What if the masterpiece is the journey?

unexpected takeaways from 100 days of creating, answers to your questions, more photos along the way, and are you looking for a creative community like this?

One takeaway is this awesome, newly labeled paintbrush. As I was cleaning up my space, it was hidden underneath piles of magazines, newspapers and painted papers. One of the strips of text I’d cut out was lying on top of it and when I went to clean it off, I realized it was a little stuck. So, I decided to glue it all the way down and consider it yet another gift from The 100 Day Project.

Honest and honoring, accepting and clarifying

Words that come to mind as I reflect on this visual diary: honoring, fun, authentic, emotional, confidence, intuition, therapeutic, revealing, deeper meaning, joy, deeper understanding, expressive, honest, hopeful, accepting, overcoming perfectionism, transformation, self-trust, becoming, clarifying….

How my 100 Day Project became a visual diary for the work I was doing at the time

Ah The 100 Day Project. I’d never completed one of these before. So, on February 18th, 2024 I went in with low expectations and the low-pressure goal of making simple collages with scraps of paper and words  - two of my favorite things – because I thought it would be ‘simply fun’. I told myself I’d go as far as I could without the pressure of completing all 100 days, knowing I was smack dab in the middle of a season of hard and might need to step away.

Turns out, the process of creating these simple collages was just the creative therapeutic release to help propel me through some of the hard things I was (am) walking through.

I was (am) simultaneously learning and practicing some very challenging themes in therapy/family therapy, such as attachment, emotional attunement (with others, but perhaps, more importantly, with myself), and learning how to feel again instead of relying on logic 24/7, and as I look back over my body of work for the past 100 days, I can see the presence of these themes and my transformation in this 100 day visual diary.

When I first began, I made several collages at once, mostly because of how fun and addicting they are to make. However, in the first week, I realized that it was more meaningful to choose words that stood out to me for each day instead of preparing them in advance. This way felt more fluid and allowed me to tap into my intuition, self-trust, and ultimately, the Holy Spirit. It didn’t matter that people were looking at them, only that I was honoring what I was feeling at the time. This coincidentally became helpful with my work around becoming more attuned to my emotions. I didn’t dismiss the pain, elevate the joy, romanticize the truth, or eliminate the yucky – they were all present – whatever I was feeling at the moment, I was creating around it.

A few takeaways from the process:

1.       Curating precut words + art + song clips expressed how I felt many times when I couldn’t or didn’t want to, otherwise. My therapist is always asking, ‘How does that make you feel?’ and 9 times out of 10 I answer with some LOGIC-minded response. These collages were emotion-driven, tapping into feelings in a new, different way.

2.       I had to CHOOSE to trust my intuition as I was instinctively choosing elements to glue down. I discovered that there were several collages I didn’t love. But I also chose not to throw them out because part of the discovery process with trusting my intuition was overcoming perfectionism and understanding that it’s OK to make art that I don’t love.

3.       Eventually, I became more comfortable with choosing to trust my choices and as I leaned into it, finding and going with the flow became a lot easier. I believe that committing to this process daily was the catalyst that drove me to this level of trust. I knew the right words to choose would arrive - I just needed to show up and be ready to receive them, and then, not doubt.

4.       If I caught myself thinking too much, or getting in my head with it, I stepped away and came back later with a fresh perspective, and oftentimes, a different state of mind/emotions. We often try so hard to do everything all at once. Sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to take a break, or receive a little grace.

5.       This simple process opened the doors to creating more collage work (the cards and paper bag series, pictured above) and ultimately to me finding my joy-filled, life-giving authentic art and embracing my quirks, my preferences, and discovering what I don’t prefer. Additionally, I was able to use what I have instead of pine for the things others have in their art, which made it feel all the more authentic for me. This, by the way, has been a LONG TIME prayer: Lord, help me find MY authentic art. He delivered by showing me I have everything I need, I just needed to show up and begin creating.

