I miss sharing all the photos of the happenings at the Art Garage. This past year of masks and hiding our faces has been hard. I can't imagine what it is doing to the brains of our little one. The neuroscience has shown us the importance of facial expressions in emotional development. What a strange social experiment we have been engaged in this past year.
One thing I about art is that it has a powerfully beneficial effects on our emotions. So I am grateful that I have the opportunity to participate in helping these kids through this rough period, but holding this space for them to have a bit of fun and socialize. The truth is, I got into this business of community organizing in a rather round-about way. I came to Peoria to work with the school district. District 150 struggles with the very common problems that poverty brings, and my background in studying emotional and attention networks in the brain has given me a perspective that changes the lens of how we educate. How can we create healthy brains? Basically, the approach is the same as most progressive and holistic models. I also studied drugs of abuse and have worked with at risk populations, and have some new approaches for teaching to these populations. I thought the Peoria schools were a perfect fit. I have shared previously how my efforts were in vain. But, I am not one to give up, and although the project changed, the goals remained the same--to create experiences that would lead to healthy emotional and attention brain systems for our kiddos! Art has the power to do both. The attentional focus of engaging in art comes from within. The act of creating takes persistent effort, and embodied awareness. The hands on element is important in building the foundation of our attention systems. So much of what kids do today is on the computer. To build the foundational attention networks in the brain we have to move out of doing everything in a virtual space (i.e. screens and computers) and into the physical world. Besides building attention and motivation, art has a positive effect on our emotional networks on many levels. Art is calming. It activates the default mode network in the brain and can lower cortisol levels. Art is also incredibly fun. Positive emotions, and laughter, release neuropeptides that enhance our physical and psychological well-being. So maybe I don't have a lot of photos of kids, and my blog-posts have been minimal, but this springtime has been filled with great fun, lots of hands on activities and lots of laughter! Our chickens are getting big too!
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Abigail LarrisonEducator, Scientist and Art Maker. The purpose of all life is to spread joy. What brings more joy than making art? Archives
November 2023
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