Turning Works Into Praise: Collage as Spiritual Practice

Below is an excerpt of the lecture and interactive experience with Anita Breitenberg from our first Practicing the Presence of God module – Collage as Spiritual Practice. Join us on the first and third Sundays of the month from 5:00 – 6:30 PM as we gather in the gallery for a play-filled exploration of artistic practices that serve to relax the trap of compulsive busyness and develop spiritual practices to help us see beauty in ordinary things and even learn to pray.

Bob Dylan, (to my ear), has an unattractive voice, but he has a tremendous amount to say and for that reason I am compelled to listen. The same can be applied to the visual arts. One can create a perfect rendering but if it has nothing relevant to say – or to put it musically, if one is singing with a false voice, they will not inspire growth or change.

Picasso said “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once they grow up.” Picasso points out that our true voice often diminishes as we age.

Two weeks ago, in part one of Practicing the Presence of God: Collage as Spiritual Practice, we explored free formed art and purposely kept it loose in the hopes that you could begin to find your true voice. This week we will be more structured but first and foremost, I want you to find your own voice.

Last time we met, everyone’s work was interesting and unique. There was a story in the news this week concerning astronaut, Scott Kelly, and his twin brother Mark; since the prolonged stay in space they no longer have identical DNA. Among other things, Scott is now two inches taller. The longer we hang out in the “upper atmosphere” with our Creator, not only should we more closely resemble His son, but we should also come to exhibit our true selves to all who come in contact with us and our work.

Since God inhabits the praises of his people, how do we allow Him to inhabit our work and turn our work into praise? Although that process is unique to each of us, I’ll attempt to explain how the process of turning works into praise defines my work’s focus and controls the choice of images, symmetry, color and content.

Picasso also said, “Bad artists copy, good artists steal.” When making collages – I’m just Bilbo Baggins with deeper pockets; since everything I do is stolen. I did not choose collage. It was chosen for me and perhaps as a gift intended to humble me, for my art, like my spiritual growth is a gift from “Dad,” not my achievement.

The process of creating a collage is different from painting and we are only addressing collage. And my process differs depending on whether it is what I choose to work on or a specific assignment from “the King.” One could compare the assignment from our heavenly King to that artists of old, who, when under the patronage of royalty, were responsible to produce art meeting the King’s requirements.

When I choose the work there are two directions I can take, one is to control much of the work – but the other is to stay out of the way completely and allow the work/my subconscious or (hopefully) the Spirit to take over. When on the King’s assignment, I strive to balance these two methods and use the freedom needed to create a uniform work with the servitude required to respond to the Spirit’s promptings.

Prayer and faith underlie both approaches and love occupies the final editor’s cut; because if the work does not reflect God’s love for His creation (even in the most difficult of verses) the goal was not reached and it’s back to the drawing board.

CONVERGENCE: How do you make decisions about composition when approaching your work?

ANITA: I always ask “does the composition draw attention to the main point?” If not – rearrange it! If Christ is not the obvious focus it does not matter to me how attractive the composition is.

CONVERGENCE: What goes through your mind as you cut out the bazillions of images needed for your larger collages? Is there a spiritual component to that piece of the work?

ANITA: Yes, it keeps me focused – like saying the rosary.

CONVERGENCE: How do you stay focused when working on such detailed work?

ANITA: Keep cutting!

CONVERGENCE: Where do you let your mind wander as you work?

ANITA: Wherever it wants to go – unless it goes where it shouldn’t and in that case, I stop and think about something else. We have a lot of freedom as Christians.

CONVERGENCE: How does your understanding of the scripture or of God change as you work?

ANITA: If I learn something new about a verse it changes the way I have illustrated it. I change the illustration and make changes to any other verse that may be impacted. As I continue to study about the verse I am illustrating, the image may change several times. Listening to commentaries allows me to study while working.

Create a collage reflecting your relationship with God.

Now it’s your turn! Create a collage reflecting your relationship with God. You may wish to select a verse provided or choose you own verse. Then spend a few minutes in silence and invite God to lead you. Pay attention to what images and colors come to mind, and what feelings these invoke. Next, sift through the materials and find an initial image to begin your work and continue working at your own pace. Pay attention to small things, to slowing down, and noticing the impulses as they happen.

You may want to consider:

How do you see yourself relating to God in the physical word?
In what area/s would you like to improve how you relate to God mentally?
How do you see yourself relating to others spiritually?
What fears keep you from God?
How does Convergence relate to God, each other and the community in the physical world?
How do we relate to each other mentally?
How can we help each other spiritually?

Visit Anita Breitenberg’s website to learn more about her work and her recently published illustrated Gospel series.

Up next in our Practicing the Presence of God series: