The art and craft activities not only draw women into the room, but it calms them. It often changes the energy quite dramatically. Focusing on making something is an important part of the healing process. It makes women happy to be able to make a gift for a friend or a child. It feels good to work on something, to finish it and then to give it away. There is a strong sense of completion that comes with working on a project, staying with it through the various stages and then giving it away to a loved one.
We have organized art activities and we also offer on-going activities. These are activities that are available for women to do any evening they come to the centre. One of the favourite on-going activities is colouring using pencil crayons and brightly coloured markers. We have some interesting colouring books that have complex designs and interesting mandalas. It is a focusing and calming activity. When women colour, it is easy to pay attention to the task at hand, and also participate, at whatever level they choose, in the other activities going on in the Learning Centre. Another favourite on-going activity at the Learning Centre is beading. Using glass beads and elastic thread, women can easily make a few bracelets, necklaces and even rings for themselves and loved ones.
While it is tempting to simply organize “craft” activities, we add layers to the activities. Along with the materials to do the project, we include reading materials, and other handouts so women read, think, analyze, make decisions, discuss and exercise as many thought processes as they prefer. From the craft activities, we build capacity for learning. Working with their hands and working on a project that creates an item that women want to own, gives women enormous control over a process. It invites beauty into their lives and offers them a sense of completion.
On several occasions, women have taken the lead in teaching us to make Dream Catchers and other activities learned elsewhere. This is why it is critical to have a well-stocked storage cupboard. If you have a variety of materials on hand you can make quick modifications to activities or do an entirely new one if wanted. It is therefore important to be able to “go with the flow” and to not be rigid about the activity planned. Women often bring their creative experiences from other places and programs want to try out something new.
The more involved activities we have done are making lovely candleholders, flowerpots, and still life drawings. Instructions for these activities follow.
“Being in the Learning Centre gives me a time out, it gets me out of my room and gives me something fun to do.”
“I don’t have any materials at home, but I can find them here.”