Yesterday I had lunch with Catherine (Kate) Farrel, a new friend from Redwood California Writer’s Club and The Women’s National Book Assn-San Francisco Chapter, and we discussed her book, Girl in the Mirror. Kate had come across the Golden Gate Bridge to meet with me on the Coastside so we could brainstorm about the workshop Kate wants to offer in conjunction with her book. As we sat enjoying our delicious food in the bustling coffee shop, I found myself nodding at all the many valid issues facing teens: poor self-image, vulnerability to dating violence, depression and disorders. But with competition from things like reality TV, peer pressure and text messaging, I knew it would be hard to get their attention unless the workshop was fun and related to the girls’ daily life. Collage accomplishes both of those criteria. Supplies are simple: old magazines/colored paper, a glue stick and a sheet of paper or a notebook. The simple hands-on activity draws in the participants because they choose the images from their favorite magazines to create the collage picture. It engages their sense of sight, sound and touch. It sparks their imagination and invites them to play with purpose. More importantly, it gives everyone common ground to start from.
Self-image is a challenge for females no matter what our age. We are all works-in-progress. Very beautiful works-in-progress; each in our own way. I’ve included an example of a collage I did with a self-image theme. What would you create if you sat down with your favorites (Glamour, Vogue, Good Housekeeping, People, Redbook, Moore, Self, Shape or W), a glue stick and your imagination to create a vision of your self-image?
