~ A tale of innocence and magical scissors ~

Black and white portrait of analogue collage artist Sandra Gea holding
her scissors

I have never forgotten who I was before the world told me who I should be - a child of nature, highly sensitive, intuitive, a truth speaker wise beyond her years.

I grew up in rural Burgundy, France, the daughter of Spanish immigrants. From an early age, I learned to navigate the demands of my culture of birth and of my culture of origin, sometimes at the expense of my authentic, rawer self.

In my early thirties, following an existential and spiritual breakdow, I fully embraced the art of collage as a medium to make sense of my reality and rearrange my internal chaos into pieces of redemption and beauty.

This modality brought a profound reconnection with my body wisdom, the natural world and the sacred feminine.

Collage has become my language of self-empowerment and remembrance, my sacred sanctuary for healing and emerging as a woman, artist and mentor ; a practice rooted in the body and nurtured in the profound and profane of the feminine essence.

Holding my hand on this journey is a precious pair of scissors, my companion since childhood, a thank you gift from a travelling master cutler for filling his water bottle.

To this day, every paper cut carries the marvel of an eight-year-old whose world was illuminated by this random act of kindness.

As human qualities, I value warmth of heart, empathy, courage and generosity.

I find solace in a simple and minimalistic lifestyle while my inner fire is manifested in the material with analogue collage, poetry writing, improvising healthy meals and mixing spices and herbs in my kitchen.

I love collecting real life stories from strangers. I am happiest walking barefoot in nature and listening to the silent whisper of the stones in ancient archaeological sites.

Three words sum up my life motto: Be, Feel, Flow.

Be: Rooted in my body, in unconditional presence and acceptance of the here and now.

Feel: Tuned to my sensory and emotional cues.

Flow: Creating from my core instinct and intuition.

In 2022, I returned to the land of my ancestors in Andalusia to pursue my practice of the art of Wu Wei, a contemplation of the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching woven into the observance of my feminine cycle and the seasons of this land.

In the family house, I found a tin box with paper dolls from summer 1986, the last gift from my maternal grandmother before her passing. Clumsily cut pictures, the hands of innocence. The circle feels complete.