Let The Dark Be Seen

​hi there

How are you doing?  It is feeling Autumnal around my neck of the woods and I am so happy about this.  The big old Beech Trees opposite our lounge are now changing to deep coppery, gold-y, browns, yellows and oranges and I love to watch their daily changes.

I've been busy creating as always in my gorgeous little garden studio.  Recently I finished a biggish piece of personal work in the form of Intuitive Collage. I thought I would share this with you...

"LET THE DARK BE SEEN" Intuitive Collage by Kas Martin

It's a fascinating process to go in search of oneself.

Having the Intention in mind to find, to dig deeper, to uncover, to delve and particularly, to Accept without question Parts of our Self which may show up in the most unusual places offers me great satisfaction.

Flicking through old magazines, old journals, saved Letters or Birthday Cards, pieces of wrapping paper carefully straightened then folded "just in case" they are needed....

I am quite a hoarder of Possible Art Materials. My most recent collection from my favourite Coffee shop! I discovered how useful the wooden stirrers could be for scratching off paint to reveal layers below, and serviettes crumpled for dabbing or flopping around on wet paint making intriguing Tree Trunk markings, but the winner of my favourite coffee shop hoarding has to be the corrugated "To Go" container. So many mark making moments can come from this quickly discarded "box"!

Simply sifting through all of the above - a pleasurable activity in itself - we can find a small part of our denied, ignored, forgotten, lost Self suddenly popping up, enlivened with excited energy to reveal itself to me/to you.

I began this Intuitive Collage on top of a discarded canvas I had been finger painting upon.

As I sifted through my hoardings, I spied an image of a yellow coloured umbrella. It was open ready for the next downpour as I tore round it carefully from my journal.

I didn't 'Think' about the umbrella.  I could have, but believe I would have become lost in tangential thoughts about my love of rain, the sound and feel of rain... the days my sister and I would wear our plastic sou"wester hats, coats and wellies in red and blue. We would be the only humans out in the rain, climbing over the wooden stile, carefully avoiding the barbed wire, and wandering along the river bank with my Mother leading us to the Scotland - England Border.

We would reach the bridge which was the most exciting part of the walk for me. Carefully down the steep bank, stepping in to the shallows under the sandstone bridge... it could be slippery and slimy underfoot and it was noisy with water and echoey with our sing-song voices making screechy sound effects just for fun as people in cars, lorries and buses would burst in to Scotland or emerge into England just a few metres above our heads.

Clambering up the other side of the bridge and into the spacious First House in Scotland where we would be given a bottle of fizzy appley, cider-ade to drink with a straw served by our Gran who worked there in the early 1960's alongside Auntie Rene, both amazing women now sadly gone.

Ahhhh such lovely memories all conjured up by this torn out yellowy umbrella. Amazing.

But as I said, 'Thinking' would have led me away from its true purpose in my Collage....

I then tugged its handle off the colourful, open brolly and just looked at it, turning it around with my fingers. Another memory popped right up of my friend from school and her sister who demonstrated to us her new Umbrella Dance that she was going to be performing in a school concert. It was so hard to learn soon after that she had died. How could that beautiful, energetic, umbrella-dancing girl have just died....? sadness fills my chest as I remember her.

Bringing my attention back to my Umbrella, I dabbed glue on one side and found the "perfect" spot in less than a second. I placed the open umbrella on its side, on a bright yellow painted square and announced; "It began with a Breast".  My umbrella top was the first "Object" carefully glued in place ...and so my Collage story began.

I Loved creating this Intuitive Collage with so much to say and uncover.

I didn't rush the process but equally I couldn't wait to complete it. As the spaces became filled and layered upon, I loved my collage more and more. Does this mean that I loved myself more and more?

One of the aspects I really enjoy is adding words to my creations. Almost near the end, the words "let the dark be seen" emerged like a big surprise from my UNI Posca pen in white against a dark violet.

The words grabbed my eyeballs quite abruptly. I had felt concerned with one or two "shameful" aspects in my Collage. Parts I had considered 'Hiding'.  Layering over with more images so they wouldn't be revealed to anybody, especially myself I guess. And then those words emerged "Let The Dark Be Seen" and somehow I settled down, feeling soothed that actually it's ok for my 'darkness' to be seen.

I imagine a solid, at ease, OK part of myself wrote those reassuring, affirming words suggesting to my anxious Child Self that I don't have to hide.

Once complete and thoroughly gazed in to, came the "hanging it up" part. Where shall I hang my Intuitive Collage?  In my consulting room came the easy answer.

...And so there it hangs. It brings me so much comfort as I work. I feel so grounded and secure in myself. I feel solid and OK and very Self Accepting, all of which helps support me in my work.

If you are interested in the idea of creating your very own Intuitive Collage get in touch with me I will give you pointers and may create an online group space so we can all make our own.

Take good care,
Kas