6.       Sharing these daily collages, which now I call ‘little glimpses into my life’, required a certain level of vulnerability. This vulnerability was something I needed to push through at first, but as I trusted the process, and ultimately trusted myself, this vulnerability turned into a quiet confidence. The more I embraced that I was creating MY AUTHENTIC art, the more I felt great about sharing it.

7.        With expectations lowered (as in, not worried about what others thought, or if I made ‘ugly art’ I didn’t like), this entire process became more fun. That sentiment even made it onto one of my collages and inspired the reel I made on Instagram and shared, which ended with ‘Art is more fun when expectations are dropped.’

8.       Sometimes, and perhaps more often than I even realize now, as I was allowing intuition to take the wheel, it felt like the Holy Spirit was answering, guiding, or showing me something that had been sitting on my heart and the only way for me to realize this message, was to show up and allow it to unfold in the creation of my collage. I always ask God to be present in my creativity and I believe he shows up through our creative flow and we sometimes call that intuition.

9.       One day, I received a message from a friend in response to one of my collages that said something along the lines of, ‘I didn’t realize I could go off the edges.’ Her comment made me realize that I had, indeed, been honoring what felt right and good and I wasn’t sticking to unnecessary boundaries and rules. It felt honoring to myself, my creative process, and it was pretty neat that it made others feel they could give themselves permission to do the same.

10.  One of the more interesting findings in all of this came out of the state of disarray my art studio remained nearly the entire time I was creating. Having the chaos all around me allowed me to create in more of a flow, and with more freedom. With a buffet of materials scattered about, I was able to follow my curiosity and playfulness. I was able to experiment and delight myself by trying things I hadn’t thought to before. When I had to clean it up a couple of times when I hosted groups in that space, I was forced to move the words, papers, bits and scraps out of sight, leaving me feeling stuck and slowed down when it came time to create again. Sometimes, mess is the best! And so, there ya have it…as long as I will be a collage artist, my art studio must remain in disarray!

What if the masterpiece is the journey

This collage might be my favorite - especially now that I can see how soul-nourishing and transformative this process was. The journey was definitely what this was all about. So, on a Sunday, with a quick pop into Michaels for my daughter to pick up some beads, I grabbed this $4 frame and this now sits on my desk as a reminder to keep showing up and be present IN THE JOURNEY because that’s where the good stuff is found.

Do you have a favorite from my collection? You can see them all in my 100 Day Project highlight on Instagram. I’m also considering adding them to my online shop because they really are the cutest little things in a mini frame sitting on a desk.

Let me know which one/s you loved the most!

Some of the questions and comments I heard from you

“I just have a hard time trusting my intuition.”

“I didn’t realize I could build off of my card - not keep within the boundaries of it.”

“I don’t like most of the collages I make. How do you make it look so easy?”

“Where would I start if I wanted to try this?”

“Where do you find all of your words?”

“Where do you find all of your scraps?”

“When do you work on them? Same time everyday or more in the cracks of life?”

“These pieces have been some of my favorite things!”

“This hits hard..”

“I would like to give this a try. I’m encouraged by how you share your creativity.”

“Trusting the process is something I’m working on in my creative journey.”

“This looks fun. I want to try it!”

And a million thank yous to the folks who chimed in with your lovely comments and encouragement that I’m not sharing here! They meant a lot to me and I am grateful.

Answers and tips to get started

This section contains some links that will take you to Amazon. I get a tiny commission if you choose to purchase any of the items through the link.

• LEARN MORE: You can learn more over at The 100 Day Project Newsletter

• WORDS: Scan any body of copy / text that you have nearby and cut out the words/phrases that stand out to you, even if you don’t use them right away, keep them in case you want to use them later. You can scan magazines, newspapers, mail, or if you are reading a book and a phrase stands out to you, feel free to make a copy of the page and cut the words you want out. You can also do that with your magazines if you don’t want to cut them up.

