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Angela Heck

@pressedandtorn

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Where my art meets my story - the beautiful & the broken.
Memoir: The Wallflower That Bloomed
Follow @photoang77
Journaling • Creating • Healing

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The Morning the World Shifted

I always go back to my parents’ living room... soft light, quiet air, me at twenty‑three, seven months pregnant, feeling my son move while the world outside was breaking open.

My father called from work. His voice shook. He said he could see the smoke. I didn’t understand the scale yet - how could I? I grew up in the shadow of that skyline, thinking I knew what danger looked like. That day taught me it can arrive quietly… through a phone call, a TV screen, the way your father says your name.

I touched my belly and thought, What kind of world am I bringing you into?

That moment stays with me more than the footage or the chaos - that instinctive motherhood before motherhood.

This collage feels like that morning - torn edges, scattered words, fragments of truth. Life before. Life after.

9/11 didn’t just change the country. It changed the girl I was. It made her grow up fast, understand fragility, see the world differently. And in the middle of fear, there was a heartbeat inside me - steady, stubborn, insisting on life.

Today I honor the lives lost, the families changed, the city that raised me… and that younger version of myself, holding her breath, her son, and hope she didn’t know she had.

Pressed & Torn.
Just like the world was.
Just like I was.
Just like we all were.

#memoir #sept11 #art #collageart #love taken in New York, N.Y. by @pressedandtorn

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a month ago

The Echo of Many Selves.

#art #collageart #create #love #instaart taken in New York, N.Y. by @pressedandtorn

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a month ago

Collecting moments the way nature leaves them: imperfect, textured, and unforgettable.

#pressedandtorn #naturecollage #mixedmediaart #collageart #art taken in New York, N.Y. by @pressedandtorn

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a month ago

The Anatomy of Knowing

I used to think my story lived only in memories.
But the truth is, it lived in my body...
in the tension behind my eyes,
in the heartbeat that never slowed,
in the bones that learned to stand even when I couldn’t.
These images are the anatomy of the girl I used to be…
and the woman who finally stepped out of her own shadow.

#art #collageart #visualart #healingwithart #journey taken in New York, N.Y. by @pressedandtorn

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a month ago

My Kind of Luxury

Something ancient slithers up her leg. 🐍

#collageart #art #digitalart #digitalcollage #artist taken in New York, N.Y. by @pressedandtorn

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a day ago

A Thousand Torn Dreams

#collageart #art #digitalcollage #artist #artoftheday taken in New York, N.Y. by @pressedandtorn

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2 days ago

At the Edge of Awakening

#collageart #digitalcollage #artist #art #digitalart taken in New York, N.Y. by @pressedandtorn

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3 days ago

Two Worlds, One Sky

#art #collageart #digitalart #artist #cosmic taken in New York, N.Y. by @pressedandtorn

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4 days ago

Rotating Perspectives

#collageart #art #contemporaryart #artist #digitalart taken in New York, N.Y. by @pressedandtorn

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5 days ago

Never Lose Your Wonder

This is my son when he was around three years old, he could spend hours in the bath, creating entire worlds from whatever was around him. Watching him always reminded me of my own childhood and the power of a vivid imagination.

This photo is a reminder that imagination isn't something we're supposed to outgrow. It's what keeps life creative, hopeful, and full of possibilities.
Never lose your wonder. 🪄

#art #photography #collageart #artist #digitalart taken in New Jersey, USA by @pressedandtorn

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6 days ago

Stuck in the Spin

#art #digitalart #photography #collageart #artist taken in New York, N.Y. by @pressedandtorn

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7 days ago

Lost in the Hatter's Mind

#collageart #madhatter #art #artist #digitalart taken in New York, N.Y. by @pressedandtorn

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8 days ago