Every February, I participate in the online Spark project in which artists and writers are paired together, each sending an "inspiration" piece to the other, something written to the artist, a piece of art for the writer, which they then over the course of ten days, create a "response" piece from.  My partner sent me the poem, "Behind the Eight Ball," which reads:

Behind the Eight Ball
 
It’s time to break
The saw toothed stick that helps you aim is ready
The cue, placed behind the rack and the break is on
Balls lunge and dance, skip and sort and it’s gaming time
The eight ball lurks a result of an unclear shot
Hard to see harder to manipulate
Like space and time
Completing tasks and getting on to dreams
Fulfilling oneself and keeping oneself afloat
Behind the eight ball stress bruises the sky and blinds the sun
Everything is made difficult
Eager to run the table one is left
With attempts, and failures, misdirections and miscues
Fighting for life and looking to tomorrow for respite.
 
Kathleen Finn Jordan

Reading through the poem, I chose the phrases that most moved me, and copied them onto index cards.  The ones I especially liked were:  "moving onto dreams" and "keeping myself afloat" (I personalized oneself for myself) After the project the card will go into my Affirmation Card deck to be used during my morning meditations.  Next, it was time to find some images.

Next, I slipped the index cards under my working surface and started to create.  And this is what came through.  It's first title was "Almost Artemis" (as I see the branch coming out of the girl's shoulder as an attempt at deer horns) but it's since been renamed (and will most likely go through -several- more) "Unleashed" as the puppy at the bottom of the page seems to have broken free of his leash.

The piece, while constructed intuitively, surprisingly contained ALL of the elements of the phrases I was working from.  While there aren't any boats, or water, being an avid hiker the concept of "keeping myself afloat" is conveyed nicely by the girl standing on the line of boots.  The line of boots in turn remind me of the rows of boots one would see outside of refugios on the Camino de Santiago - a trek which I've completed 2/3 of and am planning on returning to finish out the final 120 miles this fall.

The walking woman seems to be counting off those boots and at the same time is being pulled by a mysterious white thread off the page.  This, to me represents a "completion of tasks" and "moving on to dreams."  Dreams that aren't yet revealing themselves, but which I hope and trust will "fulfill" me.  

If you've -ever- taken a workshop with me, via online (next 21-Day Journaling with Collage Course starts March 1st!  Click here to register.) or live classes, you know, are well-versed, have had the Riot Act instilled upon you that there are Three Rules to the Contemplative Collage creating process.  They are as follows:

#1:  Use ONLY National Geographics.  Why? you ask.  Because I've found that the photos in Nat Geo's (as Contemplative groupies have come to refer to them) are the most real, un-posed, un-photo-shopped, un-adulterated photos out there.  In what other magazine, I ask you, can you possibly find the human spectrum not only of emotion, but of circumstance - birth, life, death and every facet in between? 

Also, in Nat Geo's, you'll find other cultures, ancient civilizations, and animals in all stages of being.  It's quite simply the most Archetypal source of imagery out there.  And thus, my go-to magazine.

#2:  NO words.  Early on, I discovered while teaching Creative Writing courses from collage, that students would try to ... squeeze ... themselves into a word or phrase that'd gotten glued to a page.  You know the saying:
"A picture is worth a thousand words." Whereas a word itself is worth about ... seven.  On a -good- synonym day.  :)

This "image versus word" phenomenon is particularly evident in class settings, when a student can only see one story in an image, and then the person next to him, and then the person next to THAT person sees an entirely new and riveting story, or stories, and suddenly the image opens up, in a way that a single word never could, into limitless vistas and universes of its own.  THIS is the power of image over word.

(PS - just look at the image below.  Can't you just -feel- your mind filling in the empty space?) (Exactly.)

#3:  NO Ads.  This one's pretty basic.  Enough of our life is contrived and handed to us on Marketing platters.  Let's let our Art come from a space inside us, not projected -onto- us.

