Perhaps you read the true story I posted previous to this blog. Here is another true story that happens to involve the same friend. It took place before the events of that previous blog.
I was at a spiritual gathering of about twelve people at a friend’s house about two months ago and the last activity we participated in was making collage art. My friend had a pile of treasured books and publications that were full of colorful photographs and graphic work he allowed us to cut up. He gave us all an eight by eight inch panel. The only instruction was to have fun and create. Since I have been a long-time artist, I immediately was inspired and started to find different colors of paper to work with, tearing shapes in a quick spontaneous fashion. Following my intuition throughout the process I completed my piece fairly rapidly.
Everybody’s finished collages were left behind as my friend continued his generosity by saying he would encase each work with an epoxy resin that would give each piece a professional, finished look. About a week and a half later my friend gave my piece back to me and said that he was sad to see it go as he really loved it and had enjoyed living with it for a while.
After having the piece in my studio for a few days I had the inspiration to take it further in process. I drilled small equal distant holes all around the edge and then with a needle weaved red thread in the holes all along the perimeter of the piece. The “stitching,” in my eyes, gave the collage an added element of excitement and uniqueness. While the work was displayed in my studio over the course of more than a month, many people coming for small group and private art classes and mentoring sessions commented how wonderful the work was. I become quite attached to it and did not want to sell it.
Just after the more than a month period, I started to have a strong urge to gift the collage to my friend, remembering how much he liked it and for all his generosity allowing everyone to cut up many of his treasured books that he personally uses for his own collage work. But I tried to discount the thought, because I really liked the piece. A few days passed and I kept having urges to give back the collage as a gift. And I remembered many times in my life when I felt an urge to do something and following the urge, magic followed in some form or another.
After I finally “agreed” to gift the collage to my friend I felt another urge to put a wood straddling structure on the back to so it would have more dimensional thickness and could be hung on a wall. It is what I would have done if the piece was going into an exhibition. I spent a few days trying to rationalize how it would be too much work to put on the wood straddling and convinced myself that giving the piece as it already was would be just fine. But I finally gave into the prompting and took out my hand tools. It was interesting to say the least that I had just enough three-quarter inch furring strip to go around the piece. If I made a false cut I would have to buy more wood. Since I have much experience working in wood, the task was executed with precision, cutting the ends at a forty-five degree angle in a miter box with a hand saw. I glued the pieces on, then I painted the sides three coats of dark grey paint I had on hand, sanded lightly between each coat. Finally, I placed two screw eyes into the wood and wired it for hanging. I enjoyed the process and felt the integrity of the guided workmanship. The finished project looked great and I looked forward to gifting it.
The next time I saw my friend, which was at our next spiritual gathering, I gave him the gift. He was quite surprised as it was certainly unexpected. Smiling widely, he said he was honored to have the artwork. I was happy to give it to him.
Now I want to tell you how things “came together” after gifting the artwork. During the time period of the above events, I was busy painting on a series of thirty-six by twenty-four inch vertical canvases. A day before giving the gift I had just completed the fourth painting in a row of that size, as I really enjoyed exploring and connecting to that scale. I realized I had no more canvases to work on and wished I had another of that size to continue my series. The day after I gave the collage gift I received an email. A participant that had been in many of my art classes was moving away from Santa Fe, as her husband has a wonderful opportunity to study though an organization of his chosen field. The participant said she had a wood panel and some paint she could not take, as the family was trying to scale down things to move and she wanted to gift them to me. I emailed back thanking her, saying it would be wonderful. She replied that she would drop the panel and paint off at my studio. A few days later I came home from running errands and saw the panel and paint outside my studio door. When I spotted the panel I smiled widely! Wow! Guess what size the panel was? That’s right - it was thirty-six by twenty-four inches! And it had the exact same dimensional thickness of straddling on the back as the I put on the collage! The bag of paint she gave me was my favorite acrylic brand. To give is to receive? I think so!
The synchronicity of this event anchored once again that there are no coincidences in life. This was another powerful message for me to remember that I don’t have to hold on, be in control or be in charge. It’s better to let go and let be. There have been many times in my life when something extraordinary happened and it took my breath away. The events in this story are one of those times. Today while writing this piece I came to a deep realization. When my breath is “taken away,” now I know who takes it. God does! I have allowed Him to breathe me.
