I first saw a SoulCollage image in a group exhibition at the Dancing Man Gallery in Santa Cruz, CA in 1991. Each image drew me in and reflected an aspect of the artist’s soul. The images were beautiful, mysterious, and deeply personal. I felt I was witnessing something that most people kept undercover, wrapped close to their hearts, and even hidden. And, I felt the power in each woman’s act of self-expression, the power in giving voice to her soul in this way.
Two years ago I began the transformational process of creating my own SoulCollage deck. The process was an instant catalyst for me to rediscover my creativity, my essence, and my true calling. As a Creative Life Coach who helps women live creative and expressive lives, I wanted to share this process with others and began facilitating workshops in the spring of 2001.
In my first group, I remember passing the cards we had made around the circle. I was moved to tears by witnessing each person’s creativity and intimate expression of her soul. I knew that someday I wanted to share our work in a gallery. I started asking my workshop participants if they would be interested in joining me in a group exhibition, and last April, invited everyone who had said “yes” to participate in this show. Twenty artists responded and our work hangs on the walls today.
My workshops are grounded in the guiding principle that “everyone is an artist” and one of my favorite things about facilitating this process is that moment at the end of the first class when each participant discovers this to be true. In keeping with this principle, this is not a juried show. Only a small number of the artists are professionals, most are exhibiting their work for the first time. I asked each artist to choose one card from their deck using the following guidelines:
Choose a part of your self and soul that you are ready to give voice to in a more public way. You might even think of this as a stretch like, “What part of myself am I wanting to step into? Wanting to more fully embrace?” Or, you may ask yourself, “What part of myself am I wanting to celebrate?” You may wish to consult your deck for help in choosing. For instance, doing a reading with a question like, “What part of me wants to be expressed in this show?” Or, you may choose to allow the card to choose itself, drawing it randomly from your deck. Allow yourself to choose a shadowy card or a lighter card. Remember that there is no right way to choose. Whatever choice you make is the perfect choice. Trust the process.
Each stage of the show has been transformational – choosing which card to exhibit, capturing its words in writing, enlarging the cards and seeing them framed, and sending out the postcards to announce the show. Participants have had the experience of passing out the postcards and being surprised and thrilled to have their friends say, “I didn’t know you were an artist!” Others have been so excited about seeing their work framed they’ve framed more than one card to hang in their homes. And, still others are finding that the process of expressing a part of themselves in a public show is helping them to embrace who they are on a deeper level. As I write this I can only wonder at what further transformation is to come.
It has been my pleasure and honor to facilitate this process in collaboration with the artists and to bring this show to Antioch University. I hope that you, the viewers, will be touched and inspired by these personal and universal reflections of soul, just as I was many years ago.
With warmth and gratitude,
Noelle Remington
Exhibition Facilitator
Life Doula Arts