Musings from the Margins

Posts to this blog, also published in This Week @ Emmanuel, are written by our student intern from Lesley University’s masters program in Expressive Arts Therapy. This year, we are pleased to welcome intern Marielle Carpentier.

“Musings from the Margins” was founded in 2013, when The Rev. Susan Ackley was Sabbatical Priest and Artist in Residence with us. Over the years since then our Expressive Therapy Interns have faithfully and creatively recorded their thoughts about their experiences during the academic year at Emmanuel.

Being in Darkness

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Image by Wanyi Huang

This week at common art, I randomly drew with colored markers a cactus growing under the stars. I shared my art with S., who asked me, “Have you seen the sky at night without lights and moonlight?” He described his experiences outside the city with only the starlight singing in the sky. His experience in the starlight shower was so vivid in his brain. When my image reminded him of this joyfulness and mental stillness, he felt gratitude. They finally see the bright stars in the sky when everything is dark. Indeed, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”

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If you were a clock, what time would you show? 

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“Saying goodbye is not easy.” resonated in my head this week. Monday (1/9) was my last day after nine weeks at the Suffolk County House of Correction for the Art and Spirituality Program. When leading the opening group check-in, I asked participants: “If you were a clock, what time would you be now?” Some people said they were in the morning; some people said they were in the afternoon. What spoke to me was that some people said they were at 12 o’clock midnight, which means it is an end but also a start of something new. I related to their words deeply. Indeed, without goodbyes, we would not be able to have a new beginning. The ending of something can also be a new start for people who are looking for a change.

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Happy Holidays

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Last Friday at Boston Warm, we had a party: there were red-clothed tables, a community-decorated Christmas tree, a Christmas movie, hand-decorated cookies, all of it. It was such a joyful and relaxing moment as a community. As always, my favorite moment was our Uno game (shout out to Junior for winning four games in a row)! I’ve often found that when we play Uno, the game brings us together, and there is tangible relaxation in the atmosphere. We can all focus on flexing our skills. Overshadowed by fun and friendly competition, our differences are minimized. This focus on play is also part of what makes drama therapy effective.

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Embrace the grief!

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Portrait of Tenzin by Wanyi Huang

It has been a week (two weeks for Common Art and Emmanuel Cafe) of my not seeing people in the group because of the holiday and a cold.  During this short absence from the groups, I got a notification about the sudden loss of our long-term “artist in the kitchen,” Tenzin.

I am thinking about the connections between people and me, the experience of loss, and the available place of grief. I know these topics seem like a broad and never-ending speech, but it happens to our community so often. The pain of grief can impact both mental and physical health. Some people might experience difficulty keeping an energy balance, eating, or sleeping. Continue reading →

In Honor of Trans Day of Remembrance

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Today (11/20) is Trans Day of Remembrance. This year in the United States, we remember at least 32 transgender people who were murdered, with over 4/5th of them being trans women and 85% of them people of color. [1] Something else I am reflecting on today is how immense the contributions of trans* people have been and continue to be in our culture. From the Black drag queens who modeled the original chosen families, to the movement leaders today who continue to use their unique experiences to direct our energy as change-makers, alternative and organizing spaces would not be what they are today without trans and nonbinary people. Today I honor the trans people who were lost, and celebrate those who are living.

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Being Present Consistently

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This Monday (11/14/22) was my first time leading the opening and ending of the Art and Spirituality Program with other facilities and volunteers at Suffolk County House of Correction. This program provides people in prison with accessible art materials, valuable time just sitting together and making art, and space to express missing and thanking their loved ones.  As usual, we started by reading the poem, “Reflections after Compline” by Sue Stock [1] and sharing a word that reflects the day. Then we made cards or origami art together. After creation, we came back as a group and shared our creativity.

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Group Play

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Playing is an essential part of everyone’s life. Children learn and develop their skills from playing; they play almost all the time. As adults, we sometimes forget the simple joy we play with. In my culture, if an adult is still playing, it somehow means that person is not mature enough. However, after leading this week’s art project, I think we can still learn something from playing and enjoy our simple joy in the community.

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Bringing Myself into the Community

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It is the fifth week since I joined Emmanuel Church. Time passes so fast, especially this season! Bringing art projects to Common Art and Cafe Emmanuel groups, I focused on art in nature. When I noticed all the color changes on the street, the idea of creating art with nature just leaped to my mind . So I brought some origami plants to Common Art on Wednesday.

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Welcome our new expressive-arts interns!

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Wan-li

I am Wanyi, a second-year graduate student studying Art Therapy at Lesley University. Having grown up in Taiwan, I had the chance to learn fine art for my bachelor’s degree and was fortunate to have lived and taught in three different countries. During those time periods, I found the therapeutic power of art through leading art-making sessions in my communities. To further my knowledge in using art as a therapeutic medium, I came to the US to learn from the best.

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