What is an Art Hive??
According to arthive.org, an “Art Hive is a community art studio that welcomes everyone as an artist.
From an art pop-up in a local library to a community studio or gallery, at its heart, an Art Hive is about inclusion, respect and learning.
It’s a welcoming place to talk, make art and build communities. Responding in creative ways to things that matter.”
How does the Art Hive at One Heart Counseling Center work?
We have a community art project in our waiting room that our clients can participate in while they are waiting for their appointment. The supplies and instructions are there inviting our clients to participate. We rotate the community art project once a quarter, so the community art has an opportunity to develop.
What Community Art Projects have been done so far?
“Messages of Love”
This was one of our first projects where our clients write messages of encouragement to survivors of disasters like hurricanes or fires. Once enough messages were collected, we reached out to shelters in the area of the disaster and sent them to be posted for the community at the shelter.
“Lego Wall”
For this one, clients could come and add to a wall mounted lego platform. Some people added entire designs or figures, some just added a few legos to the wall, resulting in a colorful visual representation of community art making.
“Yarn Tree”
This was a project where yarn and a bare branch were provided. Each person could cut a piece of yarn in a color they felt drawn to and wrap it around the branch. This created a beautiful, simple, colorful piece of community art work.
“Hatching Butterflies”
The chrysalises hung from the branches of the yarn tree (our previous community art project). When the butterflies hatch, they dry their wings and then we let them fly outside. It was our first time hatching butterflies, so there were some touch and go moments when clinicians or clients were in the office with newly hatched butterflies. We wanted to make sure they were able to get out into the world safely!
The metaphor and process for this braids together beautifully with processes of emotional learning that we go through as human beings.
“How to Respond to People Being Mean”
This was our most recent art project, which has been really engaging. This is where clients put their ideas of what to say or do in response to someone being mean. The ideas that people have come up with make people laugh and are empowering. You wouldn’t believe how many ideas there are! We even took this one on the road to Redondo Beach Union High School for the Mental Health Awareness Fair where students made their contributions to the piece of art.
Our current art project is “Weaving the Tapestry of Community” where people can used offered fabric, yarn, any material, really, to weave a tapestry. It is a visual representation of how we are all connected. And of the idea that the health or strength of each one of us contributes to the strength of our community on a local or, even, global scale.
There will be more to come and we are looking forward to sharing with you!
Do you have any ideas for our Art Hive that you want to contribute?
We’d love to hear them and bring them to life!
