Over the last few weeks, the changes in the weather as we usher in spring have felt in line with exciting changes at common art. While there have been some difficult transitions, many of these changes have been welcomed as we continue to evolve common art with current Covid-19 guidance. Community leaders have begun discussing ways that we can safely begin to reintroduce some of the art materials like the beloved acrylic paints or beads into the rotation. Additionally, we are once again evaluating the number of community members allowed in groups at a time and the safe distance between our seating arrangements. It’s been quite exciting to imagine the possibilities and see the collaborative process unfold between common art staff, community leaders, and interns to find creative solutions to keep evolving the programming. Additionally, more community members continue to receive their first and second doses of the vaccine.
Aside from pandemic related changes, common cathedral has been observing the season of Lent. Admittedly, this is my first major experience with Lent. What I remember most from my childhood about Lent is many classmates giving up sweets. Yet through my experiences at common cathedral, I learned something that greatly shifted my understanding of Lent. The Reverend Mary and community members shared how some folks choose to add things in during Lent as well to feel closer to God. I found this idea really inspiring and lovely. It helped illustrate the purpose of Lent for me and brought a new meaning and accessibility to the season. I’ve enjoyed seeing some of the different ways community members have incorporated giving up and adding for Lent to their artistic process. One beautiful example comes from a community member who typically works in many bright colors, she gave up a certain number of colors to focus on blues, greens, and purples spending time closely with these colors finding new beauty and excitement. Another example that resonated deeply with me is a community member who is pushing himself to try his hand at a new writing style and write a poem each day for Lent.
The season of Lent has also found me reflecting on my therapeutic practice and understanding of therapeutic work. Sometimes, it seems easy for clients to negatively associate therapy with the hard work of change and giving up behaviors. It’s also easy for clinicians to quickly see areas for change and growth in clients. Yet I want to feel more connected to the purpose of giving up behaviors and acknowledging how those behaviors have served us. This concept of adding in for Lent made me think about the ways we encourage and add coping skills, processes, and affirmations to client’s toolboxes. It prompted me to think about the ways as a clinician that I may think about first adding in when someone may not be ready to give something up.
As we continue to move forward assessing the ways we can slowly return common art to some normalcy as we enter new phases in the pandemic, I find beauty that some of these changes are occurring during Lent. Our community members thoughtfully gave up meaningful art materials and activities to support each other’s well being in unprecedented times. While it was challenging, the community made it possible for common art to continue to run successfully for a year during the pandemic. And now, we look forward to adding back materials enabling community members to feel closer to themselves and their art work.
-Isabelle Olsson