Collaborators
Pat Lacy (Indiana)
Michelle Ballou (Washington)
Janette C (Oregon)
Janis I (California)
Delivery Sequence
Pat sends to Michelle
Michelle sends to Janette
Janette sends to Janis
Janis sends to Pat
LETTERS AND FLATS ONLY
PROGRESS GALLERY
March 10, 2026—Michelle Ballou’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
Michelle Ballou, March 4, 2026
Janis I, February 2, 2026
I received the Janis collage from Michelle last week!! I’m thrilled that it made it sound the group and back. Thank you all!!
January 26, 2026—Janette’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
Janette, January 23, 2026
My collage has gone full circle and is on its way to Berkeley.
I added my pieces to Janis’ collage and sent it off to her on Jan. 21.
Safe travels collages!
This has been a wonderful experience! Thank you!
January 9, 2026—Pat Lacy’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
Pat Lacy, December 29, 2025
Below is an email I sent to Michelle on Monday, December 29, 2025.
Hi Michelle, I received your original from Annie today. I’m going to work on recreating my collage piece on it and then send it along to you. I’m hoping to get it in the mail later this week. Happy New Year!
Pat Lacy, December 28, 2025
Mailing my final collage to Berkeley Commonplace on Monday, December 29, 2025.
My notes: It was important to me to preserve the integrity of my teammates’ imagery, so I limited my additions to paint, value shifts, and intentional mark making. Rather than changing the artwork itself, I focused on enhancing and highlighting what the team brought forward. The final layer reflects my response to the work they created.
My Title: “Power for Good”
Exhibit Label (if needed):
Power for Good emerged through an open, collaborative process that evolved organically—from a simple collage base to flower power to robotics to the natural world. Each contributor responded intuitively, allowing imagery to shift and accumulate rather than follow a fixed plan. The central figure acts as an agent of balance, mediating between technology and nature, strength and care. In the final stage, layered “booster” marks were added to unify the composition and activate its energy. The work ultimately reflects the belief that power, when guided by intention, can protect what is fragile rather than dominate it.
Artistic Reflection
When this collaborative project began, I did not fully understand what I was doing. Although I work in collage daily, I typically avoid fixed themes and photographic magazine imagery. Instead of imposing meaning on my original collage, I kept it simple with no theme or artistic imagery. Instead I wanted to observe how each teammate interpreted the piece when they received it. In doing so, the collaborators brought their own theme forward. What I learned from this was that it was no different than if I had given it a theme.
As I worked with each collaborators themes and artistic collage — using materials I initially resisted — I began to think more deeply about meaning, intention, and response. This process changed my relationship to collage and will do so in my art outside of collage. I didn’t just complete a project. I crossed into a new way of working. What began as uncertainty became growth, and I left the project eager to work this way again.
Thanks again to my teammates for a wonderful experience, and to Marty for the support and direction you gave us.
Pat Lacy, December 22, 2025
I received my finished collage piece “Lacy” in the mail today (Monday, December 22, 2025), and I’m really struck by it. Seeing how each person interpreted the art they were given has been fascinating. This exchange has opened my eyes in ways I didn’t expect.
Thank you, team, for sharing your creative input. This was a fun and inspiring experience, and I enjoyed working with each of you. Marty too.
Pat Lacy, December 18, 2025
Finished my contribution to Michelle’s collage, Liberty with Tooth and Nail. It will be going in the mail to Michelle on Friday, December 19, 2025.
My message, “Give me liberty or give me death” is not a threat, but a truth: that life without dignity, voice, and presence is not fully lived. Liberty endures through persistence, not conquest.
Finished my contribution to Janis’ collage, The Joy in the Planet. It will be going in the mail on Friday, December 19, 2025, to Michelle.
My Message: Joy hums through the planet — in birds and their song, in the soft labor of the bees, in butterflies drifting like living color, in plants, and the small, unseen workers of the earth.
Pat Lacy, December 12, 2025
Today the envelope arrived, carrying the echoes of Janis’s and Michelle’s beautiful collage work. Thank you, Janis, for lovingly copying and sending them my way. I’ll sit with them for a few days, let the ideas breathe, and then add my own touch before sending them along to Michelle. Oh my, we’re nearing the end ladies.
Janis I., December 7, 2025
I received Annie’s garden collage and completed it with a little honeycomb pattern. I’m gonna go ahead and send it to her even though she’s MIA. It feels the right thing to do. It may be just the thing she needs.
Janis I., December 1, 2025
That’s great news, Pat! Who knows, maybe my collage and Michelle‘s will follow? Funny, because the two missing ones would have gotten to Annie well before Jeanette’s so maybe they are lost.
I have made copies of those two collages and will put them in the mail to you today but happy to know that one missing piece was found! Ideally, if the originals come, we would use those. OK, just covering all the bases…
Pat Lacy, November 30, 2025
I received Janette’s lovely car-trip collage from Annie on Friday, November 28, 2025. I’ve woven my own travel delights into her piece, and it will begin its next journey in the mail by Tuesday, December 2, 2025, to Michelle.
