Creating mixed media and collages is something I’ve dabbled with over the course of my life since high school. Only recently I realized what makes this practice so special. For one thing, it allows me to make an absolute mess (a deviation for someone who generally thrives in organized environments). The mess of too much rubber cement or Modge Podge and acrylic paint splattered on my fingernails, shirt, and work surface.
It’s also an art form that I usually don’t have an end goal in mind. One that I can work on in bits and pieces. I never know what the final outcome will be and I am okay with that. Eventually, it’ll become a semblance of a whole. I can surrender and let go of any expectations. Sounds similar to yoga, no? When I began practicing yoga all those years ago, I only knew I wanted to feel better in my head. That was all I knew and I was open to whatever other benefits I would glean.
Over the years, I have collected bits and pieces of yogic teachings. Some that I have pondered for years, trying to understand — only then beginning to understand when I stop trying to “get it.” For me, this is art too. Some of the pieces I’ve worked on have taken years. Just because I needed to honor the time and space it needed. Like yoga, it’s a process of trusting the hours.
See Mixed-Up Volume II which features these pieces and more that I’ve created over the years!
Katie Kohlbeck 