Week

Editor's Note:  Our Soul-Friend-of-the-Week was not able to get her story tous in time this week, so we are reprinting the story of our Soul Friend from the June 12, 2006 issue of SOUL TREASURES.  Thanks Catherine!



Catherine Anderson
Charlotte, North Carolina

 Ihave been drawn to collage and images since I was a teenager, and havealways collected images from magazines and books and stored them awayin boxes. As a teenager I used to paste them into books and match themup with poetry. I always felt that the images conveyed more to me thanthe words.

But after finishing school (and influenced by the need to bepractical) I qualified as an attorney and practiced law for 14 years.At this stage I lived inSouth Africa , where I was born in 1960.

I moved to theUnited States in 1997 with my husband and two children, which wasthe perfect opportunity to start my life afresh. I did this byventuring into the world of photography and buying a photographyfranchise specializing in youth sports photography. When I look back, Ithink the only reason I did this was so that I could acquire the fancycamera equipment which I could never have justified if I was only"playing" at being a photographer. After all these detours, I ameventually moving into my true passion, which is creative photographyand using my images to create collages.

SoulCollage appeals to that part of me that is still a child. Ilove cutting the images out with scissors, gluing them on to thebackgrounds and the serendipity of finding an image that speaks to me.The collages I create with my photography are done on the computer anddon't fill my love of touching the paper and being part of the processin the way that SoulCollage does.

SoulCollage is so much about discovering myself as well. I findthat often I find reassurance or an answer to a concern by taking outmy box of images and making a SoulCollage card. When I am feelingagitated, I find I can calm down by taking out my box of images andmaking a card. There is always something I learn about myself when I dothis.

I discovered Seena's book on SoulCollage while looking for books oncollage on Amazon. The word "Soul" drew me immediately as it is aword that resonates with me. I bought the book and poured through it,loving the concept.

But I found it difficult to put a card together on my own. I wastoo concerned about whether I was doing it the "right" way, whether thesize was okay, and whether I was using too many or too few images in mycollages! I desperately wanted to make these cards but didn't reallyknow where to start (the perfectionist part of me not wanting to make amistake!) so when I saw that Seena had a workshop inSan Jose in June 2004 I knew I had to attend. I learnt so much and loved every moment.

The biggest lesson was that there was no one perfect way of makingthe cards! I saw what other people had made and realized that each cardis unique and that I must trust myself and do what feels right. This isprobably the best advice I can pass on to others - trust your ownunique way of making your own set of SoulCollage cards. I came homefrom the workshop and gathered a group of friends in my house everyweek and shared what I had learnt with them. This showed me howpowerful SoulCollage could be.
I try to return to my old home ofSouth Africa every summer and I offered to teach SoulCollage at theBuddist Retreat Center in the Ixopo Valley of KwaZulu-Natal in 2005. The workshop waswonderful and I am excited to hear that some of the participants arestill getting together regularly to play with their SoulCollage cards.It meant a lot to be able to introduce SoulCollage toSouth Africa .

Sometimes I will be paging through a magazine and see an image thatI am drawn to, even when I am not looking for SoulCollage images (ofcourse I also have big boxes full of images). It is as if the image finds me,because after tearing it out it goes onto one of the big piles of"stuff" - paper, mail, photos, and so on, that are always accumulatingaround the house. Things often get lost in these piles, but somehow thespecial images that have found me stay on the top.

This happened last August when I was getting ready to send myoldest child off to college. I was really nervous and worried aboutsending him off. This picture of a little girl with an umbrella foundme, and then another image found me and before I knew it I had thiscard made (see below). When I sat down with it I realized thatit was all about letting my child walk out into the world trusting thatthe universe would take care of him. It was as if the universe wastrying to reassure me. I have a picture of this card with my "I am theone" statement below.

I love spending time in my "studio" playing with my art supplies,making collages - digital and with old found objects, collecting oldthings, and especially old photographs. After participating in many"fatbook" groups (fatbooks are collaborative small books of art) andArtist Trading card swaps, I have formed a Photo Art Journal yahoogroup so that members can share their photographs which are bound intoa little themed book.

I have created my own website and included bits of everything I love to do on the website which is www.catherineandersonstudio.com.

My three friends and I were having "Girl'sNight." It had occurred to me prior to this date that it would beinteresting to make a card for each of them - to give to them. So, I did!

I spent a few hours making three cards. When we were together later, I showedthem the cards I had made that day, and said, "One of them belongs to eachof you!"

Instead of just handing the card to the appropriate person, we talked about whothought which card was theirs and why. It was really interesting! Once I handedthe right card to the right person, I told them what it meant to me in theprocess.

They were very moved, and have mentioned their card to me several times. I'ddefinitely do that again.    ---  from Kindred Spirit Mary inMassachusetts