Pat Lacy, November 13, 2025
I send another email to Annie, see below:
“Hi Annie,
I hope you’re doing well. I’m just reaching out to see how things are going with Janis’ art and whether it’s been mailed yet. We just want to be sure everything is moving along smoothly. Please let me know if you need anything or have any updates when you get a moment.
Thank you so much.”
Michelle Ballou, November 11, 2025
Annie’s collage sent to Janette today. The Past, Present and Future all live in a garden.
Pat Lacy, November 11, 2025
I have not received this month’s collage piece from Annie. I believe it is the piece from Janis. I emailed Annie on Nov. 4, 2025, but she has not responded as of today, Nov. 11.
Pat Lacy, October 27, 2025
Just an observation about my experience with collage…
This collage process represents a significant shift in my artistic practice. Traditionally, my work has centered on using my own Gelli plate prints and other personally created papers as the foundation for collage. Engaging with magazine, book, or printed images organized around a specific theme introduces a very different mode of creation for me. I find this approach both challenging and invigorating, as it requires a new mindset—one that invites reinterpretation, collaboration, and a broader consideration of visual sources. I’ve been following our group and others since the start, and I have observed a clear evolution in how participants interpret and apply the collage process, moving from technique-driven exploration to more thematic and conceptual work. This collective progression reinforces my own awareness of how diverse materials and perspectives can expand the expressive potential of collage.
Janis I, October 27, 2025
Michelle’s collage of Liberty with Tooth and Nail brought me back to days living in San Francisco in the 70s. I grew up with all the freedoms of that era. My contribution to the collage is the San Francisco skyline.
Posting the collage tomorrow, October 28 to Annie
Pat Lacy, October 7, 2025
“Annie” and her friend invited me to the garden in early October, to share a cuppa tea and witness the grand reveal of the secret garden, where hidden blossoms stirred and secrets rustled beneath the purple Pasque flowers. I’ll drop “Annie” in the mail to Michelle on Friday, October 10, 2025.
Janis I, Oct 6, 2025
I think I’m out of whack. I just received a collage from Jeanette that originated with Michelle. But I have yet to receive [Jeanette‘s] original collage.
Michelle Ballou, October 2, 2025
Flower Power added to the original by Pat Lacy.
Janette C, October 1, 2025
Hello. I started my collage titled “Road Trip”. The gas tank is full, and I got the car on the highway. Join me for on this journey.
I mailed this to Janis on 10/1/25.
Pat Lacy, October 1, 2025
Two fun updates!
1. Michelle received “Lacy” on Monday, Sept. 29 – after 13 days in the mail, it finally arrived!
2. Yesterday, Sept. 30, I received “Annie.” I couldn’t be happier! Somehow Annie must have known I love flowers. Everything is so beautifully cut and layered. One side of her garden lifts up so you can fill in behind it. I already have ideas for my contribution, but I’ll give it a few days to make sure I’m happy with my design and color/value choices before gluing it down. Happy collaging everyone. A photo of Annie’s design is attached for all to see.
Janis I, September 29, 2025
I’m excited to be sending my collage today inspired by this the parts of the planet that bring me joy! Looking forward to seeing your additions!
Janette C, September 29, 2025
Hello everyone!
I got completely busy and did not remember the date correctly. I was thinking that Oct. 1 was the day by which to send the starter collage, rather than the date to receive. My apologies.
So… I am getting out my scissors, paper, glue and getting to work.
Janis, I will let you know when my starter collage is in the mail – hopefully in the next day or so.
Take care everyone!
Janette
Project Coordinator, September 28, 2025
Pat, Thanks for the update; sorry for the situation. I marked your status chart with the dreaded, red ‘missing in transit‘ label. I appreciate your concern for the schedule, and I have a couple of thoughts.
First—The missing collage will not be technically behind schedule until Wednesday, the 1st. You may as well wait until then to send a replacement. Second—Over the years, with uncanny consistency, missing starter collages turn up not long after replacements are sent. Strange but true. If October comes, and your starter is still missing, resend and we’ll see…
Thanks again!
Marty
Pat Lacy, September 27, 2025
I spoke with Michelle, and she has not yet received my package. I will wait until Monday, Sept. 29, and if it has not arrived by then, I will resend. I shipped the original package on Tuesday, Sept. 16. Shucks!!!
Michelle Ballou, September 26, 2025
This image came to me from movement to a dream. It is Liberty with Tooth and Nail. I used a picture of the statue of Liberty as an underbase for my starter collage. Where is the torchlight of Truth? The image speaks for itself and for those unable to speak, including our animal kin, ancestral lands and stars. What are we handing to future generations? What kind of ancestors do we want to be?
Pat Lacy, September 17, 2025
“Lacy” project was shipped USPS to Michelle Ballou on Tuesday, September 16, 2025. It should arrive in Bellingham sometime the week of Monday, September 22, 2025.
Being my first year, I wasn’t sure how to begin, so I chose to keep it simple—shapes filled with color. I’m eager to see how the others will work with what I’ve started. At the same time, I feel both nervous and excited about receiving Annie’s piece and discovering how I’ll respond to it. Whatever I do, it will be fun and isn’t that what art is all about.
Pat Lacy, September 8, 2025
The collage “Lacy” is all set and ready to ship to Michelle Ballou on Monday, September 15, 2025, via USPS.
