny sounds in the grass, the birds...her heart." The tomb is empty. Jesus is alive, and so are we. And it is new. Once again. Yes, it is always new...He is risen indeed!](https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/s320x320/e35/17934124_1877271335863004_8139172358331039744_n.jpg "Sometimes nothing says it quite like the way of a child. Before the rest of the house wakes, I read the account of Easter morning in the Jesus Storybook Bible: \"And it seemed to [Mary Magdalene] that morning, as she ran, almost as if the whole world was singing for joy-- the trees, tiny sounds in the grass, the birds...her heart.\" The tomb is empty. Jesus is alive, and so are we. And it is new. Once again. Yes, it is always new...He is risen indeed!")
Ashley I love the WHOLE of this post! I love the conclusion you wisely drew, “we don’t have to rule out a scrap of [beauty]”! No, not a scrap of it! Let our collages be as wide (and wild) as life itself! Let’s just keep cutting, full of abandon, without restraint, savoring ALL the lovelies! I love too how many and how sweet are your words of thankfulness! Never-ending thankfulness!
wowzers…u took me right back to sitting in class cutting & pasting. i would be in my own world so focused on whatever i was making. i totally remember that panic feeling of having to finish quickly. darn those teachers. i have realized recently how much i LOVE to create….. it breaths life to my soul. this season of my life has such limited time for cutting & pasting…but it is so full of beautiful moments like you shared….our collages are beautiful!
Thanks so much for showing up here, dear friend. Yes, creating breathes life around us and in us! What a beautiful way to partner with God, the Life Giver and Master of All Creating. You are an amazingly creative soul — no matter whether you are painting, telling a story, loving your girls or decorating. But I so understand the desire to “let loose” with all your snipping and gluing and pasting. Those days are coming. :)
I so agree. He is so good to bring moments of beauty to each day. From baby girl eyelashes to neatly stacked piles of laundry, the beauty is all around. We don’t have to wait for more time, more money, more wisdom, more opportunity. Beauty abounds.
Amen!