Soul Collage

A co-worker is training to become a facilitator in SoulCollage. More can be found at the website. I said that I would be happy to work with her to see what it's all about. I did tell her, though, that I recently threw away 5 decks of tarot cards because I wanted to remove unnecessary ritual from my life. I'm reading the information on SoulCollage, and it is just another ritual. However, the process of cutting out the images from magazines, made me realize a few things.

I love windows in bedrooms, or any room. In images they represent endlessness, boundarylessness. When a room has a window it extends to everywhere. I lived in Seattle for 10 years with 3 huge windows in my studio apartment, and my theory does not apply to that apartment because the 3 huge windows represented exploitation. I didn't open my shades for 2 years because I didn't want people to see my room. Also, I only saw out onto the steps that led to the basement, so it felt like a cage. In general though, if a window has a view that is not to an alley or some scene that just ends, then it is like the first step towards everywhere.

Also, considering the magazines I picked up; Runner's World, Martha Stewart's Weddings, Wedding Cakes, Chocolatier, Coastal Living, Cottages and Bungalows, Southern Lady Tea Time, and quilting and knitting magazines it is no wonder that what has been important for me since I was 7 was not represented. I wrote my first story when I was 7. Luckily, in the Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, a couple decided to base their party favors on old fashioned typewriters so I was able to find a typewriter image for my collage.

Also, I remember where this image was in the magazines I placed in my recycled bag. I wonder if visual images are quicker to link to memories than others. For instance, I remembered this image, and I quickly retraced it in my mind to a magazine, then I realized which magazine, and I found it, then the image. It's like a message for me to get back into photography so that I can strengthen the importance of my memories.

I'm talking with my co-worker on Tuesday. We'll see how it goes.