Inspirational Collage Journaling

Be your own cheerleader

"Collage making is assembling your dreams with eyes wide open;

every image an element, every word pregnant with meaning."

-- Joyce Wycoff

Sometimes words are not enough … or, on the other hand, sometimes words are too much or too many with meaning falling through the spaces on the page or pointing in two opposite, and befuddling, directions.

And, images are too often imprisoned by the reality of time and space.

Put them together, though, and words and images can transcend their individual boundaries and tell a story of daring deeds of the past, the beauty of right now, and the unleashed hopes of the future. Together, they can shine a light into a dark corner and send you inspiration from an unseen and unknown world.

Journaling may be one of the most powerful self-awareness tools we have, but sometimes, words grow stale, repetitious, and whiny. When that happens try collage journaling.

Recently, I uncovered an old treasure trove of collage materials and invited my friend Anita Perez Ferguson, young adult historical fiction author and writer at Diverse Voices in the West, to spend an afternoon collaging. Anita has made vision boards for several years, however, it’s been years since I’ve collaged anything. Somewhere along the line, I decided that old children’s books would be a good place to store our collages and picked up several from a favorite charity thrift store, choosing them mainly for their sizes and shapes.

We met on a rainy afternoon and Anita chose the book she wanted to use and we set forth, sorting through a box filled with years of collected images, gathering whatever called to us. Gradually, words and images began to fill up pages. It was like a quilting bee as we shared images, words and the bits and pieces of our lives.

At the end, we shared our pages and I was surprised to see that Anita had taken an approach much different from my own. I have always completely collaged a page, using whatever words and images came to me and, afterward, looking for the message on the page. Anita used the book graphics as her background and then layered on just enough graphics and words to create a single, inspirational message. This is best illustrated with examples and a little backstory.

In the world of fiction writers, there are “plotters” and “pantsers.” “Plotters” carefully construct plots, characters, and story arcs. “Pantsers” make up stuff as they go along. They can both be successful but the processes are different. Anita is a “plotter” and I’m a “pantser.” Here’s the difference visually:

My “pantser” image:

I’m still searching for the meaning of this epiphany.

Here’s a page from Anita’s “plotter” book … which she has finished while mine is barely begun … the message is clear: she believed she could so she did.

By the time Anita finished her collage book, we realized she had a unique work of inspirational art: a full book of pages that celebrated past successes and cheered her on in her upcoming creative challenges. Pages that showed her book covers, awards, reviews and other mementos of creative progress as well as reminders to stay confident and committed toward her aspirations.

We tried to find a way to describe this book and the closest we came was that it was like a family photo album, displaying her creative progeny, as well as a hope chest filled with the anticipation of future creativity.

Like a family photo album or hope chest, this is a work to be treasured in moments of pride as well as moments of doubt or worry. When I realized what a powerful work she had created, I began to lean toward “plotting” in order to create cheerleading pages for myself.

If you decide to try this form of collage, I’d love to hear how it works for you. And, if you send me a photo of one of your pages, I’ll devote a post to sharing as many as I can. Send to jwycoff@gratitudemojo.com.

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In good times and challenging ones, practicing gratitude helps us recognize the good things in our lives and build resilience for the challenges that come our way. Gratitude journaling is one of the best ways to better understand yourself and deepen your practice of gratitude.

Any journal will do … however, her are two we are biased toward:

Gratitude Miracles, a 52-week journal filled with inspiring quotes and the science behind 13 amazing benefits of gratitude. Available from amazon.com:

Or, Gratitude Mojo, a 26-week, workbook format, which comes to you free with your annual paid subscription … including one copy for a friend because having a Gratitude Buddy makes the journey better.

We want to help everyone develop a deeper practice of gratitude, therefore, all posts are always free. … However, it is paid subscriptions that help support this work.