So those are my three break-thee-not rules of Contemplative Collage.  And now, the moment you've been waiting for ... (insert drum roll) ... the place where I boldly, and dastardly, break my own rules, you ask?

Why, on the New Moon of course! Although not physically ON the moon, but rather the day of the New Moon, the day when I create my New Moon Visioning Board.

Every month, thirteen times a year, I get together with a friend to create that month's visioning board.  A feat which in itself is interesting, as I tend to typically create my "work" collages alone, but my Visioning Boards always, always, amongst dear friends. 

And for that one sacred day, I break ALL my own rules.
I use whatever magazine the free shelf at the library catches my attention.
I cut out glossy ads like a mad woman.
I glom words.  and words.  and MORE words.

And something like THIS, after about three exhausting hours, is what I come up with:

What's amazing to me is the fact that my Visioning Boards come out SO much more colorful than my "work" collages. I mean, just look at the pink and yellow in that piece.  It's virtually ... lively!  

And still, just like in collage, themes appear and reappear, revealing themselves.  Say the golden light in the center of the piece.  And the wizened man. He's shown up in the last four visioning boards.  Always looking OUT.  Always ready for Adventure.

But it's the words in my visioning boards that most move me.  For they become a collaging process in themselves, as I cut out words that create a sense of excitement in me, and then piece them together into phrases which will later become journaling prompts, and in some cases affirmations and mantras.  

So what I want you to come away with from this blog?  It's to become aware of your OWN rules, because we all have them.  And for me, rules aren't -rules- as much as "containers for Creativity."  They afford us parameters to set our creative sights by, and that's a good thing.  

But also, know WHEN to break them.
And when you DO break them, which you will, break them consciously, and creatively.  Break them deliberately, to see what else is out there.  And then go back to the old paradigm.  A little more liberated.  A little more informed.  A little more wild.  A little more free.

Know when, and HOW to fuel yourself.
How to bring yourself to greater heights, more magnificent vistas.
This is where, and why, I break my own rules.
And why you should too.

One of the things I tell my collage students, particularly ones who are taking an extended course such as the online classes, is that once you open that door to images and messages, watch out!  Synchronicities will begin to positively flood your life.  It's as though, once your Inner Self knows you're listening, all she wants to do is talk.  And talk.  And talk.  

The beautiful thing being, she'll be sharing things that can really bring your life into alignment.  She'll be sharing things, magical things, that you really want to hear.  

My latest synchronicity came last week, a few days after I began journaling from this collage, "Saint Aeroflot" (and there's a -whole- synchronistic story behind that name as well, but we'll cover that story in another blog.)  

In this collage, we have the image of a little girl, tow-headed (as we would say in the South) rising from the wreckage (another possible choice for a title) with a makeshift halo around her head. Rising from the "halo" are two doves, in a movement that sends a sense of release.  Scattered along the landscape are three dark bottles, which quite resemble the "shadow people" that often show up in my work.  But.  That's not where the synchronicity comes in.  THAT happened about a week later, when I happened to notice the cover of a book of inspirations I've been reading that was lying on my nightstand next to this collage.  Here is its image:

(The book, by the way, is by Tosha Silver and it's fantastic.)  But notice the similarities?  The "halo"?  The blond woman - almost an adult version of the little girl?  The up-stretched arms that seem to replicate the very energy of the rising doves?  The similarities delighted me!

Only, it's not enough to merely -notice- synchronicites in our lives.  The vital thing is to realize that these are Divine messages sent explicitly to us. They're trying to tell us something.  But how to "read" them?  Here are some of the ways I would have a student "work" such a message.

1.)  Any time I see a halo, whether in the little girl or the adult woman, I'd have my student "name the saint."  Give him/her a name, and then do a writing about what he/she is the Patron Saint of.  

In this case, as the adult halo-ee has a wink on her face, I get the clear sense of her as coming from the future to tell me, that even though it at's a mess right now, things all work out.  And kind of giddily.  So I would name her "Glinda, the Patron Saint of Rising from the Wreckage."  

