annie and i lived together in a big, white, haunted house in college (along with five of our other friends, could we go back in time?) we did many things together. she is just one of those friends, you know? we bicycled, we concocted stews combining our favorite ingredients and tried to get our friends to eat them, we treasure hunted, we scavenged, we ate excessive amounts of candy, we crafted, we attended monthly classes on different usages of herbs, we prank called attractive boys. we really did it all.
and we were also very involved on campus in a group called the paradigm project. it was run through the university of vermont's women’s center and brought awareness to sexual and domestic violence through numerous events. in some ways, i think we were really integral parts of this organization but most of the time we were the eccentric misfits (luckily, we were unconditionally accepted by all – woohoo!). we attended every meeting. we took part in every event. but by the end of our senior year, anytime serious work needed to be done we’d be glaring at each other from across the room and giggling because we were freaking lazy seniors and knew actual work was beyond our attention span at that point. that being said, we were usually assigned to making the posters.
along with paradigm, we were always participating in women related events in burlington. every year, uvm hosts the dismantling rape culture conference, a full day event. upon arrival, attendees were able to choose a few lectures that appealed to them. annie and i, sitting in the auditorium immediately chose a few workshops, and when i suggested the soul collage workshop, annie was hesitant. little did she know it would change her life. it was a delightful crafting activity that inspired us (for the rest of our lives?)
this is how you make a soul collage:
materials: tons of magazines (advertisements and catalogs will also do), thick-ish paper to mount the collage on, glue, scissors, rhinestones (optional but wildly necessary)
instructions: have a clear mind and do not think about what you’re about to create. whatever happens will be perfect. cut out anything that speaks to your soul. it doesn’t have to directly be of an object. it could be a landscape, it could be a pattern, a texture, a color, anything. piece it all together and glue it down.
et voila!
