Collaborators
Tess Falcone (California)
Teddi Haynes (California)
MaryEllen Sanger (Colorado)
mac (North Carolina)
Julia Toal (Pennsylvania)
Delivery Sequence
Tess sends to Teddi
Teddi sends to MaryEllen
MaryEllen sends to mac
mac sends to Julia
Julia sends to Tess
PROGRESS GALLERY
April 1, 2026—mac’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
March 30, 2026—Teddi Haynes’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
mac, March 21, 2026
When my starter was returned to me, after sitting w/it awhile, I started to see the seaweed that eventually came from it. Taking a page from Julia and cutting the piece(roughly 8.5×10”) into shapes I thought emphasized what I saw, I put it aside to let that nascent idea take me someplace. The house silhouette came to mind, and the narrative began to truly take shape, resulting is a multi-layered seascape. Created using 6 sides of four sheets of plexi-glass, I furthered the narrative by incorporating a deconstructed 20+yr old calligraphy piece (inspired by MES’s inclusion of writing), thread(inspiration from Teddi), Speedball instructions, and images from sewing instruction and vintage/antique books, balancing the composition with acrylic and spray paint(keeping in mind the palette reinforced by Tess). Once complete, I screwed the sheets together at the corners and using sheer ribbon, sewed(Teddi!) around the edges, increasing stabilization. Point of note: the time-lapse included is the first time I was able to see if what I had dreamt-up-and-laid-out had actually worked compositionally as I needed to keep the surface paper of the First Sheet in place for the final spray painting(scalloped edges). Pleased to say only a couple adjustments had to be made!
mac ‘26
March 17, 2026—Julia Toal’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
February 25, 2026—Tess Falcone’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
February 23, 2026—MaryEllen Sanger’s completed collage has arrived at headquarters.
MES, February 18, 2026
Well… I sent my original back to home base today, and I’m filled with GREAT THANKS for being able to collabaorate with this creative team. I am happy and full! Gracias mil. What an event. Thank you to everyone in our circular path of creativity! :-) <3
(Image is a piece of digital art — which inspired the collab start that ended up sooooooooooo coooooooooooooooool. Thanks!)
Tess Falcone, February 1, 2026
Wow this one is cool — I followed Teddi’s “no glue no tape” prompt and used sealing wax to attach a few sets of clock hands, and then I used craft wire to attach some clock numbers to the cords hanging down. Really cool work, guys!
mac, January 31, 2026
I really liked the duck that came from Julia’s starter, and after sitting w/it some, began by first masking and painting a blown egg, then creating a fish out of shrinkydink, and suspending it inside. Before I could start altering the duck, I needed what turned out to be a plastic container in a Walgreens Christmas discount bin- it was perfect for holding the egg. After removing the wing, I sewed the egg element into the body, adding feather detail, and some paper feather accents. Again, felt the need to give the piece a “foundation”, and since I wanted to incorporate elements from the original, repurposed MES’s(?) painted circles and Forward! verbage, and Julia’s painted flowers to create a grassy, cardboard-pond background.
mac, December 26, 2025
I wish I had remembered to take a photo of the progress made on Tess’ starter but ultimately, I left what I received largely intact, choosing to mount the large fabric piece/“flower” on a wooden tray. The two pieces of ephemera that arrived dangling, I preserved in resin and included them in the water droplets strings. The large “eye” was splintered, split open, the “pupil”removed and repurposed; the now empty space reimagined as a sunflower head w/multiple googly eyes of various sizes immersed in resin, and the splintered plastic serving as a scaffold for greenery. Wanting to make sure the person after me could successfully remove the flower to get to the “background”, all anyone has to do going forward is undo the wingnut.
MaryEllen Sanger, December 24, 2025
Mandala goes ducky. I think this originated with Julia?
Tess Falcone, December 13, 2025
I really liked the colors in mac’s collage so I decided to mimic them in a different medium (acrylic instead of watercolor) and the white revealed with the tearing gives such good contrast, I wanted to keep that going!
MES’s collage was so beautiful to start with that I struggled to find something worth adding– but I ended up liking the idea of having the main character’s thoughts spilling out but with some 3D texture. I love how this one is turning out!!!
mac, November 22, 2025
Despite it’s trip thru the mail, the overriding, mitigating factor and ultimate contribution for Teddy’s starter arose from a need to stabilize what had arrived. Challenge accepted!
Tess Falcone, November 5, 2025
Received Julia’s fun mandala collage — filled in some gaps, lost the plot a bit, and ended up adding a 3rd dimension to it.
Mary Ellen Sanger, October 21, 2025
Sent to mac on October 21.
Mary Ellen Sanger, Oct 3, 2025
Received from Teddi Haynes! Wow! Grrrrreat challenge! ;-)
Received a fun, non-conventional prompt from Teddy Haynes: Don’t use glue or tape!!! She started with staples, I went with weave. A creative challenge if our group tries to stay with this!
mac, October 1, 2025
After taking some time w/MES’s starter, I found myself inspired by the ‘blindfold’ in the portrait and, fashioning an alternate POV using newsprint, cardstock, & brads, wove it thru.
Tess, September 28, 2025
Finished starter and mailed on 9/8!
Mary Ellen Sanger, September 9, 2025
Sending package to Mac on 9.9.25.