2.)  Next, my eyes are drawn to how her arms replicate the movement of the wings of the doves in the collage, so I would have my student do a "body posture" meditation, physically re-enacting that gesture for 2-3 minutes and then journaling what images, insights, stories or memories came up for them.  

Even as I slip into the arms raised posture as I type in front of my computer, I feel immediately a sense of expansion, of uplifting.  But also there's a sense of what a bit of effort it would take to hold my arms up that way for any length of time.  This brings to mind a very important point, that that which the -mind- thinks is going on in a body posture is QUITE different from what the -body- experiences, so no shortcuts if you want to get the richness of the message.  Trust the body to tell you in this case. Leave the thinking brain out of it.  

The message I get, once I let myself feel that slight level of exertion, is that it's not automatically going to come easily.  That "rising from the wreckage" is going to take a bit of conscious effort, and with it, some discomfort on my part.  But that that's all a part of it.  If I truly want to get to the "winking goddess" portion of my story.

So those are some of the movements and messages that have come to me from MY latest synchronicity.  What synchronicities and messages have shown in YOUR collage life?

And as soon as I saw -that- image, I realized that my Shadow Man wasn't merely a shadow man, he'd become the archetype of a Genie rising out of the bottle!  But here's where the story -really- gets interesting.  Remember how I'd made the initial collage YEARS ago?  As I was drawing and journaling about the Dark Genie, as he'd now become in my mind, I glanced down at my most recent collage, the one I'd made just last week, and who should be on it?  You guessed it, the Dark Genie himself, all dark and muscular with the same shaved head working his blue, bubbling magic:

Which speaks of the ever evolving nature of images.  The questions I could ask myself now would be:

1.)  Why has the Dark Genie appeared in my life?
2.)  What "dark" qualities is he composed of?  
3.)  From what does he get his Power?
4.)  What in my life is asking to -not- be righted?
5.)  What in my life is ready, aching to be spilled?
6.)  Am I ready to let it spill?
7.)  How can I most be present with myself in the chaos (as seen by the disheveled laboratory) that will most likely naturally ensue?

These are some of the questions and journaling prompts I could pull from the Dark Genie image.  What are some questions and prompts that YOU see?

One of the simplest ways to step into a collage, and the exercise I begin every one of my classes and workshops with is the "Who Am I?" prompt. Incredibly simple, and yet deeply profound (as most simple things are!) you essentially let your mind take a walk around a collage, choosing the image that most represents you, the image that you are, and then tell why.

For simplicity sake, I try to have students pick a single image, yet invariably there is more than one, and often three or four, sometimes more than you'll resonate with, each for its own unique reasons, the reasons which can, and do, shift and morph over time.  

JUST as powerful is to approach the piece from the -opposite- direction, naming the images you are NOT in the piece, and why.  Often, the "not" responses come laced in a lot more emotion than the "am" statements which can be quite revealing.  

Here are some of my am/am not statements from the collage, "Masked Madonna."  
 
I am's:
1.)  I am ... the wings without a body.  I have a sense of flight, but no clear direction to go or guidance system to get me there.
2.)  I am ... the lightbulb - empty now but ready for a grand idea to illuminate me.
3.)  I am ... the woman in labor.
4.)  I am ... the woman dancing, and offering comfort in her dance.
5.)  I am also, the woman dancing, but tired from holding up this mask.

I am NOT's:
1.)  I am not ... the robot, OR the mask - my eyes are wide open, not shut to the world around me.
2.)  I am not ... the midwives - I have my OWN labor and birth to attend to.
3.)  I am not ... the frozen, blue scene - I am alive with color and warmth.
4.)  I am not ... the craggy, sharp moonscape - I am ready for friendly smoothness in my life.
5.)  I am not ... the bronchial-like branches - I am bored of dead ends; I am ready to let my threads interweave.  I am ready for tapestry.

