Symbolic Language
Artists sometimes ask me to interpret their collages. And, while I love to "read" symbolism, I hesitate to do so. If I know you well, such as in a therapeutic alliance, I can support you to understand your inner symbolism. But ultimately, you are always the best interpreter of your intuitive collages.
The creative unconscious expresses itself in symbolic language, and you can learn how to read it. Understanding your spontaneous collages will become easier as you more deeply understand that everything that stands out in your visual field is expressing a part of your inner world.
- I feel...When you look at your collage as a whole, how does it make you feel?
- I am...Look at each image in your collage, and personally identify with it by saying, "I am...
- Free write...Free-write about the words in your collage.
- Contemplate...Contemplate what is going on in your life right now. What troubles you? What makes you feel happy? How does this relate to your collage?
An Example:
Reading my own collage, using the tools above:
1. I feel...When I look at this collage I feel a sense of remembering and forgetting. Lost in the past and found again in the forward movement.
2. I am...I am finally moving forward. I am free from the past. I am remembering who I am. I am asking doubt to fade away.
3. Free write...Lost in doubt. Found in moving forward. The past is over. I am born afresh.
4. Contemplate...Doubting doubt, I am free.
