The Collector’s Diary

Being a collector it’s not limited to buying investment pieces. Your collection can be -and I argue it is- broad enough to include museum quality art prints, medium-sized originals, and even postcards that have the same sentimental value to you. Moreover, a collector is collecting feelings, impressions, moments with art. What better way than to document these moments and turn their memory a souvenir of that feeling. Follow the meditation below and fill in the prompts in The Collector’s Diary. download the printable so you’ll never be without.

Before we begin, chose a piece of art to work with. Might be one from this retreat, an artwork you’ve been loving for years, or a a piece you saw somewhere recently.

Settle into a comfortable seat. Let your hands rest—on your lap, on a table, or loosely by your sides. Take one steady breath in through the nose… and let it fall out through the mouth. Again—inhale… and exhale. Nothing dramatic. Just enough to remind yourself you’re here, and you’re paying attention. Close your eyes, or soften your gaze. Now, call to mind the piece of art you’ve chosen.

1. Where did you encounter this piece? Picture the scene. In a room with high ceilings? A street corner? A café? A gallery? See the place as plainly as it was—the floor beneath you, the light above you, the people around you or the absence of them.

2. What was the first thing you noticed? Go back to that exact moment—the instant your attention caught on the piece. A color. Maybe a sound. A texture. A shape.

3. What did your other senses experience? Even if the art itself engages only one sense, the world around it fills in the rest. If it was a sculpture—recall the soundscape. Footsteps, whispers, echoes, or maybe complete quiet. Take a slow breath in, and let these sensory fragments settle naturally.

4. Do you know anything about this piece? Without attachment to the answer, you’re not to feel proud if you do or ashamed of you don’t. Do you know its history? Its maker? Its meaning? Yes,no, or somewhere in between—can be enough. Take a moment to notice the difference between knowledge and information. Knowledge can be acquired by experience. Information is reproducing the knowledge of others.

5. Do you want to know more? Is there a pull toward the piece? A curiosity that hasn’t been satisfied? Or do you feel complete with what you had—those few seconds or minutes?

6. How did it make you feel? Did the piece comfort you? Move you? Unsettle you? Did it remind you of someone or something? Did it make you pause? Did it make you breathe differently? No need to argue with the feeling, analyze it, or refine it.

And now take a breath—slow, steady. You don’t need to fix anything about the moment or the artwork. You can document it below and keep the souvenir of the feeling.

Begin to return to your body. Feel the ground under your feet, the seat supporting you, the air on your skin. Take a fuller breath in… and hear it as you let it out. When you’re ready, open your eyes—or lift your gaze.

Take as much time as you need, and meet me at the next one.

Love,

Evi