Today, in session with my clients, I invited them to work small. There’s a wisdom in that. A part of it is that when we work big on a large piece of paper or canvas we can overwhelm ourselves with too much blank space to fill and too many options to choose from. Working small encourages us to focus, to choose what we really want. It also allows us to really be with the issue we’re working through and not find ways to avoid it. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE working big too, but working small sometimes is a real treat.
A trick I have found helpful is when life feels overwhelming, I keep my art making small. Why? Because I don’t have a lot of energy or bandwidth to deal with making anything big. These past few days I’ve been processing a lot so I’ve been sticking with 3×3 inch pieces of paper and I have found so much comfort in this. I’ve also been dabbling a lot in collage because it allows me to not think about my process AT ALL. I just dig into my colllage bin and pull out random pieces and start bringing them together. I honestly feel that collaging opens me up to insights and possibilities that other forms of art making don’t. It gives me new ways of looking at myself, my feelings, my needs, my hopes and my aspirations. I like exploring these things on my own so that when I’m in session with my clients, I have lots of invitations to offer.🎨