Collage Workshops
Collage has always spoken to me as a medium. Any time I return to it, it’s helped me tap into creativity, feel inspired, get lost in a flow state, and really connect back to myself. My earliest collaging days were in middle school when I would spend hours on my bedroom floor, combing through magazines and filling pages of notebooks with collaged images (with Destiny’s Child playing on repeat). At the time, I imagine I considered it a fun way to decorate my school notebooks, express myself, and feel a sense of individuality. And I still think all of that is true! But looking back now, I understand that it meant more than that; collage was a way for me to explore my inner world, to see and know myself on a deeper level, and to express feelings and ideas that words could not. It was an invaluable therapeutic outlet for me at a challenging and pivotal time in my life. It was an early spark of curiosity about the blending of arts and psychology.
Recently, I had the privilege of hosting a collage workshop at
Scribble in Highland Park, Los Angeles.
The idea was to create an offering where people could come together in a creative and supportive environment, and invite their intuition lead the collage process as a means to accessing and exploring the unconscious mind.
The workshop emphasized creativity, intuition, curiosity, and non-judgement—a space free from pressure to make art that is “good” or even visually pleasing. We explored the collage process itself, as it mirrors one’s inner world: messy, unique, rich, nonlinear, and ever evolving.
As a therapist, I love blending the visual arts with depth psychology, and I see collage as both a creative and therapeutic outlet and a space for introspection. We can allow our unconscious thoughts, ideas, emotions, and themes to surface naturally without outside expectation or direction. To do so, we do not need to know what we want to create, only an openness to see what unfolds.
The idea for the workshop had been swirling around in my mind for a year or two before I decided to put it into action. During that time, I found a multitude of excuses as to why I couldn’t do it. I thought of every obstacle I might face and doubted if anyone would be interested in something like this. Looking back, what was really holding me back was good, old-fashioned fear, imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and perfectionism—many of the same issues I help my clients address. Who was I to host this workshop? What if I don’t know enough? I’m not a fine artist or an art therapist.
And that’s when I realized the very things I love about collage—the messiness, open-endedness, the unfolding of something unknown—were the same ideas I could embrace to create the workshop. I didn’t need to know exactly how it would take shape nor did I need to show up perfectly. There was a parallel process unfolding in real time. Like collaging, pursuing something new only requires a willingness to notice what you’re drawn to and excited by, start collecting one piece at a time, and allow things to take shape.
It’s okay to not know. It’s okay to do it imperfectly. It’s enough to just show up.
I feel grateful I was able to overcome these limiting ideas and put myself out there. The workshop was such a connective and inspiring experience. I spread out various materials, collected with the intention to provide dynamic, evocative, and interesting elements to explore. Participants spent time intuitively selecting and playing with the images, allowing their collages to take shape organically. At the end, I opened up space for participants to share what their experience was like or what feelings and thoughts came up throughout the process. Their reflections were honest, meaningful, and affecting. For me, it affirmed what a powerful tool collage can be; a doorway to the unconscious mind, encouraging insight, emotional processing, and connection to self.
I’m looking forward to hosting this workshop again and continuing to evolve the offering in the coming months.
