Last Sunday afternoon was a fun break for me, a five hour class which included a short yoga practice and a guided class in SoulCollage® with ten lovely women at Vision Yoga/Wild Trout Gallery.Enormous boxes of magazines, calendars, and catalogs were set out and we each just pulled a armful of sources at random, then sat at the table or curled up on the floor and each time we saw an image that sparked something in us we'd pull it out and add to our pile. I've been working on a Discovery Journal for years so was familiar with this part of the task. (If you click on the photos on my blog they open up larger in a new page)
We were then given 5" X 8" mat boards, glue stick, and scissors and encouraged to make a
collage of our bits. The results were outstanding and so different. I've worked with tarot and oracle cards for years so what I see in mine and what the object of the experience was supposed to be diverged, but I understand the concept, and will make more of these little art pieces as time and inclination permit. These are easier to sit out and think about than a Discovery Journal is! I titled my piece Botox Party, based on a snippet of conversation I heard earlier. The foundation is 3 pieces, a forest in full color and glory, a withered and frosted winter weed, and the sun behind teasel pods.
For the statement I see a beautiful woman on the left railing against the body she has been given, then Aphrodite turning her back on her own beauty. Below center a false oddly shaped face is presented to the world. Which soon fades to bone and dust and what was the point?
In our teens we wish to appear older so on goes the make-up and tight clothes and we drink and smoke and behave like we think older women must do. At 30 we start dieting and tinting our first grey hairs and wish we were young again. At 50 we are going for belly bands and tummy tucks and breasts that look like wooden apples, our face skin is pulled up until our hair line is now two inches above our ears, we botox and have wands inserted all over our bodies to suck out yellow fat and bleach our teeth until they look like a packet of Chicklets. At 70 we marvel at how beautiful we were at 49 before we started taking things into our hands and skewing into a unnatural state of affairs.
I have considered all these things. If I were rolling in money I might even be tempted to try them. Obviously once you start you never know when to stop. Fortunately I have chosen to pay the mortgage and buy groceries instead. And work on my inner-mini-me. This week I'm taking a page from one of Rumi's books and polishing my heart, a forever project if there ever was one. I hope it reminds me to look at my Botox Party and appreciate what I have while I have it.
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3 comments:
Fabulous post! Fabulous!
At age 54 I am reminded every morning of the passing years. I now have a freckle (aka age spot) in the middle of my cheek from the years in the sun. When I look at my hands I see the veins popping out like my mother's hands. I don't much care for them but they are part of who I am and who I will be.
My older sister had two complete facelifts by the time she was 52 and is talking about another one (she's 58 now). I have told her I could buy a lot of fabric and photography equipment for the price she paid just for the first one. And the pain and suffering she went through, no way. I don't mind my gray hairs and laugh lines. They tell my life story.
I am also getting much better with Photoshop. Cheaper and easier than cosmetic surgery.
Again, wonderful post.
Wooden apples? That one had me honestly laughing out loud!
So true - I was challenged recently to find 3 photos of myself that I liked - and one had to be in the last 5 years. It is amazing that what I once thought was "not good" is now beautiful- I need to keep that in mind as time marches on.
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