SJ Pg 5: At Home

THE ASSIGNMENT
Today we are going to recreate our home. This can be where you currently live or a home from your past where you felt happiest and safest. To start I drew a basic house shape with a pencil. I used a brown paper grocery bag for my base/pocket. Today we are going to collage over some of our drawings. You can use patterned papers, tissue paper, dictionary paper, anything you can think of! We are going to fill this page with color! We are going to be making Paper Dolls of our family to go inside of our house pockets. "Family" means something different to everyone. (Full instructions at Caspiana.)


MY PROCESS
As I did with the “Tape Page,” I had a concept for this immediately. I basically didn’t follow any of the instructions, but was inspired by these two statements: “a home…where you [feel] happiest and safest” and “Family means something different to everyone.”

My concept was based on John 15:4, which in the Message translation says, “Make your home in Me.” I feel happiest and safest abiding in the love and presence of Jesus. My “home” is a heart…the heart of Jesus. To incorporate the scripture message I added a mailbox and a miniature envelope and letter that reads, ‘Dear Friend, Make your home in Me. Love, Jesus.’

My “family” is a multifaceted conglomeration. It is this web of relationships in which I am entangled. It is all of the people who enhance my soul and magnify my personality and who, hopefully, are changed by the way in which I touch their lives.

To capture this idea in an abstract way, I filled the yard with the beauty of a flower garden. On each flower is written a word that describes the people who are in “my family.”

Finally, I wrote, “HOME is a feeling, not a place.”


MY THOUGHTS
This is absolutely my favorite page. I totally got caught up in the creation of it and had so much fun. The picture is filled with details. The windows are made of aluminum foil and I used masking tape to outline the windows. I rolled a rock over the painted walkway to create a gravel affect. I cut all the flowers out of construction paper. I folded a tiny piece of paper into an envelope. I used foam stickers for the word “HOME.”

I was delighted at how I found the freedom to create something somewhat surreal. Everything is out of proportion (the flowers are half the size of the house, the “miniature” letter is the same size as the door) and the overall feel is childlike yet not amateurish (I hope!).

As I created this picture, I felt like an artist.