Next, we would remove the "I am" and "I am not" portions of the phrases, and voila!  We find ourselves with some nifty writing prompts.  I would have my student pick the three that hold the most emotional impact and let those become the first sentences of their next journaling assignments.  My three would be:

1.)  "a guidance system to get me there."
2.)  "ready for a grand idea to illuminate me."
3.)  "I am ready to let my threads interweave.  I am ready for tapestry."

Now, it's YOUR turn.
Who are YOU in the attached collage?
Who are you NOT?
What three journaling prompts pop up for you from this collage?

"Masked Madonna" by Dante Jericho

Another fun way to step into a collage to see what's going on (in the piece as well as in YOUR head) is to insert "thought bubbles" over the heads of the the characters.

In this piece, "The Questioner and the Conjurer" there are a number of characters we could do this with, each with their own internal conversation going on.  We could insert a thought bubble over the head of the woman in the raincoat, the Conjurer, any one of the Lilliputian people, the wee woman on top of the bottle, or even the mouse looking inquisitively at the mayhem of the laboratory.

The thought bubble phrases I come up with are:

The Raincoat Woman:  "What the ....???" or "This is SO not what I was going for."
The wee woman on the bottle:  "Don't mind if I do."
The wee man on the scale (through his teeth):  "Hurry up and take the photo already."
The man in front of the drawer:  "There's nothing to see here." or "Not me, no, I'm not hiding anything."
The conjurer, for me doesn't think in words, so I'm not sure how to express his thoughts, other than complete and absolute concentration.  And certainty of his success.  And patience, there's patience in there as well.
The mouse:  ANOTHER "What the ...???"  

Each phrase or saying then can become a journaling prompt.  Mine being:

1.) What the ...???
2.) This is SO not what I was going for.
3.) Don't mind if I do.
4.) Hurry up and take the photo already.
5.) There's nothing to see here.
6.) Not me, no, I'm not hiding anything.
7.) Complete and absolute concentration. 
8.) Certainty of success.  
9.) Patience.
10.) What the ...??

You'll notice that "What the ...??" came up not once, but TWICE in the exercise, which would signify it's especially in the forefront of my mind, so I'd probably start with that one.  But you can see how a single collage can give you -weeks- worth of prompts.  And that's just with ONE exercise.

So, now it's YOUR turn.  Take a spin around "The Questioner and the Conjurer" and tell us, What's in YOUR thought bubble??

"The Questioner and the Conjurer" by Dante Jericho.

Another way to "work" a collage is to apply a familiar quote to it.  The other morning I woke up and was commencing my morning ritual of sipping coffee while scrolling  through my FB newsfeed when I was startled by the very same quote showing up not once, but twice, each time in a different font and format, within seconds of itself.  The quote:  "What consumes your mind controls your life," by Alexander Alvarez.  Hmmmm.  Did I think that the Universe might be trying to tell me something?

You betcha.  :)

The thing about being "consumed" though is that it can go both ways.  Right now, I'd have to say my mind is mostly consumed by collage and writing. Which, when approached in a balanced manner can be a good thing.  

But there have been times, we've all had them, when our minds, our thoughts, our lives, are consumed by less noble things.  Say, the lover that had the audacity to leave us, the rumblings of a health crises, or late night niggling of financial woes.  Any of these can certainly set a different space and pace to our everyday existence.

So let's take that idea, that quote and apply it to the collage, "Saving Eggs." Take a walk through the piece and tell which each character is "consumed" by.  For me, I see ...

The Brawny Guy consumed by ... holding up those dang eggs.
The Russian Policeman consumed by ... duty.
Courtney Love consumed by ... needing to look cool at all costs.
The Belly-up Dog consumed by ... getting his belly tickled.
Hassidic Guy #1 consumed by ... waiting.
Hassidic Guy #2 consumed by ... holding up this dang sign.  
(Notice how I have -two- "holding up" phrases? That would be significant.)
The Indigenous Girl consumed by ... not fitting in with her monkey hands.
The Indigenous Girl consumed by ... the egg that burns but is not consumed.


