Welcome to the first post on Paqui’s Land blog!
I wasn’t sure how to kick off this space to talk about collage, but I think sharing how Paqui’s Land was born is a good start. It might even help answer the question, “Why collage?”
Well, maybe not completely – spoiler alert: it’s a deeply personal journey, and everyone experiences it differently, just like any other form of art. For some, collage is a relaxing hobby, a stress reliever. For others, it’s a form of pure expression – a way to cut and paste random images that just feel right together because of their shapes, colors, or even the story they tell.
Collage can also be a powerful way to make a statement or express a viewpoint on contemporary issues. It’s a magical way to disconnect from the outside world and connect with your inner self and emotions. And sometimes, it’s just about having fun, exploring, and appreciating visual beauty.
For me, Francesca, collage is all of the above, and more!
I’ve often struggled with wanting to control everything in my life, and I don’t always know how to handle disappointment when things don’t go as expected. Collage forces me to stay present and embrace whatever is happening at the moment. It doesn’t always feel meditative, quite the opposite, in fact! But it does give me a thousand windows into imaginary worlds, helping me understand myself better.
A visual journey to discover true passion
So, back to “Why collage?” and the beginning of my journey. My encounter with collage was serendipitous and unexpected, and like most things that happen unplanned, it ended up being life-changing.
I was in Madrid for a business trip during a time of many changes in my life, who kept me unfocused. I knew the work of Spanish artist Laralars, but hadn’t explored it deeply, and I noticed she was hosting a 3-hour analog collage workshop. I went there with a friend, grabbing the last two available spots. During those three hours, I had an epiphany, like discovering something that had always been there but wasn’t visible: I found my passion!
Time seemed to stop and fly at the same time. From that moment, I knew I had to dedicate myself to this passion, nurturing it and seeing where it would take me.
Almost a year later, I can say that I practice creativity daily, surrounded by magazines and paper of every shape and color, and I’m excited to explore and create more mixed-media collages. I launched this website with no particular goal other than to share my vision with the world and to say out loud: it’s truly never too late to discover your passion.
Making a living from it is another matter, and I’m not quite there yet. But the joy of finding something that makes us happy, the joy of having a “happy place” to create collages, is priceless to me.
I hope my words and story resonate with you. I’m thrilled to start and share this journey!