I was at a spiritual gathering of about twelve people at a friend’s house about two months ago and the last activity we participated in was making collage art. My friend had a pile of treasured books and publications that were full of colorful photographs and graphic work he allowed us to cut up. He gave us all an eight by eight inch panel. The only instruction was to have fun and create. Since I have been a long-time artist, I immediately was inspired and started to find different colors of paper to work with, tearing shapes in a quick spontaneous fashion. Following my intuition throughout the process I completed my piece fairly rapidly.
Everybody’s finished collages were left behind as my friend continued his generosity by saying he would encase each work with an epoxy resin that would give each piece a professional, finished look. About a week and a half later my friend gave my piece back to me and said that he was sad to see it go as he really loved it and had enjoyed living with it for a while.
After having the piece in my studio for a few days I had the inspiration to take it further in process. I drilled small equal distant holes all around the edge and then with a needle weaved red thread in the holes all along the perimeter of the piece. The “stitching,” in my eyes, gave the collage an added element of excitement and uniqueness. While the work was displayed in my studio over the course of more than a month, many people coming for small group and private art classes and mentoring sessions commented how wonderful the work was. I become quite attached to it and did not want to sell it.
Just after the more than a month period, I started to have a strong urge to gift the collage to my friend, remembering how much he liked it and for all his generosity allowing everyone to cut up many of his treasured books that he personally uses for his own collage work. But I tried to discount the thought, because I really liked the piece. A few days passed and I kept having urges to give back the collage as a gift. And I remembered many times in my life when I felt an urge to do something and following the urge, magic followed in some form or another.
After I finally “agreed” to gift the collage to my friend I felt another urge to put a wood straddling structure on the back to so it would have more dimensional thickness and could be hung on a wall. It is what I would have done if the piece was going into an exhibition. I spent a few days trying to rationalize how it would be too much work to put on the wood straddling and convinced myself that giving the piece as it already was would be just fine. But I finally gave into the prompting and took out my hand tools. It was interesting to say the least that I had just enough three-quarter inch furring strip to go around the piece. If I made a false cut I would have to buy more wood. Since I have much experience working in wood, the task was executed with precision, cutting the ends at a forty-five degree angle in a miter box with a hand saw. I glued the pieces on, then I painted the sides three coats of dark grey paint I had on hand, sanded lightly between each coat. Finally, I placed two screw eyes into the wood and wired it for hanging. I enjoyed the process and felt the integrity of the guided workmanship. The finished project looked great and I looked forward to gifting it.
The next time I saw my friend, which was at our next spiritual gathering, I gave him the gift. He was quite surprised as it was certainly unexpected. Smiling widely, he said he was honored to have the artwork. I was happy to give it to him.
Now I want to tell you how things “came together” after gifting the artwork. During the time period of the above events, I was busy painting on a series of thirty-six by twenty-four inch vertical canvases. A day before giving the gift I had just completed the fourth painting in a row of that size, as I really enjoyed exploring and connecting to that scale. I realized I had no more canvases to work on and wished I had another of that size to continue my series. The day after I gave the collage gift I received an email. A participant that had been in many of my art classes was moving away from Santa Fe, as her husband has a wonderful opportunity to study though an organization of his chosen field. The participant said she had a wood panel and some paint she could not take, as the family was trying to scale down things to move and she wanted to gift them to me. I emailed back thanking her, saying it would be wonderful. She replied that she would drop the panel and paint off at my studio. A few days later I came home from running errands and saw the panel and paint outside my studio door. When I spotted the panel I smiled widely! Wow! Guess what size the panel was? That’s right - it was thirty-six by twenty-four inches! And it had the exact same dimensional thickness of straddling on the back as the I put on the collage! The bag of paint she gave me was my favorite acrylic brand. To give is to receive? I think so!
The synchronicity of this event anchored once again that there are no coincidences in life. This was another powerful message for me to remember that I don’t have to hold on, be in control or be in charge. It’s better to let go and let be. There have been many times in my life when something extraordinary happened and it took my breath away. The events in this story are one of those times. Today while writing this piece I came to a deep realization. When my breath is “taken away,” now I know who takes it. God does! I have allowed Him to breathe me.
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