I asked participants how they felt about some ‘free’ time, once we had completed some activities and they liked the idea- but of course we didn`t need it!
When you plan for things I find that is often the case! I wonder if this is because we can`t predict our own process let alone the processes of others! You have to be in the moment with the process. Maybe the power of creativity comes when we let go of trying to control it…..however I like the ‘free’ time idea and it may come in useful at some point.
We started warming up with some doodling taking inspiration from Bolton Museums` beautiful collections….group members were itching to get started. It seems really important I follow their pace as best I can.
I wanted each group member to begin to create a background for their mantra; my plan is to turn these into postcards and use them to promote the project. Each group member was given some ink and bleach and we looked at this image from Bolton Museum and we were off…
The rest of the session was spent playing with the materials…there were shouts of delight as the inks and bleach surprised them! One group member spent the whole session layering one picture, whilst others made a few pictures trying different things each time and then going back to an image to rework it. Group members said the process was “therapeutic”, “go with the flow”, “I love it”, “feels free”, “hypnotic”….I could feel the energy in the room and the power of creativity at work….I am wondering what it was about the inks and bleach that felt so satisfying? Perhaps the balance of control, but not too much control was right for this group and allowed them to let go of what looks ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ and enjoy playing and experimenting.
I`m hoping we have more sessions like this one! And as we explore and experiment more I hope we can express more and more about our creative process.