theusedlife

90s Nostalgia

Image from Prime Video I love making collage art with materials from the 1950s-1970s because I love the aesthetics, and I enjoy feeling like I’m visiting another world. I don’t really use materials from the 1980s through the present because I was born in the early 80s. That imagery doesn’t transport me to another world.…
There’s One in Every Pack & Other Art

There’s One in Every Pack, paper collage, 2025 Here are some experiments in collage art from the past few days. Among my favorites here are “There’s One in Every Pack,” “Tiny House,” “The Missing Piece,” and “Hummingbird Fields.” Fun fact: Parts of “The Quest” and “Pink Dream” come from the back cover of the Firefall…
Depart for the Stars

Depart for the Stars, paper collage, 2025 there’s madnessthere’s madness everywhere and it’s too easy to be part of ita small voice within me says,be as streamsthis, too, is a wild act of self-preservationi conjure the image of a wise woman who tells me,build a comet in your mindcircumambulatedo as the forest does and set…
The Play Principle

I envision the feminine archetypes as a series of circles, or spheres, that are in constant motion. Constantly swirling in and through one another, changing their positions, altering their alignment, but always coming together to create a whole that is inseparable from its parts. It is that image and my interpretation of it that led…
The Dragonslayer

And remember: a witch, first and foremost, is a woman in her power. – Unknown Ever since I was a little girl, I have been drawn to the image of the witch, to esoteric symbolism and symbolism of the dark feminine, to imaginary books of spells and apothecaries filled with herbs and skulls, magic crystals…
Dream Cake & Other Art

Dream Cake, paper collage, 2025 I picked up a few vintage Life magazines while I was out running errands yesterday morning, and I haven’t been able to put them down since. The ads are so good–especially the food ads. You’ll find some of them below (and in Dream Cake, above). I had a lot of…
Lightkeepers

During my mediation this morning, a thought came to mind that I haven’t shared in awhile and that I think is worth sharing (or re-sharing) today: It is not your job to acquire belongings; it is your job to figure out what belongs to you and create extensions of its light. This is a thought…
This Is Your Moment

Wishing on a Star, paper collage, 2025 During my meditation this morning, a thought came to mind that I believe is worth sharing: this is your moment. What that means to me: this day is your moment to enjoy life, to be receptive to life, to engage with life in an inspired and meaningful way.…
Cruisin’ & Other Art

Cruisin’, paper collage, 2025 I recently purchased a bunch of new (or not-so-new) 1950s-1960s National Geographic magazines. Whenever I get new source material, there are certain elements that I get really excited about and tend to want to work with right away. Vintage car ads are among those elements, and luckily my new magazines have…
The Free Spirit

The other day, I asked Google how many feminine archetypes there are. And it seems there are as many answers to that question are there are people who are inclined to answer it. Seven is a number that stood out to me—there seems to be something of a consensus around that number—although, some estimates went…