Savoring the little moments
Last week, I found this pile of acorns sitting in a crack in my driveway. I don’t remember where I was coming from or going that day, but I saw these little guys hanging out and had to snap a pic for later. I’ve been leaning into more earthy colors and immediately wanted to immortalize that rich chocolatey brown in collage.
Sometimes I fall into these periods where I don’t want to make bad work, so I put off ideas until they’ve become this impossible thing in my head. To get past that, I’m giving small collage warmups a try. I haven’t formed the habit yet but last Thursday, I sat down and started snipping.
Collaging with scraps
I have an accordion folder filled with painted paper (Smart thinking, past Jade!) and an overflowing tin of scraps from collages past. For these acorns, I challenged myself to use only scraps. I took a risk using purples and blues and hoped your eyes would do the rest to make it look like concrete. It’s convincing enough, I think!
It was a fun deviation from my usual color choices that I wouldn’t have tried otherwise, so that’s pretty cool. I didn't know at the time of collaging them, but acorns also symbolize growth and new beginnings which feels very fitting for this era of my life.
Connection through collections
As I think about what I want the next phase of my creative life to look like, I keep coming back to the natural world. I’d like to make more nature inspired work — a collection maybe, to dive deeper into my love of landscapes and (obsessive, ever present) love of animals.
I don’t really have a plan for what happens after I make this collection, but that’s for future Jade to worry about. If nothing else, it’ll be a fun way to spend a slow two months.
Inspiration and Rumination
My anthem for February: fever dream by mxmtoon
Hobbies I’m nurturing: Pottery! In January, I joined a pottery studio to make small batch ceramics, like these leaf paint palettes. I also made a few bird inspired pieces. Maybe you’ll want to take one home — we’ll see!
New things I’m trying: I’ve introduced chats for this newsletter, where both free and paid subscribers can see what I’m working on in real time. It’s like a group chat, just for us pals.
What are you savoring or challenging yourself to do this month? Let me know!
Until next time,
Jade
Music by Dubush Miaw
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