I made a Power Doll, a Dream Box, a hand-bound journal and painted a mandala. Yes, all pretty touchy-feely art projects. The great thing was they could either be as whimsical or as deep as I wanted to make them...or a mixture of both. It was very fun to be a playful student. I thought of the children in my congregation and the energy in which they approach the same kind of whimsical yet deep projects. I found great delight in enjoying the process and not obsessing about the finished product. And in the end...I liked all my not-quite-finished products.
You'll see my power doll has stripped leggings like the little girls at church. My dream box became a story box based on a children's tale written by Charles Dickens.The pages in my journal began taking shape as they embraced adventure. My mandala reflects my word for 2013 - cultivate. The base is done. I look forward to adding more detail.
There were 7 other women at the retreat. We had varied lives (everything from an engineer from Madison and a farmer from Iowa to the church geek in Illinois!) but we shared in common a love and need for whimsical and deep play!
I am excited to keep playing and not only make it a once in a while treat.
~Pam