Retirement. I don't know why we have this mental picture in our heads that retirement is going to be wonderful. After I retired from teaching, it turns out I had too much time on my hands. All these years hearing about what a joy it will be when one retires. But after a vacation or two or three, there were endless stretches of time.
Sure there are lunches with friends, days working out at the gym, volunteering once a week at a local non-profit, but there was still something missing.
I had always enjoyed art, and taught many art lessons while teaching kinder through fifth grades in the library. But I had never really done anything for me. It was always finding ways and materials to show young children what illustrators did.
And then one day I walked into a collage class and that has changed my retirement life. I have discovered a world of art creators and teachers, (mostly inspired women like myself), who have discovered the freedom of how to express themselves through collage and mixed media.
This is the piece I created this week at collage class and a piece I will look at and study for the next few days. By looking at color and shapes and images, I will "see" what the collage is trying to tell me.
I have been creating collage and mixed media in journals for three years now. The time I spend doing this gives me such joy and a sense of self-discovery in my retirement years.
I hope you like the art and hope it inspires you to take up ART during retirement.
- Paty
