SoulCollage®

This week I taught a class at our Evergreen Arts monthly meeting.  The topic was collage, specifically SoulCollage® although I did introduce and share many of my collage practices.   

What is SoulCollage®? 

SoulCollage® is a unique blend of spiritual practice and the fun of collage. It is an intuitive collage process created by Seena Frost that is easy for anyone to do (you don’t need any previous experience or a lot of art supplies).  It is an art therapy practice that can provide insight into who a person is.  It can also provide clarity on your passion and direction in life.  SoulCollage® is also an inexpensive and simple creative self-care practice you can do at home.  

Each SoulCollage® represents and honors one of the following facets of your unique life: a voice that lives inside of you, a person who supports you, an animal that has special energy to give you, or a mythical figure to guide you. 

Supplies for SoulCollage® 

Basic supplies  

Scissors  

Glue stick or other forms of adhesive  

Brayer (optional but handy for keeping the images flat)  

A surface to mount the images (poster board, chipboard, or other surface. Try to find something with more weight than regular paper) 

Additional Items 

Use any items these that speak to you:    

Images (from books, magazines, flyers, etc.) Try to select 5-10 images 

Words and phrases (from books, magazines, flyers, greeting cards, etc.) 

Ephemera (letters, postcards, maps, tour guides, sheet music, ticket stubs, found items, etc.) 

Appealing colors or shapes 

I tend to collect images over time and store them in 1-gallon plastic storage bags.  If you are starting with nothing, find a variety of magazines, flyers, pamphlets, etc. to use to select images.  

Find a comfortable spot either on the floor or a table and arrange the magazines or images around you. It may be helpful to play soft music or tones that provide a soothing background.   

Select images from the items around you that speak to you in some fashion.  They can either attract or repel your sense.  Try not to overthink it! 

You can cut the images out or just rip them.  I tend to prefer the ripping as it leaves a nice, deckled edge.  Play with the images on your surface until you find a pleasing arrangement.  Once you’re happy, start gluing the images in place.  Don’t worry about getting all the edges perfectly adhered.  In fact, this process is all about imperfection and no rules!   

Once completed, take a good, long, intent view of what you’ve created.  Spend some time doing this part.  The next step is to fill in the sentences below as if it were your soul, your truest self filling in the blanks. 

1. I am the one who is…. 

2. What I have to give you is… 

3. What I want from you is… 

4. How you will remember is… 

5. My shadow side is… 

6. My light side is… 

This process is particularly helpful when you feel creatively stuck or unsure what to do next.  You can also revisit your cards at a future time and may gain additional or different insights.   

I was worried when asked to do this session as to how it would be received.  I am fairly new to this group and was unsure of whether they would think the whole thing was a little too “woo-woo.”  They liked it so well, I’ve been asked to do another session!