Black and Brown Solidarity | Planning

After three brainstorming sessions, the black and brown dreaming solidarity project has commenced. The youth worked on their creative projects with their respective groups this week. One group is working on videography, another on spoken word, and all the youth are recruiting for an art project where other youth in the neighborhood submit their art supporting black and brown solidarity.

We are still recruiting for our art project! Know any youth who would want to submit their art to be displayed at our convening on June 5th and paid $20 for their submission. Fill out this link to submit a piece.

Art Therapy at PMSA Mental Health Club

We are so excited to continue offering our programming through mental health club at PMSA. This month, Dana of Paint on Purpose led art therapy for the students. This session, the students painted cacti to resemble growth and purpose. Cacti are able to grow in harsh conditions even without water. Dana created this piece to resemble the how we are always working to a goal and we can still achieve growth even during hard time.

Thank you Dana for extending your resources to the PMSA students and thank you to the students for your participation!

Art Therapy

This week, we hosted Art Therapy for our community! This session, we painted sunflowers, to resemble that we can still grow within hardships. Sunflowers take up lots of sunlight but they are still able to survive off little water. Additionally, they produce many seeds when they are fully grown. Dana thought that this was a good symbolization that although sometimes there is no water in our cup, we still have the opportunity to grow and present seeds for out future. As the session went forward, the community talked about their experiences living in Maywood, and what they did to be a good neighbor!

Thank you to those who joined us! Thanks again to Dana for leading another session!

The Art Of Therapy | Dana Harris

Photo Credit: Amie

This past Saturday, Dana from Paint on Purpose came back to TFD! Dana teaches art to people of all ages. She finds joy in guiding others through something so therapeutic. As we move through Mental Health Awareness Month, we have seen community members arrive excited to learn new things and find a moment of peace in their busy lives. A few members joined us on Saturday to relax with some smooth jazz music in the essential oil-filled air while painting. Dana guided them through painting beautiful cherry blossoms, which signify change in the seasons of our lives. Everyone enjoyed the peaceful environment and left with incredible artwork!

You can find more on the work Dana does on her website!

Photo Credit: Amie

Art Therapy With Dana Harris

Photo Credit: Saffron

In mentorship on Saturday, the mentees relaxed with a bit of painting. Dana Harris, who has been painting for years, taught them that art can be therapeutic. She explained how art and painting can help with anxiety and calm nerves. She then guided them through painting beautiful cherry blossom trees. Dana also has a business of her own, Paint On Purpose, where she teaches art to people of all ages! Everyone had a blast creating and relaxing.

After their art session, our mentees moved on to website building with Lu’Cretia. In a previous workshop, they learned about website design and the different aspects of it. This time, they put that knowledge into action. Our mentees are at the beginning process of creating their own brands, so learning these steps of building a website are very important.

Photo Credit: Saffron