Amy: I've been thinking about all that we talked about last week; what are the elements and principles of art making that you use within the creative process but are not so strictly tied to creating an art product. Those things that whether intentionally or unintentionally, unconsciously creates a sense of wellness and well-being. By being aware of those things and tapping into them, by creating some intentionality around what you’re doing, you’re enhancing the wellness experience.
I keep thinking about some of the “old-timey” things that people did that were creative, but weren’t necessarily viewed as art and yet were artistic. So I got on this whole thing of quilting. When I was growing up, we were part of this folk festival every year - we were the candlemakers. We had to get dressed up in like 17th century clothing and it was very cool. Each different booth would exhibit the everyday activities of that time, and there was always this group of 80 or 90-year-old women with hair white hair pulled back in a bun, and they'd have this giant quilting table set up in front of us, and for 3 days they would just hand stitch this quilt. And they would talk around it so there was fellowship, there was communion, there was gossiping, and they were working things out together and they were free to talk about anything because their hands were busy. So as I'm contemplating ideas for workshops, I love this idea of not necessarily quilting, but engaging that sense of hand-sewing. It’s really funny because yesterday when I was scrolling through Instagram trying to ignore the world, and I now follow the hashtag “contemplative art”, and somebody was advertising a workshop called slow stitching. It was actually really cool. It was this idea of creating a mosaic, not a quilt necessarily, but a mosaic by simply connecting one piece of fabric to the other. I’m totally exploring this idea sometime soon!
Jenny: My mom and her friends would always do that. On a Saturday they had this big thing set up with the fabric stretched over it, and they would quilt together. It was so fun, and I would get to do it sometimes. It was like sitting around with friends and putting a huge puzzle together. It was so relaxing and therapeutic, and you didn't really have to be thinking about anything. You could just talk, but there was a product at the end too.
Amy: I think what makes this process contemplative then is that you can learn something you may not have realized about yourself along the way. Being more mindful in that moment and putting your puzzle together. Acknowledging how you are feeling and slowing yourself down enough to catch those insightful moments as they come up, rather than just letting it come and go without taking notice.