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Living Into Art
Reviewer: Alyice Edrich
Art Book
Living Into Art, Journeys Through Collage
Author
Lindsay Whiting
Review
When I first heard about Lindsay’s book, Living Into Art, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. It was my understanding that it was not your “ordinary” collage book—that it dealt less with how to collage and more with what collage can do for the soul. What I wasn’t expecting, however, was to find a book that dealt mostly with an art studio called, Sonoma Collage Studio, and the community its founders created.
At first, I wasn’t thrilled to be reading a type of biography (as they’ve never held my interest before) but as I delve into the book, I found the stories that unfolded interesting. Each story told of an artist who was introduced to the studio at a time in her (or his) life when change was desperately needed. And through collage, they intuitively created pieces that helped them deal with their own feelings and behaviors—and in the process, discovered healing and personal growth.
The main thing I took away from this book, aside from the therapeutic powers of collage, is that artists need community. They need to belong to something more than home and family and work; they need “a third place”—a community of like-minded individuals where they can converse, nurture creativity, revitalize imagination, and grow as artists and human beings; a place where others understand their creative side.
While not a formula book, the stories that unfold share many insights into the beauty of creating collages that heal the soul. In 176 pages and twelve chapters you’ll discover that collage:
- is accidental and surprising,
- is subjective and evocative,
- is meditative and a stress reliever,
- teaches you about yourself,
- allows you to practice using your imagination,
- can help heal the past and bring dreams to fruition,
- “taps into unconscious thoughts, feelings, and patterns”,
- can put you in touch with feelings and thoughts you didn’t know existed,
- can “reveal things over time that may not be evident at first”,
- can bring new perspective to the unbalanced parts of your life,
- loosens you up and allows you to break out of your shell or self-imposed prison, and
- with interpretation helps you find your authentic self.
You’ll also learn the technique used at Sonoma that allows participants to get the full therapeutic benefits of creating collages—that engages active imagination. A process that involves intuitively selecting images and arranging them in a collage, then stepping back and observing the final creation, and finally, naming each image and finding the connection between each image to discover the story the completed collage has to tell.
Finally, you’ll receive nine studio clips and a gallery of collages sprinkled throughout the book. The studio clips are designed to help you begin your own path to redemption as you discover fun and easy ways to create collages that speak to the soul. And the artwork showcased is stunning; definitely not your ordinary cut and paste collages!
If you’re ready to believe in the healing powers of art therapy, then I encourage you to pick up a copy of Living Into Art and allow the stories to minister to your soul—then grab a few magazines, a pair of scissors, and some Mod Podge® and get creating!
Order Living Into Art Today!
Disclosure: The reviewer received a complimentary copy of the book to review.
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