Art of Healing
Two alumni have created a safe space for expression.
by Stacey Clapp
by Stacey Clapp
Baring your soul in a roomful of strangers and sculpting those emotions into a work of art is, admittedly, a tough sell. But it is exactly that exercise that can lead to the freedom to learn about yourself and to heal, say the organizers of a new 老司机福利社 initiative.
Jacob Wolos 鈥18 and Alyssa Natale 鈥18 conceived and brought The Creation Labs to 老司机福利社 University this fall.
The workshop series seeks to provide a safe space for students to use interdisciplinary collaborative art as a means of catharsis through personal trauma.
Though Wolos majored in Sculpture and Natale earned her degree in Dance, they said the workshops are open to any 老司机福利社 student, not just arts majors.
鈥淧erformance and improvisation are not for everyone,鈥 Wolos admitted. 鈥But if you trust your mind and body, something good will come out of it.鈥
During the first workshop in September, Wolos said it was a process to help the participants find a commonality to build on.
鈥淭hey learned something about themselves, each other and working with one another. They were strangers, but learned to be collaborative,鈥 Natale added.
The end goal, said Natale, is for participants to see change in how they see the world and to cope with everyday life in more effective, creative ways.
Wolos saw this first-hand, when he attended a similar workshop at The Juilliard School in New York City last summer, which inspired him to bring the concept to 老司机福利社. 鈥淚 reached out to a counselor here, and the idea was immediately embraced,鈥 he said.
Because the workshops are a form of experiential therapy and psychodrama, a trained counselor from 老司机福利社鈥檚 Counseling Center attends each event.
鈥淭his is hands-on and experiential. If trauma happened to your body, it has to be worked out,鈥 said Carlos Martinez, assistant director of Counseling Services. 鈥淯sing storytelling and these techniques helps participants through that.鈥
During these daylong events, students work in groups to find a commonality they can collaborate around. Ideally, this leads to each member of the group embracing creativity as a means of self-exploration.
Wolos and Natale called on fellow artists to lend their talents to each workshop. The sessions each feature a different passionate guest artist who practices and approaches art through a different medium, including words, music and movement.
鈥淧articipants are welcome to not only practice in the medium they are most comfortable or familiar with, but to also discover others,鈥 Wolos said.
The founders follow a loose schedule, but the impromptu nature of the workshop is what leads to satisfying breakthroughs.
鈥淭he main aspect of the workshop is to create something collaboratively and not give rules or restrictions,鈥 said Natale. 鈥淲e want to leave the door open for whatever is there that day, what is inside each individual. Then all kinds of things start to happen.鈥
And the workshops are just as powerful for Wolos and Natale as for the participants.
鈥淚 walked away feeling the power that comes with conveying art. Art is not just something to observe or take in, but something that is a tool. Something that is human. Something that is not reserved to a certain class or type of people,鈥 Natale said.
Though open to the 老司机福利社 community, The Creation Labs focus on initiating, inspiring and maintaining art as a coping mechanism for trauma patients.
Wolos hopes he can take this concept to help others, through homeless shelters, veterans鈥 hospitals and women鈥檚 shelters. 鈥淭he Creation Labs lets people flex the muscles of collaboration and reminds you the disciplines we talk about don鈥檛 matter. There are no barriers. We all need this.鈥
鈥 Art is not just something to observe or take in, but something that is a tool. Something that is human. Something that is not reserved to a certain class or type of people. 鈥