The holistic element comes from the experiences of Pabyan founder Miles who opened up about his own experiences with anxiety and stress related mental health issues. His openness set the tone for the session as we settled in for some meditation. I've tried it in the past and know it can be a powerful tool but its one I've not often used outside of specialist sessions like this. It was interesting to speak to the others in the session after our group meditation and hearing about each persons experience. It made me think, for all the hours I spend sifting through social media pages and on line content, perhaps taking 20 minutes a day to focus on myself would be a bit healthier. I know I'm guilty of being glued to screens and often feel like many of my best ideas and creative moments are found and lost during this time.
The second half of the workshop came from Glasgow based writer Laura Thomson. I'd met Laura many years ago whilst she was at Grays School of Art and was glad to catch up with her at the event. She led the next session which explored writing as a way to express ideas and feelings without following the usual creative writing structure. The approach involved using different sheets of coloured paper and trying to write down the first thing that comes into your head, avoiding the standard structure of sentences and proper grammar, instead focusing on channelling feelings and ideas without inhibition. The results ranged for each person with some revealing deeply personal accounts while others had us collectively laughing, in a good way. I think with Miles organising and the who set up of the session, it created a sense of friendship and support amongst the participants and everyone tapped into that spirit.
As I mentioned in my Deen Scene note, it seems like a lot of us have been working through our own issues, often in isolation and without much support. And while Pabyan isn't offering answers to our problem, it is hoping to provide a safe space where everyone can feel welcome to participate and perhaps connect with others. I've often thought one of the great things about living in Aberdeen is the ability to meet interesting and nice people with Miles being a great example. With many mutual friends, it was a chance encounter at another creative event that brought us together, chatting for a few hours about the power of creativity to help and heal. A few weeks later I was hyped to be attending my first Pabyan workshop. The first positive vibe for the new year.
The first session a few weeks earlier explored similar ideas around connectivity with participants having a yoga lesson followed by a print making workshop led by Jay Christie. It was nice to see friends posting on instagram about the session and sharing the mini prints they created. To create something is always a happy experience, whether its a silly poem or a print that's going up on your wall, the act of making is a positive action and that's something that we need to learn or re learn as we get older. Certainly the team at Creative Learning have been upping the ante on their offering with lots of new works shops aimed at adult learners on offer and as part of our Kekun Residencies last year we made sure to include workshops as part of the programme. The evidence and the feedback is always positive and with so much on offer I think we should all try to make time for trying something new in 2020.
The next Pabyan Workshop is taking place on the 20th and will look at 'Plants, People, Paints & Paper' so sign up here and check out some snaps from the first workshop below.
