by Melanie Barton
Windows Facilitator, Rooted in Resilience Cohort Member
PREA Advocate Coordinator, Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Jackson, Mississippi
Through AWBW workshops, I’ve witnessed how creativity can create connection, reflection, and healing in even the most challenging environments. I spend the majority of my days working with people who are incarcerated, helping them navigate the logistics of these difficult spaces. Many times when I walk into a prison setting, at first there are folded arms across chests and guarded looks. Resistance fills the room, so I start with something we can all relate to: Life happens. So how do we move beyond the traumatic events in our life and use them to make us stronger? Then the looks soften. Conversation slowly ignites. We soon discover that we have more in common than we may have realized.
It’s incredible how quickly art forges a pathway to connection, without requiring people to share more than they’re ready to.
With the AWBW workshops participants can express themselves deeply without saying a word. For someone who does not want to dig deep or unintentionally reveal more than they mean to, it’s a great alternative. At the end of several of these workshops I’ve had participants share how at first they didn’t want to be in the group, but in the end they were surprised to have gained so many tools that can help them grow, create a better version of themselves and build resilience beyond life’s challenges.
I also participate in church activities and host women’s groups. The women have many things in common, but the word that stands out the most is diligent – which usually leads to busyness. Although many of us manage to accomplish a lot, most of us are overwhelmed with responsibilities that include work, family, and serving at church. Often there is little self-care, which can easily lead to burnout. It’s almost as if we allow ourselves to enter a psychic prison with the modern busyness of life. While we lack the constraints of a physical prison, we deal with the high stress of daily life, overcommitment, and hustle and bustle of activities and tasks. This can lead to self-imposed incarceration where our bodies and minds suffer the consequences.
Realizing that I am surrounded by women who give selflessly, even at the expense of their own self-care, it became my goal to engage small groups in AWBW art activities to help them fill their tanks with what they need to sustain their journey. The art workshops create opportunities to slow down, notice what we are carrying, and what we need. Participants experience firsthand the value of taking time for self-care, reminding them that caring for themselves is not selfish, but essential.
More than once during a workshop I’ve seen participants find common ground talking about the busyness of life, and through these conversations land on strategies for how to navigate their lives in a more meaningful and intentional way. These small moments of self and community care create ripple effects far beyond the workshop itself. Participants often express that they leave feeling refreshed, renewed, and inspired, and those positive effects continue far beyond the workshop itself.
During a recent workshop, participants used simple river stones and paint to create visual reminders of their strength, growth, and hopes for the future. The stones pictured here were painted by a group of women who took an hour out of their weekend to think about the following:
1. One thing in your past you have overcome
2. A challenge you are currently working through
3. A future goal you want to accomplish
After the stones were completed, each piece of art carried its own story of strength and possibility. The stones became visual expressions of experiences and emotions that often live beneath the surface and can be difficult to put into words. The women departed feeling restored and revitalized to focus on implementing self-care routines that will reinvigorate them as they navigate life’s challenges.
As I think about my own life and how this work has served me, I am grateful to have the AWBW activities to help me slow down and focus on the important things. Through these workshops, I’ve learned to more deeply value the freedom I have to leave the self-imposed prison of my own too-busy life. With AWBW I reclaim time for creativity, connection, and the self and community care I know will sustain me on my journey.
As you reflect on your own journey, I invite you to explore the Ripples of Self-Care art workshop worksheet to reflect on what helps sustain you and the ripple effects that even small moments of intentional care can create.
by Melanie Barton
Windows Facilitator, Rooted in Resilience Cohort Member
PREA Advocate Coordinator, Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Jackson, Mississippi
Reflect on what helps sustain you and the ripple effects that even small moments of intentional care can create.
Ripples of Self-Care Art Workshop Worksheet
Want to bring healing art programming to your community?
A Window Between Worlds (AWBW) supports hundreds of direct service organizations across the country to incorporate creative expression into their work with trauma survivors. With this blog we uplift the voices of our art workshop facilitators and participants. We invite you to take in this perspective, notice what resonates and explore how it may fit into your life.