What I Did This Weekend...

I spent a very busy weekend, making some things that are a bit difficult to explain, but were very fun and challenging as well. My friend, Tawnya, is the art therapist at my facility and is a spiritual woman as well. For a while now, she's been working on the idea of running spiritual workshops with an art product at the end. I've been very enthusiastic about this idea and have attended the two different workshops that she has offered so far.


Here's the concept.

The product is a series of scripture cards that have specific messages for the attendees. This past weekend, we focused on worry and anxiety and the messages that is offered to us through scripture. All of the cards had a central theme - Shield - an acronym that Tawnya researched and developed. The letters stand for saves, heals, is always there, empowers, leads, and defends. The verses are related to each one of these words and the cards illustrate the concepts as well.

Tawnya spent lots of time putting these ideas together, and we spent about 24 hours engaged in conversation, thought, and creativity putting them into reality. It was a good time, but somewhat stressful as we had way too many things to accomplish and not enough time to do it all. I think I was the only one who finished all 24 cards, but I didn't get my cover sheets finished or do my album cover in that time. At the end of the time, I was exhausted and the cold that has been threatening to take over manifested in all its glory - I'm at home today because I can't seem to stay awake long enough to go to work, and I just feel rotten.


The end product, though, was nothing short of amazing. Now, I am a paper crafter. I know how to make cards and scrapbook pages that look pretty good. I've spent time stamping, embossing, using punches, and putting together my own sets of these cards. I know how to do almost everything that Tawnya presented to us today, but the ideas that she has for these cards blow my amateur efforts out of the water!

I've talked the United Methodist Women's group at the church where I work into hosting a shorter event at our church. I think they will enjoy the process and the ideas on how to use the cards later. Now, I just have to reign in the enthusiasm of Tawnya to get these projects into something that can be done without too much frustration on the parts of non paper crafters and still have a beautiful finished product. I think I've found a solution - two paper crafting cards and two prose cards - one a familiar hymn verse and the other a prayer to use with the cards. I figure that early finishers (like me) could then decorate the prose cards while late finishers could focus on the pretty cards and then have the others to finish their albums up.

This was a good experience to have. I need to figure out how to counteract the adrenaline rush and lack of sleep with the enjoyment of making something with someone else in a way that keeps me from getting sick at the end. 

The best thing about projects like this is that they spark my own ideas. After the last workshop in October, I was inspired to make a set of cards based on the first lines of Charles Wesley hymns for the pastor and his wife. This time around, I think I will make a series based on the Psalms - there is so much imagery that lends itself to pictures and paper crafting in those songs. 

The best part of this process, and one that we didn't have much time to talk about during our paper crafting frenzy, was how to use the cards later on. The cards act as a visual reminder of the concept of the workshop (worry and anxiety) and offer a prayer prompt when we find ourselves in those times. That's the next step - incorporating more mindfulness into the project.

While this particular post has very little to do with music therapy itself, it does make me think about therapeutic music experiences to incorporate with this type of project. Why not design a series of cards with song prompts for specific clients? Why not bring them into the process of making those cards and then using them as a tool outside of sessions? The other aspect of this is that of care of self for me, as a music therapist. This weekend, even though it ended up in illness, helped me express some of my feelings about myself and how I interact with the world. Also, the process of continuing the concept into my own ideas helps me spark my own creative interests.

I love making things and hope to continue in the future. If you are interested in more information about this project and workshop run by my friend Tawnya, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'd be happy to pass on any comments.