A collage made with strips of colored paper. The top third is strips representing the blue sky. Below that are strips of dark blue, purple, black and white swirls, and green.

Elizabeth Goodhue

My contribution to our collaborative art-making is a collage assembled from torn pieces of origami paper. Among the materials I received in the mail, I found a sheet of paper with a wave pattern and other squares in shades that reminded me of the ocean. I combined these with origami paper from my personal stash to layer an abstract landscape titled “Waves of Change.”

I have the great joy of living near the coast in California, and when I find myself in a time of reckoning with emotions and thoughts swirling (which has been often of late) I find it incredibly grounding to go to the beach and watch the waves crash and recede, crash and recede. The ocean tides remind me that impermanence is a force of nature, which helps me reframe experiences that feel like they are tearing me asunder as opportunities for cleansing and renewal.