Considering my goal of having more solo dates, and learning to enjoy my own company, I am always on the lookout for something interesting to do. An activity to woo and wine and dine myself, coupled with my passion for trying new things and finding creative ways to express myself.
Admittedly, I have only recently come to the conclusion that I love art and participating in artistic expressions. I believe I have not done more of them because I don’t have any friends who would want to invest the time and/or money in such endeavours with me. And now after completing a handful, I can successfully confirm nor do I want to do them with anyone. It is enjoyably selfish to go at my own pace, start and finish when I want to, all in my own terms.
This specific workshop seemed to line up with where I am in my counselling education and personal growth journey. First, I do love wind chimes and have a porch to showcase them on. Two, this is a new art to try. Three, I am in need of healing, as I recently uncovered some new childhood trauma. And four, I am studying to be a counselor, so if this is something that I can incorporate into my future practice or refer a client to, it is worth checking out.
The only thing that didn’t quite lineup with the workshop is the date and time. Three hours on a Saturday from 6:30-9:30pm, which if I’m being honest, feels like the lonely person’s time slot. A class for those with nothing better to do. A day and time that you would be out with friends and/or spending time with a significant other. There is a lot of solo work in healing as it involves internal capacities and self reflection. Nonetheless I went in with my head held high and my excitement to learn palpitating.
“Artistic Meditation | Emotional Wind Chimes Creation Release emotions through sound and color, discovering inner peace and strength.”
The workshop promises to release emotions through sound and color, discovering inner peace and strength through designing your own personalized wind chime. The advert says it combines artistic creation with emotional healing, aiming to provide a creative outlet for emotional expression. It was also advertised as a stress relief, helping participants find tranquility through art. The goal is to make a piece where, as the wind blows and the chimes resonates, it symbolizes the release and healing of inner feelings.
Sadly, the workshop was not as advertised and I feel the young lady hosting it was not the writer of the above blurb. There was no meditation or health component, just an art class under the guise of healing. I felt misled and that this was unfair considering the $60 we had to pay, not to mention we weren’t able to finish the project.
This was hosted by a single artist who works out of the Green Apple Art Centre. We would later learn that this was only her second time hosting such a class. However, the first one was focussed on jewellery making. The same materials, same class work, same time slot, but a completely different project than now.
Whereas the jewellery class had a infinite number of pieces to make a necklace or earrings, our goal was to complete a wind chime, and the demo model we were shown had over 40 individual pieces strung up.
There was no welcomes to the class. The artist introduced herself and told us what we were doing without much instruction besides the special paper we would be using and the need to draw and colour on it with coloured pencils. We had to ask for colours, pencil sharpeners, and erasers. Like the supplies she felt very unprepared.
This is basically a class on how to make shrinky dinks. Baking plastics in a toaster oven, where it gets shrunk down to size and harden with the heat. Each piece we made would be attached onto a mobile with a pipe. The plastic hitting the metal provides the song of the wine chime.
I was waiting for the tie-in to healing or a mention on how this sort of activity would help in healing the inner child. There was nothing, not even idea prompts, outside of a template of her art we could trace and copy. We were just told to start. Most of us started with one picture and found our theme through the process. Mushrooms, cats, bugs, and weather symbols were popular in our class of five. My theme was food with some abstract pieces as filler. Racing against the clock, I would sacrifice quality to be able to complete 24 pieces. I wanted a fulsome mobile.
It would have been nice if the instructor kept tack of the time. For instance, telling us to finish four pieces, bake, add on resin for a glossy finish, then repeat. The baking and shrinking doesn’t take long, but the UV heating took the most time and there was only two machines for all of us to share.
I went back and forth between curing my pieces or leaving it mat. The instructor kept telling us to do whatever we liked, when we asked for help or advice. I had to tell her that this is the first time I am doing this and therefore do not have any knowledge or a preference. I explained I needed her to guide me on getting the best results.
In the end we didn’t have enough equipment or time. Those with less pieces had a chase to get something up. I bowed out given I had the most pieces, and after a failed attempt at using super glue to adhere pieces to fishing line, I decided to pack up with 15 minutes left in the alloted time. I decided to complete this at home, on my time, without having to rush. What started off as a peaceful project became frantic when one hour of colouring flew by.
As far as a healing session goes, I can see the value. My inner child got to play, she got to have fun and create what she wanted, and everyone around her was positive with plenty with praise. I felt productive, successful, and acknowledged. This I did point out to the rest of the class, in hopes of helping bring attention to their could-be healing benefits.
This inner childhood healing was furthered by the playing of children appropriate music. All throughout the three hours it was Disney, Gibli, and Pixar scores.
In short, I like the concept, just execution fell through. It was nothing like advertised. More planning and practice would have improved the experience, as well as offer better referrals from the attendees. Now I am left with another anxious to-do project, added to my ADHD doom pile.
Green Apple Art Center
2150 W Broadway Unit 314 & 303, Vancouver, BC V6K 4L9.
(604) 261-6368
