Themes

Have you ever noticed a theme in your art?  A few weeks ago in group art therapy class I made this collage:

And then this weekend at our art therapy workshop I made this:

Quite similar, right?  So, yes I have a theme of military vs. civilian life.  I wonder how long that will take to go away!  When, on Saturday, when our workshop leader was giving us direction to make art about inside vs. outside, my first thought was to do something like the page you see above.  That I was outside of the norm while in the military because I was female with rank and also because I was artsy.   Now that I am out of the military I am outside of the norm for civilians because I was in the military for so long (and how that affects traits/characteristics/beliefs)!  So... I contemplated for a bit about what else I could do to truly represent my feelings on that topic, but decide to go with my first instinct anyways because it was true to how I feel.

I have a lot of this type of thought/feeling - very dichotomous.  I did a collage about that last month - The Dichotomous Self.  Its not always about the military/civilian life, sometimes just polarities I notice within myself.

When I was just starting my recovery from hip surgery I certainly did a lot of hip/bone type themes.  Whatever occupies your thoughts will come out in your art - either blatantly or subtly.

What I was wondering is, have you noticed any certain themes that tend to show themselves in your own art making?  What about your thought processes?  I'd love to hear from you on this topic!