At the end of March, I sent out a newsletter offering 50 collage scrap packs to the first 50 people who emailed. I also pledged to create an additional 50 collage kits for local children.
The requests poured in and I happily turned my studio over to the Front Porch Project. Everything and anything not nailed down in our house became fair game: Paper tea bag envelopes, calendar images, postcards, stamps, lotto cards, and trimmings from my prints -- all were clipped, and placed in little stacks.
I was relieved to find something that would contribute in some small way to lessening the impact of this pandemic.
My friend Carol Spindel contributed the cost of the packaging supplies and postage, for which I am grateful. Carol used her kit to make a birthday card for her banjo-playing husband!
The emails and collages that arrived in my inbox were a special delight.
Collage by Melissa Lee
But surprisingly, many of the kids' kits were left over. Parents, it turned out, were tearing their hair out over long distance learning and had no time for an extra art activity! To the rescue: grandmas (who could make time for collage making with their grandkids!) and an article in the South Whidbey Times.
Following the article, I received an email from one of my yoga teachers, Wendy Dion, who said that she had a 4 year-old grandnephew who'd like one. I put together a kit with images for a 4 year-old's imagination, wrote Wendy's name on the envelope and placed it on the porch. Several hours later, I came out of the studio to find the most beautiful bouquet and this note:
Dear Hannah, Passing along your act of kindness by supporting the Whidbey Homeless Coalition. Enjoy the beauty, Wendy. To see some of the other beautiful collages, go to #frontporch2020 on Instagram. Join the fun and make your own collage and post it on the #frontporch2020 page.
Collage by Julie Haney