Collaborators
Elena Lelea (California)
Debra Lawrence (Oklahoma)
Kimberly Keyes (Florida)
Theresa Palmer (Florida)
Sarah Rees (California)
Delivery Sequence
Elena sends to Debra
Debra sends to Kimberly
Kimberly sends to Theresa
Theresa sends to Sarah
Sarah sends to Elena
PROGRESS GALLERY
Elena Lelea, March 21, 2026
“The Circle Game” — my starter version and the final collage.
I am blown away by how well all the additions by my collaborators developed this piece, inspired by the passing of my parents. My mother passed away in August of 2025, a couple weeks before I assembled the starter collage. There are many layers of meaning woven throughout that were sparked by the additions made in each stage:
1: Debra’s addition of the tears and butterfly. (Butterflies were a motif at Mom’s funeral and I ended up embroidering over one of the tears—a nod to Mom’s hobby in addition to pulling forward the tear.)
2: Kimberley’s addition of the bright cheek circles and doodled circles in corners. (Mom loved bright colors and make-up. The black and white drawn circles inspired my later addition of music note and song excerpts.)
3: Theresa’s addition of the hands with lotus flower and the rectangles bookending the faces. (Mom was an avid gardener with an impressive green thumb. The green scrap with the bokeh circles evokes how her seeds grew and the moon scrap on the other side evokes lunar cycles and the passing of time.)
4: Sarah’s addition of the stamps, bird, flowers, pieces with handwriting, and traveling dots. (The red-orange Romanian stamp and the purple USA stamp were pure kismet! The woman in the Romanian stamp working on the farm resembles my mother’s mother who lived in an ethnically-Romanian village in Eastern Europe. My parents immigrated to the US and I am first-generation American. The bird and flowers with a childlike drawing vibe represent all the childhood elementary-school treasures I have been excavating from her basement. She kept everything!)
5: My additions of the black and white bird, music notes, tissue paper scraps with dots, embroidery, and frantic scraps. (The black-and-white bird represents Mom, singing a song to the young bird on the right who could be me or one of my sisters. Mom was often singing or whistling throughout the house. The song words are meant to provide comfort. The fabric scrap came from Mom’s stash in the basement on the final clean out day. I loved that it picked up colors added by my collaborators so it provided some cohesion between elements on the page. I also like how the piece in the bottom right is fraying… decomposing under the words “I have need for nothing more.” Resting in Peace.)
This year’s participation has been very cathartic and meaningful. I am grateful to the group.
March 19, 2026—Elena Lelea’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
February 28, 2026—Debra Lawrence’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
February 12, 2026—Theresa Palmer’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
February 12, 2026—Sarah Rees’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
Sarah Rees, January 9, 2026
This week I mailed Elena’s starter collage back to her. I approached this collage about grief and life cycles as a kind of alter. As I added elements I was thinking of as I created– breath, memory, and connection. I added imperfect circles and rising dot marks (days, breath, prayers rising upwards). I tried to bring the faces forward with some outlining and shading. I placed items on the alter– flowers, birds, and handwritten text. I liked that the bird and flowers look childlike since this collage has to do with the loss of a parent. The two stamps in the corner are a symbol of messages being sent across realms.
Debra Lawrence, December 19, 2025
I sent Sarah’s collage on to Kimberly today. My contributions were – I added a stork on the roof. In Europe a stork nesting on your roof is a sign of many good things like prosperity, peace and luck as well as fertility. I added a puppy in the opposite window of the kitty cat and I thought the upper window needed shutters. I also colored the inside of the windows yellow to make it look like the lights are on and people are home. On the inside I added a girl’s silhouette doing a cart wheel and I added the words peace and love prevailed. Looking forward to receiving the collage.
Sarah Rees, December 14, 2025
Debra Lawrence, November 22, 2025
I’ll have Sarah’s (originator) collage in the mail by Monday.
When I received the collage I had to add colors that reflected the bright and bold colors in the Sari yarn that Elma added. I added the moth to the flame of the candle. The moth represents “finding the light” which in my mind, reflects the poem that by Nikita gill that Sarah highlighted in her theme.
Kimberly Keyes, October 21, 2025
Elena spoke of circles and the circle of life. I ended up working entirely in circles, adding to hers and Debra’s work. I love where this collage is going, how it’s moving together and I cant wait to see where it ends up. ❤️
Debra Lawrence, October 11, 2025
This is my first time to participate in the Berkeley collaborative collage project. I received my first collage from Elena and it will be in the mail to Kim by Monday 10-13. I am so happy to be a part of this group and I am extremely excited to see the collaborations we create.
Sarah Rees, September 14, 2025
Last year, I began this project with a strong central image that everyone built around. I loved how that piece turned out — it’s hanging in my house! But this year, I wanted to start with something softer, something with space to breathe, so I can see what grows organically.
As I worked, I kept thinking of this poem by Nikita Gill:
“Everything is on fire,
but everyone I love is doing beautiful things
and trying to make life worth living,
and I know I don’t have to believe in everything,
but I believe in that.”
It’s been a heavy news week, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk brought up a lot of complicated emotions for me.
Amid all of it, this poem reminded me that making something beautiful together can be an act of quiet hope.
And the thought of all of us, quietly beginning our collages, gives me hope.
