Lemonade: Day 6 - Semora McCampbell - Creative Self-Exploration Through Mask Making

We're making Community Lemonade in Long Beach, CA.  Come and make lemonade with us!

!  I'm on a 100 day odyssey for community and creativity in Long Beach, CA.  We've got such an amazing city, and I'm a huge fan!  I want to share it with you!  I'm seeking out the creatives and the facilitators of creativity.  The art and the locations that inspire art.  Bringing them to you, here in this blog, and to others, on the streets of Long Beach.

I call it .

Today was Day 6 of Making Lemonade.  I got closer to my creative self at a Mask Making class with Semora McCampbell.

The class was held at a home near the historic Rose Park neighborhood.  The sunny, lemon yellow paint was a good omen for the day.

I was unsure of what to expect.  After all, there are many ways to make a mask.  We saw one way earlier this week, with   Today I would see another.

It's hard to describe the rest of the day, but I'll try.

There were the People

The greetings by name, the exclamations of delight over the organic garden, the hugs and friendly chatter set the comfort level to easy.  Yoga was one common element, creative pursuits another.  I immediately felt comfortable in the group.

There was the Artist

Semora McCampbell practices Creative Journal Expressive Arts (CJEA), developed by Dr. Lucia Capacchione in the 1970's and practiced by many since then.  Psychology and art combine in an exploration of self through art journaling.  Use of masks is just one medium, there are many.

There was The Session

In her description of the CJEA methods, Semora expressed sentiments with which I strongly agree.

That at a young age, all children use art for expression.  That young children will draw at every opportunity and continuously.  That at some point, a self-criticism introduces itself and they stop drawing, creating.  That they then become unsure... to define themselves as "not creative" and "not a good artist".  That the left side of the brain becomes dominant - the logical, mathemetical, linear, planning, organizing side, masking the capabilities of the right. 

The session today gave us opportunities to let the right side through.

We started with some words from MC Yogi, American hip-hop artist and yogi.

"The Body is a costume, The Mind is a mask, The Self is the light that shines through the cracks."

We Made Masks

We were encouraged to create our masks without regard to perfection or beauty.  To add color and glitter and feathers and jewels as we cared, delivering whatever impressions or messages we cared to convey.

We oohed and aahed over each other's masks.  They were ALL beautiful!

We Wrote About our Masks

The next exercise was... hard.  Writing with our non-dominant hand (we were all righties) we wrote... journalled... about the masks we'd created.  What it felt to be behind the mask.  What the mask represented.   What was beneath the mask. 

Using the non-dominant hand changed the focus of the writing exercise, placing it on the physical task of writing rather than the words being written.  The purpose, to let the words flow through while the brain was focused on completing this unfamiliar task.

We Shared what we Wrote

The most important part of this session was the sharing of what we wrote.  Each person shared their response to one of the trio of questions.  The journal entries read aloud were infused with words like streamlined, free spirited, peace, currents, awareness, flowing, spiritual, guardian, self consciousness, sharing.

And so ended the day.  A little closer to each other, a little closer to ourselves.  A little more self-aware.  And we have some masks to show off!  Masks with meaning.  We hugged each other and left.

But not before finding out some extremely interesting facts about the participants, and adding to my growing list on my trail of creative elements in Long Beach, CA.

Here are just a few of the random things I found.

• Dr. Dave, retired from Internal Medicine and our host, is an avid environmentalist who participates in tree plantings and community gardens and writes research papers for journals.
• Donna really likes the monthly !Duende! open mike nights.
• Jacy Jenkins, who learned under Master Chunyi Lin, practices Spring Forces Qi-Gong on Fridays at 3316 14th Street, 6:30 to 7:30.
• Constance's medium is masks and watercolors.
• Sally Ann has a booth at the downtown Long Beach Friday Farmers' Market and the Marina Pacifica Farmers' Market on Sunday.
• Constance's garden is frequented by a pair of scrub jays with discerning tastes: They like Trader Joe's almonds.  One would think they would eat them, but they don't... they bury them.
• My handwriting is terrible when I use my right hand and absolutely illegible when I use my left hand.  Even I could not read it!
• I should try Yoga.
• "The Body is a costume, The Mind is a mask, The Self is the light that shines through the cracks."

Want more lemonade? 

And TOMORROW!!!!

Day 7: Kathi R. - Natural dye artist.

Tomorrow I visit with Kathi R., who I met at a Greater Los Angeles Spinning Guild (GLASG) meeting.  Kathi has taught natural dyeing using dye plants that she grows in her garden.

Items Needed

Nothing!

Need to contact me?  info@handmadepenguin.com

Trish Tsoiasue writes as herself about creative and maker topics for the Belmont Shore Patch and as Handmade Penguin for the Handmade Penguin Blog.