The Strong, The Brave, The Green

This is Joyce. I ran into her just after 6am at Merry Ann's Diner on Neil St., sitting with her husband, drinking coffee and stocking up on energy for the sale. They were both, of course, decked out in bright green t-shirts, the signature, blinding color of the Dump & Run Community Garage Sale. (Joyce was even wearing the cutest little Y earrings...)

In this moment, before the sale even began, I noted the dedication and spirit of our brand of volunteers.

Tireless (so long as we provide some refreshments).

Strong (especially our third floor residents who always help carry sofas around).

Brave (once the Stock Pavilion dust gets flying, it can be a madhouse in there between the hours of 7 and 10am).

Loyal (our boutique volunteers have been drawing a hard line on the most elegant items for the past few years, without fail).

Dedicated (enough to wear the new pink "Ask Me" shirts that made the most knowledgeable of them distinctive).

Hospitable (opening doors to international students who are just getting started at the university and need to be solidly welcomed).

Green (doing their very best to keep things cheap, to the point of significant bargaining, so that we can keep whatever possible out of dumpsters and get it into the hands of people who will use it).\

and dare I say... Good-looking?

More information forthcoming, but the most important task we have now, at the end of two very long days, is to thank the volunteers who made it possible.

Here's a slideshow of photos from this year's sale. You can download photo at full resolution or order prints from the Flickr set here.

Art Therapy Workshop: Reflections During a Storm

Although there were tornado and thunderstorm warnings all evening, a good group of students and local residents braved the weather (to the point of getting soaked, in some cases!) to join in on an art therapy workshop that reflected on the human form - the work on display in Murphy Gallery @ the Y and the bodies of those in attendance.

Art Therapy Session [Image on Flickr]

The Illini Art Therapy Association leads art workshops open to any U. of I. students—undergraduate and graduate—on the first and third Tuesdays of each month from 7:00pm to 9pm. This past Tuesday, April 19th at 7pm the Illini Art Therapy Association hosted an art therapy workshop at the University Y in our Murphy Gallery. The workshop was held in conjunction with Art @ the Y's current Emerging Artists exhibition because Emma Taufer, one of the six featured female students from the School of Art and Design, is also involved with the Illini Art Therapy Association.

The workshop opened with a short stretching session. Listening to the rain and thunder outside provided an even better soundtrack than the soft piano music playing in the background. Next, the leader spoke about the connection between the art exhibition themed around the human form and the connection to our own bodies. She opened the door so we could reflect on our relationship with our own human forms. 

Next, we rolled out huge sheets of paper and traced each other laying down in different positions. We had an opportunity to meditate and focus on various parts of our bodies, from head to toe, to think about colors and images and feelings or spaces of emptiness we associate with each part. When everyone gradually began to paint, color, and write on the tracings of their bodies, we opened ourselves to an outpouring of expression. Looking around the room, I felt both introspective and open to the creativity that was happening around me. 

Body Drawing [Image on Flickr]

I took a few pictures, which are at the end of the Art Opening set on Flickr, but each drawing seemed so personal that I didn't want to impose the lens too much on what was happening. So I'll just say that each contoured body was so different from the next. Each drawing represented a process of healing, embracing, or the beginnings of a new understand of our distinct corporeal forms. It was a beautiful experience and I'd highly recommend attending an art therapy session with the Illini Art Therapy Association! It's a perfectly comfortable experience alone or with friends and a great way to let your mind and body process each other through artwork. 

Illini Art Therapy Association Site

Art @ the Y