'Weg' or 'a Way'

Maybe I shot myself in the feng shui foot when I hung this collage in the entry of my new apartment. Every time I come in and see it I'm ready to go out again. It was the first time I had made something that showed movement:
'Weg' in German means away. It also means a 'way', 'road', 'route'. It's also a handy-dandy prefix that is used when you want to say something is away. As in run away: wegrennen. Or road sign: Wegweiser. Fall away: wegfallen.

I made this collage in April 2009 after returning from a wonderful Spring weekend in Paris. If you look closely, I have literally incorporated my whole weekend there, and the little bits of paper that fell into my hands along the 'way' as if by coincidence. The body is made from the catalogue of collages of the Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes who has obviously inspired me to make collages and who also at that time had displayed her work at the Fondation Cartier (the building is worth it, too, even if they've taken her stuff down, boo hoo). Then there's the bling from a café's chocolate, the chopstick legs are from the Japanese restaurant Bernard and I had the most romantic dinner in. So nice to be able to dress up and wear heels for a change. The shoes are cut outs from magazines but don't match, that's on purpose: who can decide which shoes to wear? The handbag gives it the Spring daffodil feeling. The eyes Max cut out for me and glued them on, the yellow mouth is from my laughter yoga advertising material. The black and red face is from another chocolate that we ate at a café. The hat was also cut out by Max, and Ella glued it on. The wallpaper rolls as arms, and the lace doily we use for birthday cakes wrapped around her neck and bottom, are the symbols for coming home. And the artichoke as a crown is just because it's my favorite vegetable and makes me feel good. If you look closely you see her heart is a used Paris Metro ticket, pumping the blood through her veins.

This collage is about going away, but it's also about making my way. My way in the world. I encourage everyone not to sit still but be in motion and move on with life as I have. Put something in the entry that makes you want to be home, but also says as soon as you get in the door: "Get off that sorry ass! Grab the handbag! Skip out into the world!"
Happy Spring folks,
Yours,
Mrs Crocodile