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Of Nettles and Deliverance

II
Fantasia

The idea for using my own art as therapy originated after a digital collage I created, as a
member of an Internet art group called Lightweavers, revealed unexpected symbolism in its
imagery. I began this digital collage by randomly searching through files of my old scanned
drawings and digital photos. I chose a variety of images weaving them into a fantasy scene. I
worked on the collage until it “felt” complete, titled it Fantasia, then posted it to our group’s
on-line gallery.

Fantasia

A fellow member of the group commented that the collage reminded her of her childhood. I
looked at the piece and was astounded to see that I’d unwittingly pieced together a mythical
representation of my own childhood. Each individual image I’d used for my collage; a child
trapped in the tower of a castle, its walls covered in the ancient music script of Gregorian
chants; a threatening dragon hovering in the wall’s shadowed crevices; a white rose splashed
across the sky more like an explosion than a garden flower; all were blatantly symbolic of my
life’s story.

After this discovery of unintended symbolic content in my fairy tale-like digital collage, I
wondered if my artwork was reflecting feelings stirred by my therapy sessions before I was
consciously aware of them. Was it was possible my art and writing could reveal information
that might help me make sense out of the confusion that had been my childhood? With the
hope of discovering the roots of what I knew to be my own distorted perceptions of life, I
began a search for the truth behind my fears, and sought out ways to use my art and writing
as tools for exploration.

As 2005 approached, Lightweavers was reorganized and re-named The Creative Matrix.
Each week a moderator for The Creative Matrix posts 8-10 photos in what is called the
“Creative Challenge Gallery;” the challenge being to create a collage of 2 or more images
utilizing at least one from the group of offered photographs.

The following work, Cave Paintings, was a digital collage for this challenge and the first image
created for this experimental project. My plan was to work in the same way I’d created
Fantasia. I chose CM challenge photos and my own photos or artwork as they caught my eye
and worked spontaneously letting the process of free association guide me through each
creation. The only change was that I approached my work as an extension of my therapy
sessions with Dr. Kleinman, therefore mindful of my childhood memories.

Cave Paintings

As I worked on different images for this project, there were times the underlying feelings
became clear to me immediately and times I was surprised by further revelations in retrospect.
It was not until I had completed all the work for this series that I looked back to this image.
I feel it is a depiction of my strong desire to document the painful secrets of my past. When I
created this collage, I was not yet ready to leave a forthright account. To me, pictographs
hidden away in a dark cave, seem to represent a way to record the truth without fear of
confrontation.

Main Website
www.megfoxart.com

Contact Meg

About the Artist