Soul Collages are a favorite medium for me to work with, especially at the beginning of a new year. It is 2020, Valentines Day, when we think of all of our loves and maybe celebrate special ones. Soul collages are also popularly called Vision Boards these days. Whatever you want to call them, sitting down with magazines, scissors, glue and a variety of embellishments, then allowing yourself to get lost in the process of finding images and words that “ring true” with your soul can be a meaningful, healing experience. I like to think of it as a soul jigsaw puzzle and once the pieces are gathered they can be put together however seems “fitting” or most pleasing.
I began the collage pictured above in January, around the time I “should” have been sending out late Christmas cards (sorry, they just didn’t happen this year). The title is in the collage, “Find Your Dream,” and follows a path from past to present to the future. It holds my hopes and goals for 2020, a year that may bring many changes and shows transitions. I wanted it to have a dreamy feeling and that is what the glittery white tulle is, a dream cloud holding my hopes. I have this in a prominent place in my studio where I can see it from any vantage point and reflect on what it means to me. When the turmoil and divisions of the world are causing me angst this will be a grounding place for me to return to and shift the swirling storm clouds that are beyond my control. Hopefully, I will find peace here.
The beauty of this form of art expression is that it is very spontaneous, can easily be done with materials on hand, and often has the effect of expressing and feeding the soul in a meaningful way. Anybody can do it, so, no excuses of “I am not an artist, can’t even draw a straight line!” Those fearful excuses just don’t apply!
I did this project with a group of seniors last fall and I was amazed at how they were easily absorbed in the creative zone. The pictures below show some of their awesome collages. Try this, you might like it! And/or do that thing you already know fuels your passion and lifts your spirit. This will be a year of change, no doubt, and whether the changes be to your liking or not, we all need a grounding place to cope, to rest, to reenergize and rise up to see and navigate life’s hurdles along with those twisting turns on our paths. It is always a privilege to engage in positivity to offset, explore, and deal with negativity. I promise you, the creative zone, in whatever form that takes, will give you sanctuary, along with faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is Love!! Happy Hearts Day!
Snippets and Snatches 