Planting Seeds of of a Love-olution through Art

Posted by Lahar Mehta on Mar 3, 2015

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This past month was a great reminder and opportunity to see how Art has its own wordless language of connection; to hold space for deep listening and reflection with some lovely kindred souls.
Early in the month, we celebrated a week of “The Lovelution Tour” with Project Creo, at the Dongri Remand home in Mumbai. They offered music, I offered art, and together we wrapped the kids in a few fleeting moments of joy. It is beyond presumptuous for me to think we are making a difference; but I have experienced facilitating art can introduce a few happy moments, and that feels enough!
I have been to the remand home previously working with the boys, but this is the first time I got to engage with the girls; More than 80 girls there, each carrying her unique story of sexual abuse, abandonment, mental or physical ailments and handicaps.


As they flowered the ir compound wall with color, I could see joy and light in their eyes; girls who have never experienced voice and sound, today gave an expression to their muted feelings.
I have always felt compellingly resonant with adolescent girls, struggling to find their delicate place in this world. Why are intuition, emotion and fragility looked at as a weakness? They make my feminine yearn for acknowledgement, as I see parts of myself in their broken lives. The next intention is to do Art at the Remand home with girls once a month.


 
While at a family holiday in Srilanka later in the month, I did a Co Create Art session with a group of young adults in Colombo. It gave me a chance to really connect with local youth and understand their culture. I was so excited to see how they dressed, talked, thought, and related with their traditions, which are visibly so similar to India but also so starkly different.
This also gives me insight into how adults across cultures need spaces to express themselves, and un-knot their imbibed fear around art.
 

 

 

We did a warming up exercise to begin feeling into our surfacing emotions, giving them an expression on paper with colour and texture. The power of silence and deep listening to one another’s expression are an integral part of slowly opening our hearts to trusting each other and ourselves.

This past week, I also led the same session at our three-day Silent ‘Suchita Sangam’ retreat at the Sanitation institute in Ahmedabad. This was also a beautiful assortment of inspiring friends; a monk, an organic farmer, a seeker from Egypt, a lawyer from DC to an engineer from Belgium, among others.
 
 
 

The graceful groups in both places trusted me to lead them into a deeper space.
We individually illustrated the poem, ‘Guest House’ by Rumi. We carefully meditated on what our being as a guest house would look like if we invited our dark thoughts, joys and sorrows as visitors. What does each one of these bring up for us today?

Seema looked at her blank paper tainted by paint smudges with discomfort. She did not want those smudges on her clean sheet. As she learnt to accept them, she drew circles around and highlighted them instead of covering them up. They now suddenly were part of an integral design as she drew around it and transformed her artwork into a celebration of those dots. What does that tell us about the parts of ourselves we look at with discomfort and want to cover up?

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It was a powerful experience to delve into our shadow sides which we often resist and try to sweep away under a busy carpet of work and routine. I have really come to appreciate the value of holding trusting, non-judgmental space for each other. It offers safety and freedom to be ourselves for that little while.
Of course, a side perk is also chipping away at personal walls built around the fear of Art. As my new ‘artists’ carried their paintings home to proudly share with loved ones, I felt so grateful for these shared moments of deep intimacy through creativity.

 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 

Posted by Lahar Mehta on Mar 3, 2015 | permalink


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Previous Comments
  • caro - karuna wrote ...

    Beautiful and inspiring! thank you Lahar. <3 <3

  • madhur wrote ...

    Happy to see some good work happening :)

  • Audrey wrote ...

    Stunning artwork-- you can feel the open and reflective spirit imbued in it. :) Thank you for sharing, and doing, and being art with heart... :)