Postcards from the Pouch: August 2013 | Random Acts of Art Adventure Update

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Gretchen Miller, MA, ATR-BC

I am excited to share that the pouch for 6 Degrees of Creativity’s Random Acts of Art Project is safely back on the road for its creative travels!

Just this week, the pouch arrived to Sue in Oaklyn, New Jersey- Yes!

Hopefully throughout the upcoming month, the pouch can continue smoothly to its other east coast destinations! The 6 Degrees of Creativity Facebook page continues to post updates as they happen…

Next stop: Lindsey in Medford Lakes, New Jersey!

I’ve also received some of the art that has been inspired by and has included the creative goodness sent in the project’s pouch.

Below is art inspired by the pouch’s July stop in Scranton, Pennsylvania to Rebecca Arnold at Cedar Crest College’s Art Therapy Program:

Rebecca was “very intrigued by the sense of community the art pouch presented and wanted to further that notion”:

Cedar Crest College had its “Welcome Back Festival” for students today and the art therapy studio was a designated stop on their “tour” of the campus. In the studio students were provided with scraps of fabric, markers, wire, and adornments including, art bits from the pouch. They were encouraged to create a “hope or wish” for their coming academic year and then attach their piece to a wire mandala that eventually was identified as a “dream catcher.

The final piece represents for me the many layers of a college community (the fabric pieces) and the structure of the academic body and faculty (the wire mandala that is not seen) that can transform fears and uncertainties into life-affirming experiences.

Here are some wishes and hopes:

“To grow as a person”
“To find myself”
“To remain present”
“To make friends”
“To find and pursue my true purpose”

I will be keeping this structure in the art therapy studio space as a reminder to students who were involved of their intentions. In an attempt to pull the campus community together in a different way (through art making), I will be using the experience from this work to begin a program for the students that includes open studio experiences in the art therapy studio. This will allow nursing, education, social work, math, art, and all majors on campus to benefit from a community space and connection across disciplines. ~Rebecca Arnold, Cedar Crest College

Thank you Rebecca for sharing this experience and the art created by students, infused with some creative goodness from the pouch! Wonderful! I look forward to seeing more of the art inspired by and created with the pouch’s artsy stuff & good vibes… 🙂

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About the project: A 8 x 6 inch canvas pouch filled with various artsy stuff, is mailed amound participants to make some creative goodness with…then the created art is given away in a random act of art to someone else! The pouch gets filled back up with more creative stuff & then mailed again to the next participant to continue the creative cycle! This project will have 60 stops over the next 17 months (more or less!) to destinations in the US, Canada, Italy, the UK, India, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia.

Call for Participants: Practice Random Acts of Art!

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Gretchen Miller, MA, ATR-BC

Here’s a new 6 Degrees of Creativity art collab to join in on!

Not too long ago I came across this canvas pouch by Pamela Barsky that has the words “Practice Random Acts of Art” printed across the front. I thought it was an awesome creative goodness accessory to have and quickly made an order!

With this pouch, I thought it would be fun to practice random acts of art together within the 6 Degrees of Creativity community.

My idea is this: our 8 x 6 inch pouch could be filled with various art stuff, mailed to a participant to make some creative goodness with and then the created art from the pouch’s materials can be given away in a random act to someone else! Then the pouch gets filled up again & mailed on to another participant…the creative cycle continues until it reaches the last participant and then the pouch gets mailed back to me!

What do you think? If you’re interested, read on about how to sign up to receive a visit from the “Practice Random Acts of Art Pouch”:

Participants will be responsible for making some creative goodness with the materials (and whatever else you want to use!) sent in the pouch, sending a photo of the created art & selfie with the pouch for the 6 Degrees of Creativity Random Acts of Art Gallery on Facebook, and then giving away the art in whatever creative manner you choose! Participants will then fill the pouch with new art stuff to mail on to the next person. Each participant will have 2 weeks to create & then mail the pouch on to its new destination.

Until June 18, I’ll be taking sign-ups for this new project to generate a list of who will be mailing to who. I’ll be checking in with each participant throughout the project to help keep things moving smoothly. If you’re interested, please e-mail your name and mailing address to 6degreesofcreativity@arttherapyalliance.org to sign up & more information.

Please only sign up for this project if you are committed to following through. Participants are responsible for the domestic or international shipping cost of the pouch, as well as the materials you choose to include inside for the next participant. If you have questions or need more information or clarification before committing, feel free to e-mail Gretchen at the above e-mail address. Thank you!

Pocket Change: Creating Change through Small Creative Acts

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Gretchen Miller, MA, ATR-BC

Pocket Change: Creating Change through Small Creative Acts

A 6 Degrees of Creativity Artist Trading Card Exchange

6 Degrees of Creativity is very excited to be hosting this collaborative project focusing on the power of creating change through making something small (in the form of artist trading cards) and through engaging in simple acts of creative kindness.

This exchange was inspired by community members involved with 6 Degrees of Creativity 2 workshops who suggested having an ATC exchange a few months ago. Myself, Mindful Studio Practice Instructor Hannah Klaus Hunter, and 6 Degrees of Creativity 2 Community Member Beth Rommel then came together to co-create & organize this project. We hope this swap helps create new connections, inspires positive energy, and creates a good reason to make & receive some art in this New Year!

General Overview

Participants will create 4 ATCs and will get back 3 from others who are participating in the exchange. Our swap’s theme: Pocket Change is all about how simple and small acts can create and instill kindness, gratitude, and change. For your ATCs, think about the power of your mini artworks as a means to express and share a positive image, message, or intention with others and the world.

The fourth ATC will be kept by the host organizers for coordinating the exchange. These ATCs may be posted on the 6 Degrees of Creativity Facebook Page or this blog to showcase the project and help spread the project’s good vibes. We are also thinking about creating a fun, free eZine about the Pocket Change theme, stories, and ATCs the project received to keep sharing the love!

Mailing & Postage

Participants will mail their 4 ATC’s by January 30, 2013. If you live in the US, please send a SASE with your ATCs. Please note that without a SASE, you cannot receive ATCs back. Late ATCs will not be accepted for exchange and will be returned. We will start mailing back exchanged ATCs to everyone at the end of February.

If you live outside of the US, instead of including postage, please just include some extra fun collage stuff inside a self addressed envelope to cover this cost!

About ATCs & Guidelines for Exchange

The dimensions of your ATCs should be 2.5″ x 3.5″, or 64 x 89mm. Tips, examples, techniques, and more can be found via this ATC how-to page.

On the back of each ATC please include: your name, contact information (i.e. website/blog/e-mail address) that you are comfortable sharing with other swap participants.

ATCs should be sturdy enough to travel through the mail. Wax paper or plastic sleeves should be used between your ATCs if they might stick together because of medium such as Mod Podge. To make mailing easy, please keep your ATCs to two dimensional materials.

Spreading Creative Kindness!

In addition to the ATC exchange, we also encourage you to spread more creative kindness through making Pocket Change ATCs for others (friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, colleagues, randomly leaving them in places for strangers, etc.). Feel free to share with us how you used this act to keep the Pocket Change process going!

Sign Up

Deadline to sign up for this exchange is January 15. This exchange is open to art therapists, art therapy students, creatives, and artists who wants to make some creative goodness with us! E-mail 6degreesofcreativity@arttherapyalliance.org to sign up and to receive the project’s mailing address for your ATCs or if you have any questions. You can also send Pocket Change Acts of Creative Kindness stories to this e-mail as well. Please don’t sign up for this exchange unless you can make the commitment to follow through by January 30.

I hope you will consider joining us for this special project-We look forward to exchanging lots of creative goodness with you!