Working on Cohesion

September 19, 2025

Dear Liza,

Our project for Ruthie Inman’s ZOOM art group this week was a door. Not any old door, but a fine, majestic entryway to someplace special. Ruthie was putting hers on the first page of a new art journal.

Mine will be further into my Journal, but that’s okay. As we chatted, I started rifling through my collage box looking for appropriate DOOR bits.

My first harvest wasn’t promising, but as I dug some more, images started to fit together. The stairs from a New Yorker cover would lead to the door, a pair of painted screens could the pillars by the door, a playing card the actual door, and a ridiculously huge bluebird is a suitable decoration.

The thing I love about collage, besides it’s almost random nature, is that if you don’t like a bit, you can peel it off or cover it up. Bridgett pointed out that the bright red door felt out of place with the softer colors of the other bits. She was right.

I found some crinkly Gelli prints that were soft enough to use as the background… not quite sky, not quite landscape.

I found an image of an abalone shell and used it for a new door, and a bit of foil for the door knob. A few images from Jennifer Coile’s art calendar, trimmed and fitted, became the statue beside the door and a castle in the distance.

It doesn’t feel quite done yet, but that’s all the art energy I have for now.

What do you think it needs?

Love,

Grandma Judy