Community event unites Regis faculty, staff and students through art

For staff, students and faculty in higher education, the upcoming holiday season can be the most stressful time of year. Preparing for finals, while managing holiday shopping and travel, becomes a delicate balancing act. However, Sara Forrest, a staff counselor at Regis’ Health and Counseling Center and a licensed art therapist, has organized a group event to help the Regis community regulate the stress of daily life with a shared experience. 

The Community Art Studio, held for the first time on Monday, Oct. 21, is an ongoing event that offers an opportunity for the Regis community to meet outside of school or work to destress and engage in mindfulness and curiosity. 

“This will be my third school year here and I love the community,” Forrest said. “I think I was looking for a way to bring the community together. There are events only for students or only for staff and faculty. I think it's nice to have a chance for whoever wants to come to be able to get together and create something.” 

Forrest assures participants that they don’t need to be the next Michelangelo to participate in the Community Art Studio. In fact, wanting to create art without criticism inspired Forrest ‘s interest in art therapy. 

“Before studying art therapy, I was an art minor,.” Forrest said. “I had a real issue with being graded. It was tough because it's not why I was doing it. And when you go to school, you have to get grades. It's very difficult to feel like looking at your expression needs to be quantified in any way.” 

Creating for the experience –– rather than the outcome –– is important to the shared event. As Regis faculty, staff and students are all welcome at the event, the predetermined roles of “staff” or “student” are dissolved in the shared creative process. 

“I think there's something beautiful about making art together,” Forrest said. “When you're in a space together physically, there's a process of attunement that happens and a rhythm you get into that can be really regulating.” 

To allow each attendee to find their individual “rhythm,” Forrest provides a variety of materials and projects for attendees to experience, ranging from colored pencils to paints to more unconventional mediums. At the event on Oct. 21, she demonstrated the activity of color marbling, using a mixture of shaving cream and food coloring to create a marbled surface which when pressed with a sheet of paper creates colorful, abstract prints. 

The texture of the shaving cream and stains from the food coloring may have felt uncomfortably frustrating for some, but these feelings were conduits for communicating with the body and mind. It was up to the individual to discern their own discomfort and enjoyment from the activity –– creating a totally mindful experience. 

“While this event isn’t specifically therapy, I do believe that the process of art is inherently therapeutic,” Forrest said. “I think we want to be able to experience a shared creative activity that is providing people with what they need. Opening with an intention of why you're there allows it to be what it needs for each person.”  

The Community Art Studio aspires to meet the needs of the broader Regis community, by cultivating a neutral space for artistic exploration. Forrest hopes that this event will continue monthly and engage more members of the Regis community. 

The next Community Art Studio will be held on Nov. 18, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Main Hall Room 101. Email Sara Forrest (sforrest001@regis.edu) with any questions.