Collaborators
Julie Blankenship (California)
Maureen G. Manning (Massachusetts)
Yochi Yakir-Avin (Florida)
Johanna Norry (Georgia)
Delivery Sequence
Julie sends to Maureen
Maureen sends to Yochi
Yochi sends to Johanna
Johanna sends to Julie
PROGRESS GALLERY
March 23, 2026—Julie Blankenship’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
Julie Blankenship, March 16, 2026
This time around, we had a small group of four. Each of us included a note with our starter collage, suggesting an approach to working with it. I’ve loved working with my group, and have learned so much from everyone!
March 2, 2026—Johanna Norry’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
February 28, 2026—Maureen G. Manning’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
February 26, 2026—Yochi Yakir-Avin’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
Johanna Norry, February 24, 2026
I haven’t been as good this year with periodic updates, but as I am mailing my final collage back today, I thought it was time to update! My collage took a journey from a 9 x 12 ish collage that had distinct quadrants, to being an accordion book. I added additional embroidery at the end to tell a story of gratitude for my mother, so it now reads “Everything Under The Sun.”
Maureen Manning, February 24, 2026
The prompt and what was written on the back of the photo:
Paul shot Larry and I as we talked and laughed about something. Land is Southern California. Jan. 1/35
Thank you Johanna Norry, Julie Blankenship, and Yochi Yakir-Avin for your contributions/carrying on the conversation.
Yochi Yakir-Avin, February 15, 2026
The work began from a deeply personal place, combining family immigration documents and childhood imagery to explore questions of identity and belonging. It reflects on feelings of displacement, presence, and the complexity of finding one’s place.
As the group added their layers, the spirit of the piece remained intact. The final collage continues to question identity and belonging, while also speaking to transition and resilience.
I am grateful to my collaborators, Johanna Norry, Julie Blankenship, and Maureen G. Manning, whose contributions thoughtfully expanded the work while honoring its core intention.
Yochi Yakir-Avin, September 30, 2025
For my starter collage, I sewed in my family’s Israeli immigration cards printed in Hebrew, with loose red threads left trailing across the surface. From my personal album, I added a torn image of children’s feet standing in a line, paired with cutout figures that don’t quite match the feet, and placed an image of myself beside them. This choice reflects how, in the Kibbutz, at the time, children not born there were called “outside children.” At the top, I chose to collage the word LIFE.
Maureen G. Manning, September 17, 2025
My starter collage began with a few things I found on my desk: a photograph I had cut the people out of for another collage, a lithograph that came from a frame I repurposed, and a torn piece of the sky. My collage has a prompt- it’s what was written on the back of the photograph in 1935. I used a black background to take the photo, it is not (yet) part of the collage.
