art + soul has been unfurling since 2013 as an experiment and expression of finding innovative ways to transfigure tired, wounded and neglected stories of spirit and soul through the vessels of re-imagination and expressive creativity.
Founder Susannah Crolius, M. Div., has ministered in both traditional and non-traditional ways: as Hospital Chaplain, as Hospice Chaplain and Bereavement Counselor, as Parish Pastor, as Intentional Interim Minister to congregations in crisis and transition and accompanying refugees before unfolding
art + soul.
Susannah graduated from Starr King School for the Ministry, a Unitarian Universalist seminary in 1995, was ordained in the United Church of Christ denomination, spending 25 years within the UCC before choosing to step out beyond the boundaries of any singular denominational identity as the contours of and need for spiritual community continue to shape-shift.
art + soul continues to learn, grow and deepen through the gifts of collaboration with several creative partners.
from New England soil: Maine lakes, Rhode Island salt air, weathered stone walls, red barns perfumed with manure,
nurtured by the holiness of books and words of poetry that save me again and again.
a soul tender I welcome your spiritual curiosity, your soul hunger, your seeking heart and will accompany you as Spiritual Companion in your interior and outer explorations, wherever they may take you. As a member of Spiritual Directors International, I companion several ways: one-on-one, as group facilitator, retreat leader, event midwife and through creative collaborations.
an artist springing forth from a multi-generational tapestry of potters, painters and writers. I discovered my own artistic fire first in the ballet studio and the community theater stage. I found my voice through writing poetry. Now, I tell stories through the creation of altars and shrines from found objects.
an edgewalker I have rarely colored inside the lines. I entered Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to begin the straight path towards Veterinary Medicine and graduated instead with a degree in Anthropology because those were the courses that ignited my curiosity and my soul. My Master of Divinity degree is from a Unitarian Universalist seminary; my ordination was in the United Church of Christ. I ministered within the walls of churches for 15 years, until my soul clearly stated that it needed busting out. This is where art + soul came into being in 2014.