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journey to hope: our guide through the struggle


"lent 6, 2015: struggle"
mixed media collage (tissue paper, wall paper glue, acrylic paint, found object on stretched canvas)
march, 2015
gregory a. milinovich

for the sixth week in lent at our church we talked about struggle.  we used the palm sunday story as our text, and compared it to mark 15.  in mark 11, as Jesus enters jerusalem, the crowd shouts praises with their arms raised upward in joy.  just a few days later, the crowd shouts condemnation with fingers pointed in hatred and fear.

life is full of valleys.

in fact, this whole series has been meant to reflect the struggle that is a very real and present part of every day - every step - of the journey. that is why i have used the tissue paper as a backing for the paint in each collage. the tissue paper wrinkles and tears so wonderfully that it very aptly (at least for me) represents the brokenness and messiness of life.  there is struggle everywhere.  everyday.  in every chapter, season, and moment of our lives. we just struggle.

but here's the good news: we never struggle alone.  God always goes with us.  like a mountain guide, leading us through valleys and over crags and away from disaster, God journeys with us.  that was the truth i wanted to convey with this collage.

the series of pics below shows some of the process.  starting with a blank canvas, i use wallpaper glue to adhere the tissue paper in wrinkled messes.  i used torn sheets of it, and layer them with dozens of layers before i'm finished.

once that dries, i then paint with acrylics on top of the dried tissue paper, and then wipe some of the paint with a cloth, which causes some of the tissue paper to rip, exposing the color underneath.

then i just glue whatever else i want to the collage (this week it was a found mini compass), and then tie it all together with a finish coat, and voila!  below you can see a detail of what it looks like a bit closer.


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