Art Therapy students recently worked to create a piece called the Threads of Hope Quilt. It fuses collaboration with individual inspiration to help us realize ways we can better take care of ourselves and others through the pandemic. I had the chance to take a look earlier this week, hopefully its message provides as much of a takeaway for you as it did for me. Check it out on the second floor of VAC right outside the Suraci Gallery.

The art project helped to remind me of some ways in which I find hope in a world that feels perpetually more and more heartbroken as time goes on. With the holiday season slowly closing in on us, I felt inspired by this piece to publish three things I’ve noticed that have helped me find hope as well.

Making Art

It’s obvious if you’re an artist. Sometimes opening up the can of artistic worms isn’t always pleasant or hopeful, but there haven’t been any times I can think of where I notably regretted making art. For me, I feel as though art can act as spiritual exercise, acting as a mode of processing that vocabulary can’t extend to.

Talking to Others

Again, it sounds simple, but I don’t just mean talking. I mean learning about others. Talking to my coworkers in particular about their own lives and discovering what their unique lived experience is like gives me additional perspective on my own. There is something impactful in learning about other people beyond saying hello.

Meditate

Meditation doesn’t have to be a rigid practice. Sure, I’d probably recommend some structure, but learning to just be during this semester has been extremely helpful during the most difficult crunches of time. It also helps with making art, because there are certainly times when it feels like making art is the last thing I want to do (even though I think I ultimately want to). Set aside 10 minutes per day to breathe, and the other 23 hours and 50 minutes will thank you.