This current semester, I registered to take a class at Adelphi called "Healing and The Arts." This class meets from 3:30-6:00pm every Friday. I have to say, it's a great way to end my Friday, and an even greater start to the weekend. I've learned so much about how art is very healing to one's body, mind, and soul.

During week one, we created name signs, this was a great way for us to get to know the 20 other students that were in the class with each other.

During week two (this was a very relaxing week), we brought blankets to class and began to lay on the floor. Our professor, Dr. Dembicki, played and guided us through a meditated session. This helped me and the others in this class to release all the tension from our body. Before this particular class, I was tired (as I have an English class from 1:00-3:30pm). After finishing up our weekly discussion about Jane Eyre, it was wonderful to participate in this meditation session. After laying on the floor and meditating during my "Healing and the Arts" class, I felt healed. I felt relaxed and refreshed. The tension had left my body, and I felt like I woke up from a wonderful nap.

During week three, we all worked together to create art pieces out of fabric. My masterpiece is below:

I'm not the most artistic person, but that's the beauty of this class -- there is no wrong way to create a masterpiece. It was the beginning of October, I was staring at all the Halloween themed pieces of fabric, so I thought, "why not make a Halloween themed masterpiece?" I did a "T" in the center for "Tyler." The brown fabric and the gold glitter are how I chose to incorporate my school's colors of Brown and Gold. Everyone worked together to glue their fabric pieces together to create their own masterpiece. It was a great experience for all of us.

During week four, we played with Play-Doh.

Earlier in the semester, we watched this video as a class. This video was a play about students who were in school when the events of September 11, 2001 occurred.

With help from their teacher, this one particular class was led in some group exercises to help them express themselves -- express their thoughts and emotions of the events that took place that day. These children were about four and five-years-old at the time and remember it well. It took them a while for them to express themselves, but they turned their thoughts and emotions into a performance for the other students, faculty, and staff at their school. They worked with each other to put on this play as a reminder that they wouldn't forget the events of September 11th. The feelings that they all felt in that classroom that particular day, as the sky was very grey, the feeling of wondering what exactly was happening and whether or not everything would be okay, were all conveyed by each of these students in this play for all to see.
It definitely helped the class bond with one another. They've developed a true friendship for everyone in the class.

My artwork, if you couldn't tell, features the twin towers with flames in the background. I couldn't possibly begin to convey the emotion that these children and adults were feeling as they saw these events happening from their school window.

But, I do know that putting on that performance at that school helped the children begin to open-up. They became more honest with themselves and their feelings. It's not good to keep things bottled up inside.

During week five, we worked on strengthening our mind. In class we did some maze games and some drawing/coloring exercises. These exercises consisted of optical illusions and were meant to challenge our thinking. There was definitely some frustration when we couldn't find the hidden objects in the exercises, but as a class we all worked together to find them all. Everyone in the class offers a unique perspective on life. The things that they see are much different than the things that you see. How they begin to tackle a problem can be much different than how you would begin to tackle a problem.

It's important to be mindful of this when interacting with other people. It's important to be mindful that we're all different, we're all unique, and we're all amazing people.

During week six, we walked around Adelphi's green campus to take a look at all of the sculptures and artwork that was recently added to the campus as part of their "Outdoor Sculpture Biennial (2016-2018)."

Home by Miggy Buck.

Barrier No. 6 by Chris Esposito

For The Adelphi Bunnies by Lorryn Moore.

It's amazing to me how these particular artists took everyday objects and made artwork out of them.

All those pieces of wood and glass are things that Miggy Buck took, and the truth is, they do create a home.

Chris took those tires, and tires do create a barrier.

Lorryn is actually an alumna of Adelphi University. She was fascinated by the bunnies that you will see around our campus daily. There's even an Instagram for the bunnies that you can follow (@AdelphiBunnies). The bunnies, just like the people, really make the place of Adelphi.

We're only halfway through this semester, and I can't believe all of the things that I've learned from this one class. Art is definitely a very healing form of therapy. I look forward to the day I become a teacher. I plan on incorporating the lessons I've learned from this particular class into the lessons for the future students I'll be teaching.

I recommend that people take this class. You'll learn a lot about how art can heal you, and you'll be surprised at the things that you learn about yourself.

I'm looking forward to seeing what I learn during the second half of this semester.