things starting, ending and the symbolism of archways
there is something undeniably satisfying about the feeling, sound and sensation of a collage. the sound of many papers colliding. bending and twisting with different tensile strength. the crackle, the whisper. the one corner that always comes unglued.
david cho, postcard from japan and the arc of settling waves
my old journals are full of found images and scraps that i glued into the pages. when i look back at the old journals it reminds me of places and experiences, and secretly stashing magazine clippings or items i found on the ground. now i have instagram to capture images of odd experiences. here is a photo i took of a butterfly sticker stuck on a pole.
kid version of street art
recently, while sitting with a student and a pile of magazines i pulled out my own images for a collage failing to stick them down in the moment. i got home and didnt want to throw them away or save them so i decided to put them into my journal filling up a few pages.
do you notice a theme?
once pasted in, i noticed something they all had in common…. the arch of wood ceiling, the arched ancient passageway, a world of arched undersea walls and the waves hitting sand in an arch shape. do you see it?
i then had to wonder, what does an archway mean to me right now? why was i drawn to all of these images? why was i choosing this arch or arc shape?
i dont think this was coincidental as i was choosing images resonated with me and pondered starting 2013 and my last semester of gradschool. i am not going to elaborate too much here about the symbolism behind the arc shape. but i want to recognize and share with you that i believe it’s connected to me entering my last semester of graduate school as well as the independent study i created called “The Use of Expressive Arts in Health & Wellness Coaching and Programming”.
which brings me to the next topic….
as part of this independent study i will be posting weekly about my self exploration of the correlation between the arts and health. i look forward to sharing my explorations with you and as always, would love your feed back or comments.
I’d love to hear about your independent study! Congrats on being almost done. This semester is going to fly by!
Thanks so much, Toni. Yes, the semester will speed by and I am terrified about it! Haha. I will have to tell you about my independent study as more and more happens 🙂
Very interesting isn’t it how the seeing mind works. For the longest time I painted mosques and churches, homes etc with doors and windows but with no handles. I never noticed until someone pointed it out.
The adjective of the word arch is: Adjective
Deliberately or affectedly playful and teasing.
🙂
how interesting about the adjective of arch! love it.
it is amazing that we create things but can’t see all of the intricacies of or own work, until others point it out. it really speaks to the unconscious at work as well as the endless ways to experience art.