November 3, 2024
At the beginning of 2024, I was just shy of my 2nd re-birth, the anniversary of my transplant. At that point, I became aware of a support class program offered through the Northside Cancer Institute. It is the Cancer Support Community Atlanta. There is a whole program of classes of different types, held both in person and virtually. There are support groups, exercise and cooking classes, art classes, and more. What is special about this program is that all the classes are free for cancer survivors and people who are the family members of people who had cancer. There is no cost for any of the classes, all supplies are free, and they also validate parking. It is not even required to have had treatment at Northside.
I gravitated toward the art classes, specifically a class called Soul Collage. What led me to these classes was that the description said they were creative, encouraged self-discovery, and didn’t require skill or talent. Also, this was a way for me to get out of the house and to be around other people.
Doing an actual “Soul Collage” requires several rules, so to speak, and it’s very detailed. If you are interested in learning more, you can follow the link above. Since I took the class, I have developed my own technique at home. I ordered all the supplies and have since made more than 10 cards.
You start with many images from magazines and pull out the ones that catch your eye. Once you have an idea of what you want to do, you can use the mat shown here and place the images inside, so you’ll know how they will look on the blue card you see here. I choose to use the front of the card (blue side) for my images. Another part of Soul Collage is journalling which I choose to write on the back. In general, part of the journaling should include these types of questions: Who are you? What do you give me? and other questions. You are writing from the cards’ point of view. In general, you are writing a card to yourself that you can go back and read one day, and remind you of something you’ve learned about yourself. Additionally, Soul Collage has you make a deck of cards, so to speak, with different suits. I may do this one day, but for now, I am following my own path.
Contentment.
On this card, I wanted to remember some trips I had been on and how I felt during them. “Who are you?” “I am the one who traveled far to enjoy the peace and calm of Amsterdam and the power of Van Gogh. I will always have the most pleasant memories of my time there.” “What do you give me?” “Whenever I am down and overwhelmed, I will think back to my time there, spent with family and the beginnings of my love for the work of Van Gogh”.
Symbolism.
The yellow tree reminds me of the color of Van Gogh’s “sunflowers” paintings. The buildings appear flat, as they do in Amsterdam. They look like they could be on a movie set. The colors at the top also remind me of colors Van Gogh might use. And, the windmills remind me of a really fun day touring the windmills close to Amsterdam. This was my first card. As I have continued to make them, they have become more complex both in detail and in meaning.
I have learned so much about myself while making these cards. I am healing parts of myself, not just from the trauma of having cancer and treatment, but also old wounds from long ago, growing up, and struggles from my adult life. I can’t wait to share more of my journey with you. Angie