Thursday of this past week, I was able to lead an amazing event on collaborative art at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary!
I was invited to lead this class by a doctoral student who wanted to provide a unique experience for her cohort. Instead of providing the group with an idea to paint, we would develop the idea together based on what they had learned during their trip to Pittsburgh.
The first thing I asked the group to do was to write short words of reflection on the theme of their study, which was on death and resurrection. This follows a practice I use for my Works of Intention workshop.
Once they had written down their intentions, we discussed shortly what ideas they had for the painting and, to my surprise, they leaped at the opportunity to discuss what ideas they had.
The idea we landed on was to create a tree spurring from the cracks in a broken heart, symbolizing the cycle of life and death and how new life can be borne of loss and heartbreak. Once I had sketched the structure of the piece, the class came and added their touches.
We had to relocate inside due to a severe thunderstorm passing through the area. However, once inside, everyone had a chance to start painting in the details of the canvas and it turned out beautifully!
This is where we ended for the night! I will be finishing up the piece, staying true to their vision, and will have prints sent to them by the holidays! Afterwards, the original will make its way home to the Seminary as a guide for future students on the joys of collaborative vision and creativity! Thank you again PTS for the invitation!