Do you ever find yourself doodling during meetings?
If you find yourself doodling during meetings, decorating your journal with designs, and creating “masterpieces” while on the telephone you may be interested in learning about the art of Zentangle.
I’ve been spending time with Wellspring’s Art Therapist Michelle Murelli – and she’s working on a campus-wide project involving Zentangles. The photograph above is a collaborative piece of artwork recently exhibited in our Administration Building.
Zentangles are generally small (like the size of a post-it note) and involve repetitive patterns. Michelle explained to me that many of our residents have found creating these drawings to be a coping mechanism that speaks to their creative spirit.
When I visited the Zentangle website I learned that others reported a variety of applications for the drawings:
- Relaxation
- Journalling
- Insomnia (Improved sleep by creating a Zentangle before bedtime)
- Self-esteem
- Inspiration
- Panic attacks (For fear of flying, creating a Zentangle during takeoff and landing)
- Modify behavior
- Create beautiful works of art
- Nurture and develop creative abilities
- Relieve stress
- Improve eye/hand coordination
- Develop/rehabilitate fine motor skills
- Team building and group focus
- Therapy
- Anger management
- Addiction therapy tool
- Early artist development and appreciation
- Increase attention span and ability to concentrate
- Home schooling
- Design inspiration
- Stretching and warm-up for artists
- Stress reduction
The best part of Zentangle? ANYONE can do it – with just a scrap of paper and a pen! Anything is possible, one stroke at a time.
Child Abuse and Neglect Lecture Rescheduled
Our Identifying Child Abuse and Neglect Lecture scheduled for Thursday, July 15 has been POSTPONED.
We plan to reschedule for a date in the Fall.
Wellspring Participates in Social Web Week in CT
This morning I attended Social Web Week Connecticut’s Tale of 3 Causes: Social Web in Nonprofits. It was hosted by the Greater New Haven Nonprofit Resource Council – and included presentations by 3 interesting social media experts!
- Andre Yap, Founder and CEO of Ripple 100 presented some really interesting video microsites that his agency is working on – including some of the micromarketing surrounding the attempt to bring Google Fiber to New Haven.
- Ali Parmalee, Co-Owner and Creative Director at Think Creative shared how using contests in social media can help build tribes both online and in-person – check out her recent Pizza Creation Contest for Kitchen Zinc!
- Giulia Gouge, Founder of SheSoSocial told us to BE OURSELVES in social media – allowing others to advocate for our organizations and and continuing the conversations as naturally as possible.
A number of Social Media Champions were in attendance – and it was great catching up to see what our plans for social media are for the next few months! (@suzicraig would be so proud of us!) The morning provided lots of energy and ideas – if you’re in the New Haven Area this week I highly recommend connecting with one of the Social Web CT events! You can learn more on their website: www.socialwebct.com
Every Child is an Artist
This morning when I walked across campus to the Administration building something bright caught the corner of my eye. Freshly tie-dyed shirts drying on the railing of The Arch Bridge School at Wellspring!
The vibrant purples and pinks were a delight to study in the sunlight. Throughout the day other staff members have buzzed about the beauty of the shirts and the memories of the tie dye eras of our youth.
Too often we forget about the creative artists inside each of us. When was the last time you tie-dyed a shirt? Drew a stick figure? Finger painted?
In the words of Pablo Picasso: Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.
Wellspring is on facebook!
Wellspring
Promote Your Page Too
Just over a year ago we started our facebook fan page. It was a slow and quiet start, asking friends and family to become part of our digital tribe. But, before we knew it others were finding us on facebook and connecting with Wellspring.
I have had the pleasure of getting to know former residents of our programs, families whose children are in our care, colleagues from other treatment facilities, and countless others whose comments and messages enliven the digital community of our fan page. It has been a truly delightful experience.
Last week I spent a few moments catching up with a resident’s family. They shared with me that the Wellspring updates and photographs help them stay connected with our daily living milieu during this difficult time of being apart. Their words of encouragement were heartfelt, and provided me with a boost of energy to continue expanding our social media outreach.
Those of you who are reading this who are fans – I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your support, encouragement, feedback, and “liking.” Without YOU our fanpage would not be the magical place that it has become.
Are you a fan of Wellspring on facebook? You can visit our fan page at www.facebook.com/wellspring and click on the “like” button.
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