col·lage : kə-ˈläzhl
1: a creative work that resembles such a composition in incorporating various materials or elements.
Merriam-Webster online definition
I have an artistic exercise that I practice on a regular basis. Instead of generating an idea of what I want to create and then search for the materials, I look to the top of my studio table (or desk top) and create a collage from only the materials at hand. It is amazing the combinations that occur when choice is limited.
An aside - though I am organized in so many aspects of my life, my desk top (and by relation, my studio table top) is always a mess and I organize by piles of stuff. I can always find, for the most part, what I need because I remember which "pile" it is in. Years ago when I was a training director for a national non-profit, I always told my assistant to never clean-up my desk - though it was a mess, I always knew where everything was!
Likewise, I apply this same creative principle, at times, to dinner preparation. I take inventory of what's in the refrigerator and the pantry and then make a meal from what I have without running out to the store - its kinda like a collage with food!
Thus were the options one night -
broccoli, spinach, red onion and red pepper...I chopped them up and added a little lime juice, rice vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper. Then I panfried two tilapia filets...
warmed up a couple of tortillas, sliced up a fresh tomato and there you have it-
fish tacos - collage style!
