The lighthouse

This exercise can be done either by a group or an individual.

• Plain or colored paper
• Markers and colored pencils

No significant  preparation is needed. Only to have available the necessary material.

The trainer will need almost 30’ to gather the necessary material and arrange the sitting.

It is very important for the trainer to introduce the exercise properly and  explain that it is common for all people at points in their life to feel lost, isolated, or overwhelmed. That way, participants will feel secure and part of a group with common needs and anxieties and thus it will be easier for them to participate in the exercise. Also, it is the trainer’s responsibility to keep all participants focused on the story he is telling and guide them to express their inner thoughts and emotions.

Art activities like the Lighthouse are based on visualization and are suitable for those who feel lost, overwhelmed, or isolated; expressing it and visualizing hope on the shore, is a therapeutic and beautiful way of identifying needs, feeling hope for the future, or realizing where they are on a specific journey.

References

Art and Healing : Using Expressive Art to Heal Your Body, Mind, and Spirit (Barbara Ganim, 2013), Echo Point Books & Media

Through this method/action, these benefits are achieved:

• Self-expression
• Identify needs
• Feel hope for the future
• Increase in hope, optimism and happiness
• Clarification and prioritization on what is important

Step 1: Basic guided meditation

The trainer asks the participants to sit comfortably, close their eyes, and turn their focus to their breathing. Participants take a couple of minutes to clear their minds and become settled.

Step 2:

As participants continue to meditate and relax, the trainer explains that it is common for all people at points in their life to feel lost, isolated, or overwhelmed. It can be a scary time, and people often think there is no way out, but there is usually always a light to help guide them back to safety.

Step 3:

The trainer starts to tell participants a story. They have been out on a boat on a clear day, but as the day progressed, the weather has taken a turn for the worse. The sky has darkened, the sea is black and choppy. It is cold, and water is flowing into the boat. They have lost their way and are unsure of how they will find their way back again. But, in the distance, they see a lighthouse showing them the way to safety. They must head toward the lighthouse.

Step 4:

The trainer brings participants out of their meditation, provides them with the necessary materials, and instructs them to draw, colour, or paint a lighthouse as a source of guidance. He encourages them to depict themselves in relation to the lighthouse somewhere in the image and to add words that represent sources of guidance in their life, i.e. faith, family, hope.

Participants are advised to place their lighthouse in a place where they may see it regularly and be reminded of all the good things that keep them on course. Maybe the inside of a closet door, as a bookmark, or a digital version as wallpaper on their PC or phone.

Spyros Karras

https://www.artoopaspartoo.gr/

Email: artsoot@gmail.com

Spyros Karras was born and lives in Athens. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Ioannina. He has worked for many years in private education as a philologist. He has a degree in music and a degree in piano solo. He has worked as a piano teacher while in collaboration with ensembles, he has given many concerts in Athens.

Puppetry has been his dream and goal since his childhood. He has been making handmade puppets and puppet shows since he was very young. He was taught puppet making and animation by professional puppetry teachers, as he participated in seminars and workshops on special puppet making techniques, face and figure painting, theatrical mask making, storytelling, while he received theoretical training in puppetry.

For over a decade, he has been exclusively and professionally involved in the creation and presentation of puppet shows, while since 2009 he is a founding member of the ArtooPaspartoo group, and together with Stavriana Kouskouvelakou, they create and present puppet shows in educational institutions, theatre, cultural events, etc.

The artist offers the workshop by request, and those who are interested please contact the artist.

Performing Arts, Music, Creative writing

Greek