HGMC – February

First and foremost, I’d like to say a huge thank you to the fantastic Jason Arbiter, who facilitated this event for us. We met up at Open Door in Berkhamsted, and begun rearranging the space to fit everybody in, and ensure we all had some elbow room. One by one people appeared out of the cold and darkness, and tentatively made their way in. We had a few familiar faces, and some new ones. Which is always nice. Kettles on. Teas and coffees mad. Seats found. Pens and paper distributed. We hand over to Jason. 

Jason broke the ice and talked a little about how his experience of being in the creative purpose helps him get out of his head. He picked up on some nerves in the room and made sure everybody understood this isn’t a competition. There would be no grading or comparison, this was simply about making something for the sake of it. There was quite a high number of people in the room who’s only notable experience with art, was being told they were rubbish at it at school. It was clear that had in some cases left a long-lasting impression. As the first exercise drew on (no pun intended), you could feel the penny beginning to drop. We all, unanimously were just making a mess, and that was the point. As we moved through the remainder of the evening you could feel people inhibitions melting away. Whilst we were scribbling and scratching away, we all found ourselves in the moment. The stresses of the day, the week, of work, of bills and everything else had temporarily been banished.  

As a tool to help get us out of our minds and into our bodies just getting pen to paper was fantastic. It was very sweet to see a few people had mended an old wound they’d carried for decades after being scolded by an art teacher too. Did anybody take their creation home to be mounted on the fridge, or framed and displayed above the mantel? No. Does that matter? Not at all. We discussed our thoughts around the evening as a group and found ourselves laughing at our misconceptions, and our less than gallery worthy creations. I’d like to say one more thank you to Jason, and a massive thanks to everybody who attended. See you at the next one.