Far from kicking myself that I didn't come to certain realizations earlier in life, am constantly reminded that many, maybe most humans need to perk at our own pace, filtering life through the gauze of time before we can reach insights impossible in our younger years. The process reminds of the work of internationally-renown printmaker, Cynthia Back.
Along with gaining fame for her prints, over the years Cynthia also gained an extensive collection of print proofs, out-dated pieces, abandoned attempts. Instead of tossing the lot out, she saw in them a potential new expression of her artistic vision. From her accumulation of "the past, the forgotten, the unsuccessful," she creates wondrous collages, using the old to design something new, selecting & cutting pieces from her scrap pile for color, detail, pattern.
Her collage pieces are like my life - impossible without the work that came before, taking what's discarded & incorporating it into something new & exciting.
Talk about wondrous - how remarkable to find out things about myself that might look like failings deficiencies flaws that are waiting to be selected, cut & turned into something new & exciting. Yes, I shrink away from being integrated into the greater whole of community. Yes, I have a dreadful time asking, opting to beat around the bushes & tap dance around the edges. Yes, I resist resist resist living by a schedule, in spite of knowing that's how I thrive. Those are just a few of the pieces in my accumulated pile of out-dated habits, abandoned dreams, unrealized horizons - glorious material to dive into & manufacture into something new, deciding which to select, to cut, to piece into a work that displays a richness previously impossible.
In my callow youth, I attended college. Today, in the richness of high middle age, it's time to collage all that's come before into all that is!
FYI - Cynthia's work is on display at the gallery at Pennswood Village (next to George School, in Newtown, PA) until March 16.
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