Next, you could take the "consumed by" phrases themselves, and use the ones that held the most emotional spark as writing prompts, asking yourself, in my case:

"What am I holding up, or what is being held up?" (notice that this prompt could be actually physically holding something up, OR emotionally holding something up)
"Where am I consumed by duty?"
"Where do I need to look cool at all costs?"
"Where am I waiting?"

Now, YOU try it.  What do YOU see the characters in "Saving Eggs" as being consumed by?  Share YOUR thoughts and comments below.

Extra Credit:  What other quotes could we apply to this collage?

"Saving Eggs" by Dante Jericho

One of the ways to "work" a collage is to look for objects that can contain or hide things, such as mysteriously closed doors with hidden worlds behind them, title-less books left on tables, or letters held in a character's hand. By free-writing what we imagine to be behind the door, in the book or in the letter, we can gain great insight into what's going on in our -own- psyche.

One of my favorite series of such objects to work with is the empty bottle, asking students to journal what "medicines" the bottles originally contained, and then expanding on the concept by writing about how or why those particular medicines might be necessary in their lives at this moment in time.

For my last class though, I had my journaling students study the collage, "Administering the Elixir" imagining not medicine, but messages in each of the bottles.  (Cue Sting crooning, "Message in a Bottle ...") journaling which character wrote which message for which bottle.  My own answers started off a little snarky, but then warmed up into some pretty good advice.  My messages were:

Woodland Fairies with hands on their hips: "We told you so."
Bodyless Head: "Don't get so in your head that you lose your body."
Shaman: "Don't spill your Spirit."
Shadow Guy: "Don't settle for becoming just a shadow of your Greatest Self."
Alchemist Girl: "The perfect mix is out there. Find it. Make it so."

Afterward, I have students pick the message that spoke the loudest to them (either positively, or just as significantly, in a less positive way) and use that sentence as a writing prompt.

So, how about YOU?
What messages do YOU get from the various bottles?
Feel free to share below. :)

"Administering the Elixir" by Dante Jericho

One of my favorite exercises at the end of a 21-Day Journaling with Collage Course (next one starts on March 1st) is to switch things around by having the participants who I've spent the previous twenty days sending daily prompts to, study a posted collage and then send ME a prompt.  (I call it the "What Have You Learned Dorothy?" exercise.) 

I got some really great ones from this collage, including:  Write the conversation between the boy and the Giant Fish.  Tell whether the Boy with the Shovel is digging something up or burying something (I confess, my mind went immediately to him burying a dead body.  And -then- digging it back up again!) And what song is the Girl in Black singing to the Universe? (do you also see an 70's version of Stevie Nicks?) But my favorite prompt out of the bunch wasn't even a full prompt, per se.  It was a single phrase within the prompt, describing the foliage at the bottom of the piece as looking like a bundle of "floating mistletoe."  

Floating Mistletoe!?!

Wow, did -that- get my creative mind flowing, to which I responded to (and yes, I actually do work the prompts that students give me) by writing this:

"Floating Mistletoe"

When I think of the phrase “floating mistletoe”, the song “Love is in the Air” starts swimming through my head.  “Love is in the air … everywhere you look around.  Love is in the air … every sight and every sound.”

This thought, in turn makes me ponder the omni-presence of love.  That it doesn’t –have- to be attached to any one person, place or thing.  That it is indeed, everywhere, that we’re breathing in love spores with virtually every breath we take. 

But can I come to –live- in that realization?  Can I get to the place where I –look- for love, and like a child stumbling upon magic with every step, expecting to, and managing to –find- it?

Can I let go of the concept that this person, and this person, and this one, and that one over there, is somehow loving me “wrong” and look instead to having my love needs filled by the simple majesty of existence?  

Can I walk my days as if there were a bundle of floating mistletoe above my head, giggling like a school girl every time I get mysteriously and magically kissed?

Can I let myself be kissed by life, by love?
I’d certainly like to try.

"Digging up the Tree of Life" by Dante Jericho