• SCRAPS: I am a bit of a scrap hoarder so I keep even tiny shreds of paper in a small cardboard container (the packaging for Go Macro bars). I have this nearby on my desk and thumb through it for inspiration. I also keep a stash of painted papers and geli plate papers, as well as weird texture things, like produce bags, clothing tags, fabric, pressed plants, and well, basically anything that can be glued down, nearby. I keep a larger stash of scraps in a plastic, clear container (below) and often, keep it open.

• THE PROCESS: A great way to break the ice and begin to trust yourself with this process is to have your stash of words nearby, as well as your stash of paper bits, a glue stick and your base card ready. Set a timer for five minutes (or less) and tell yourself you must complete your small collage before the timer goes off. This keeps you moving and it sort of forces you to have to choose quickly. Choose words you like without overthinking. Choose colors and scraps you like and quickly glue them down without overthinking. Even if you think all of the elements won’t go together or they’ll look weird, just go with it. Once you complete this one, go for another and shorten your time. The more you practice this process, the easier it becomes and the more you begin to trust yourself.

• TRUST YOURSELF: Trusting yourself and the process comes easier the more you do it. Just keep showing up and pushing through and remind yourself that it’s OK to make ugly art, art that you don’t like, and art that others may not like.

• TIME: I created my collages in the cracks of life. It didn’t take long to make the collages and find the words. For me, the hardest part was finding the music clip so often I would create the collage first thing in the morning and find time in the cracks of the day to find my song clip.

• TOOLS: I liked to use good, sharp scissors, an UHU permanent glue stick, and some fine, curved tweezers. It just makes the process more enjoyable to use good tools.

• JUST DO IT: If it looks fun, do it! If you feel called to try this, try it! You have absolutely nothing to lose, but possibly a lot to gain!! This leads me to the last thing I’ll share in this post…

I have a dream, that one day creatives would gather…

I have this vision that I’m gathered with other women and we all feel known, valued, and are present with one another and with God. We feel safe enough to share stories, our fears and our pain. We pray for one another and testify to the goodness of God and how Jesus is moving in our lives.

Through this sisterhood, we begin to heal, to rediscover our true selves and to step into the life God has called us to live, to be the women God has called us to be.

We explore our creativity through writing and art prompts, journaling, and workshops. We feel comfortable to share, explore, make mistakes, encourage one another, and speak up.

Locally, I have nurtured a sweet little creative ministry and most nights we gathered, it felt like a fire was lit in the room, like we were ablaze. We were creatives gathering for the Kingdom, gathering for His glory, and it was palpable. Interestingly, it seemed that it wasn’t so much about the creating as it was about the healing that was taking place within our group, and the lies that were being banished, the dreams that were coming into focus, the wounds that felt less severe which allowed our hearts to feel less pain, and thus, allowed us to receive God’s goodness and grace a little better. And then, and only then, could we meet God at the art table.

I’m praying about that now. Whether I only continue in local community, open it up to an online community or do both. I feel God is giving me bits and pieces, whispers even, of answers, but I haven’t gotten it all together yet. Would you pray with me, please? Does this community sound like something you’ve been dreaming of being a part of, too? Maybe I need to hear from you, too.

I can confidently say, the Lord guided me back to my creativity right before my life took a huge detour and my world was rocked. What a gift. Creativity (and my faith) saved is saving me. I know there are others out there who need this, too. Does this speak to you at all?

The 100 Day Project: a few more photos along the way

My nephew, Daniel, and I began this journey together in the mountains of TN. He was having just as much fun as I was and he made the following collage (in the next picture), which I have kept on my desk in my art room. He is right: I am blessed in many ways.

Don’t these look so pretty on my little plate?

This was today’s collage: day 100/100.

My daughter asked that I clear a small corner for her among my chaos. I loved having her in the art studio with me, making bracelets and painting, while I collaged away.

Oh, this is just the small area under my desk…not the full room. I haven’t gone there yet. I mean, I might need some of those scraps for my new collages…right?

“All that matters is that you are making something you love, to the best of your ability, here and now.” - Rick Rubin, The Creative Act