Grief's Unspeakable Lament
'Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself.' Carl Jung
Quotes have a habit of being read at opportune moments. In the past few weeks, this quote by Carl Jung, found in passing, meant something to me.
Grief's emotional body is often mute. Grief's signature statement is wordless. It seems fitting then to turn to the body when words fail or a trapped somewhere between the heart and bone.
Covering my mannequin these past few weeks has helped me to give grief's trapped words a voice through images. With a few pictures, quotes, glittery buttons and assorted flotsam and jetsam from life, I have covered "Teacup" my mannequin, with all the accoutrements of an afternoon tea setting. The soul is well fed in an image banquet.
Collage is my covering method of choice. It is simple, forgiving and likes to overlap. Collage is about layering, and a change-as-you-go-along image painting. Words are less tolerant of mistakes, than good old cut and paste. Words need a clear mind, whereas collage will court my mind in its drowsy and unfocussed moments.
I have also covered several notebooks, this week. The finished collages, sealed behind contact, are a visual treat. Lined up on my bookshelves, these empty notebooks remind me of words yet to be written and stories yet to be told. They give the soul space when things seem stagnant.
Taking the scissors to my magazines was wrenching at first, but then I began to feel the need to make up my own image compositions. The compositions magazines present are a starting point but they are not immutable to change. So it's, snip snip, paste paste, adding layers to the onion skin. The grief body appreciates this more than it can say.
'Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself.' Carl Jung
Quotes have a habit of being read at opportune moments. In the past few weeks, this quote by Carl Jung, found in passing, meant something to me.
Grief's emotional body is often mute. Grief's signature statement is wordless. It seems fitting then to turn to the body when words fail or a trapped somewhere between the heart and bone.
Covering my mannequin these past few weeks has helped me to give grief's trapped words a voice through images. With a few pictures, quotes, glittery buttons and assorted flotsam and jetsam from life, I have covered "Teacup" my mannequin, with all the accoutrements of an afternoon tea setting. The soul is well fed in an image banquet.
Collage is my covering method of choice. It is simple, forgiving and likes to overlap. Collage is about layering, and a change-as-you-go-along image painting. Words are less tolerant of mistakes, than good old cut and paste. Words need a clear mind, whereas collage will court my mind in its drowsy and unfocussed moments.
I have also covered several notebooks, this week. The finished collages, sealed behind contact, are a visual treat. Lined up on my bookshelves, these empty notebooks remind me of words yet to be written and stories yet to be told. They give the soul space when things seem stagnant.
Taking the scissors to my magazines was wrenching at first, but then I began to feel the need to make up my own image compositions. The compositions magazines present are a starting point but they are not immutable to change. So it's, snip snip, paste paste, adding layers to the onion skin. The grief body appreciates this more than it can say.