We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden (Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe)

As another year comes to a close, it seems like a good time for me to look back on the year past and reflect  for a short while on my journey through the course of 2014.  It seems that it wasn’t so long ago when I began “Late Blooms” and wasn’t quite sure what I was doing.  At the same time that I had the opportunity to make collages, I started writing, scrapbooking, and all the other elements you see displayed in my posts.  I`m still learning and evolving as I go along and having fun at the same time.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that there would be 51,727 reads of my posts.  It is very humbling and, at the same time, very encouraging.  Thanks to all of you out there and especially to my brother of Simply Spectacular Designs  who gave “Late Blooms” a totally new look just before Christmas and is hosting this blog.

When I decided to select ten collages and call them the “Top Ten Collages of 2014”,  it was more an exercise in fun than anything else.  Some of you may have liked and enjoyed other collages more than these.  Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy these as well.

“Happy New Year” is on everyone’s lips these past few days and we are indeed all hoping for a happy one.  On the threshold of this brand new year 2015, we are eager for change.  If the past year was a good one, we hope the next will be even better and, if we had our share of sadness and disappointment, we are longing for a reprieve from that state.  “But now that so much is changing, isn’t it time for us to change? Couldn’t we try to gradually develop and slowly take upon ourselves, little by little, our part in the great task of love?” (Rainer Maria Rilke) Our family celebrated our birthdays in the Yorkville area of Toronto last summer and the above images were taken there.

Nature is our best teacher.  May we be as resilient as Nature and adapt to the changes that are ahead of us in the New Year 2015.  I like the vibrancy of the colors in this collage and notice that whatever stage of change has taken place in the landscape, it is all very beautiful.

This was from my post on East Indian jewelry which was completely experimental in that I took these images in the garden.  I married my two passions – jewelry and flowers.  I liked the combination and change was involved here.

 I like this collage because my friend, Inge, looks so happy, and I love the colors as well. Even clowns fall ill as she did just before Christmas.  Illness reminds us that we are all very fragile even when our lives are moving along in a happy, orderly way.  I did a post in the Fall on Inge called “A Caring Clown” and this is one of the collages from there.     Sickness brings many changes and suffering as well. We need compassion for ourselves and others when these kinds of changes occur – often uninvited. Compassion is definitely something I need to cultivate more of in the New Year.  “Everyone alive has suffered. It is the wisdom gained from our wounds and from our own experiences of suffering that makes us able to heal. Becoming expert has turned out to be less important than remembering and trusting the wholeness in myself and everyone else. Expertise cures, but wounded people can best be healed by other wounded people. Only other wounded people can understand what is needed, for the healing of suffering is compassion, not expertise.” (Rachel Naomi Remen)  

Fun in the New Year!  If you haven’ been to Ripley`s Aquarium of Canada yet, this could be one of your fun things to do.  Having fun is  a very important part of our task here.  “In the end, it doesn’t matter how many breaths you take, but how many moments took your breath away.” (Shing Xiong).  My son and I had a wonderful visit to the Aquarium at Easter time.  When I touched the stingrays, I was a bit breathless!

This Ukrainian Orthodox wedding in August was rich with tradition. Dreams are a big part of what newly-wed couples hold in their hearts concerning their future together. On the threshold of 2015, we also hold many dreams and hopes in our own hearts for a bright and prosperous year ahead.  As I went through the collages, this one struck me as being a definite “Top Ten“ inclusion.

As this post is soon coming to its end, I should mention here that I quickly perused my collages for this year and chose the ones you see here –  but not in any particular order.  I was just looking for ten collages.  The above is comprised of images I took on my visit to ROM Revealed (Royal Ontario Museum) earlier this year.  I have many favorites from that visit as you can tell.

Last, but not least, is the final in the “Top Ten of 2014.”  These images were taken at a Lithuanian Independence Day Party at which most of the women were wearing beautiful amber (gintaras) jewelry from the Mother Country. I particularly loved the delicate setting of the large piece of amber that the lady on the left was wearing and how it matched her outfit.

Hope you liked all the collages!

Whatever your New Year (2015) holds for you, may you be given the strength, courage, and resilience, for all the changing scenes of life.  Happy New Year to you and yours!

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.” (T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets)