the art of slowing down

On a cold and rainy afternoon in the fall of 2019, in an effort to occupy my four year old, I suggested we make a collage. I don’t know where the idea came from, but he was immediately into it because there was glue involved. What surprised me was how much I was into it too. 

Here I was, playing with cut paper, hands sticky with glue and feeling more in a creative flow that I had been in a long time. I made collage after collage after collage and started sharing them on Instagram. I remember meeting up with a friend around that time and her asking me what I was going to do with the collages I was creating and sharing. I had no idea, but what really stood out to me was how it made me feel to make them. Grounded, present and in touch with something that felt bigger than myself. 

Collage continues to be such a meditative process for me. It quiets my mind like nothing else. It truly is the art of slowing down. And for me, that’s a practice I have to be intentional about. Because slow is not my default mode. I naturally think quickly, talk quickly and take action quickly. It takes effort for me to pause, to check in with myself, and to be present in what I’m doing. That’s why this work matters so much to me.

I make each collage by hand using reclaimed materials and I don’t rush the process. It comes together over time, layer by layer.

You can feel that slowness in the final piece. It invites you to pause, take in the colors, patterns, and textures and let your mind wander a bit. There’s something new to notice every time you look.

These aren’t just prints to fill a wall. They’re meant to change how a space feels. To bring a moment of calm, permission to pause, a reminder to breathe. This is the art of slowing down.