MY COLLAGE

The meaning of my artwork is based on a poem by Karla S, titled “A New Me”. The poem is below but can also be found at http://nickscape.net/recoveryzone/karla_s.htm.

A NEW ME

As I look to the sky

the faded moon I see,

It's just a mire image

of what my life used to be.

And to my left* is the sun

shining ever so bright,

It's a reversed image

that symbols my new life.

As I sit here soul searching

looking into the new grass grow,

I realize what I've missed

and my past that i need to let go.

I'm just like a new seedling

just starting to sprout,

Learning about my addiction

and what clean life's about.

I used to run far away

my feeling so empty inside,

I now know and realize

that I have nothing to hide.

Me I am a good person

and soon better I'll be,

With the help of my NA group

and my sobriety.

BY: Karla S.

*NOTE: For the purpose of my image I had changed the word left, to the word right. This allows the poem to be consistent with my image.*

The reason I chose to do my collage on drug abuse is because I have been affected by drug abuse in my life. Someone very close to me struggled with the disease for over 3 years and I saw first hand the steps it took, the hard work and the “new life” of being clean. It took a few hours of constant searching for the perfect poem but when I read “A New Me”, it was exactly how I saw this person in my life, where they once were and where they are now.

The way I interpreted the poem is the exact way I portrayed the image in my artwork. I see a dark figure with his/her back to the viewer. The figure is balckened out because the figure should remain as non-gender biased as possible to ensure this image can reach both males and females.

The moon and the sun are mentioned in the poem. The moon represents his old life and therefore the whole left side of the work is his old life. It has had the brightness adjusted down to ensure the viewer knows that this side is his old life of drug use. Also on the left is a large dead tree. The dead tree signifies his old life full of drug use which has died because his old life has died. It also provides a good contrast between the small seedling on the right with the left. On the right is the sun which represents his new life of hope and freedom. The small seedling has been planted on the hill on the right side of the picture. The seedling, as mentioned in the poem, signifies his new life. This new life is full of potential, just as though he is a new to the world ready to make a clean start at life.