🌻🌻🌻 Hurray for the Internet! 🌻🌻🌻

Hi Everyone Since our last news letter we have all had to adapt to the many challenges and changes in our lives. I can’t help feeling that NOW more than ever is a time to offer inspiration and creative opportunities as we navigate our way forwards and adapt to new life routines. Here in Hong Kong we are knee deep into those new routines, students have not been to school for 10 weeks and while I see a certain resignation around me I am also seeing so much resilience and innovation alongside the stress, it is really quite amazing! I have now pressed pause on art workshops at the studio for the coming 2 weeks, in line with Government guidelines. This feels very hard for me, and I'm sure for all of you who have been coming each week to make, create and destress through art. I will feel the loss of our community and connection all around the world but it feels like the right thing to do. Silver Linings : Community Now more than ever we need to stay connected, with others and with ourselves.  So I have to say Hurray for the internet !  Hurray for Zoom, Facebook, and Youtube. During SARS we didn’t have those things, I’m not sure how we managed!  This last week I have zoomed with 28 people via my lovely UK art group (Thanks Moyra Scott) I have experienced the Lamma Ladies Friday Happy Hour Zoom, what fun ! I led my very first Art Journaling class via zoom last Monday and I even broadcast a Facebook Live Doodle Jam. These virtual gatherings remind me that we are all in this together, that we can support each other and support ourselves as well…… Silver Linings Emotional Health It’s amazing to see the great new wave of wellness around us for hygiene, health, fitness, anxiety management and self care.  This is the perfect time to slow down and dig further into your creative life. Art making can help you connect to yourself and work through some of the tricky feelings we are having. It's certainly helping me, and many people in my journaling groups create positive self talk and strengthen our coping strategies. Processing the difficult stuff on the page helps us to make sense of it all or at the very least, externalise our feelings about it. Last of all I find it vital to use my art-making practice to keep me calm and to anchor my anxiety when I feel wound up. The repetitive nature of making marks and patterns when I doodle, is essential for me to stop following my intrusive thoughts and to just gentle into the flow. As we cannot connect in person, I am bringing you some free Arty content via Youtube to help you get arting at home.  Yes the new Wild at Art Youtube Channel is here! Tada! Come and Make Art with me! We will Destress and Keep Calm with some doodling joy! These video's are lovingly created to help you make art in your own home, using simple techniques and everyday materials. This will help you to curb anxiety at this difficult time, my goal is to provide you with little projects to carry on with at home. I offer you art making for your heart, soul and self care at all times! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB35ksRYMRk Jump right in with Destress Doodling with Katie : The Magic Dot  ! Joyous Journaling on Zoom Mondays 5.00-7.30pm All Mondays in March and April Zoom Classes $350 Come and play with colour, paint and texture to make papers and pages for your journal! Journaling is about a blend of PLAY and something to SAY. By experimenting and creating for yourself a range of journal papers you can use these in your art journaling practice. You will find out more about yourself through an art journaling practice.  Recently we have worked on such topical and timely themes as "Silver Linings" " This too shall pass" " Keeping balance" " You've got this! "..............processing our lives and offering ourselves some positive self talk! All dates and details are on the webpage. http://wildatartstudio.blogspot.com/p/wild-at-art-studio-offerings.html Booking for all workshops can be made directly on: wildatartweekly@gmail.com See here for map and directions http://wildatartstudio.blogspot.com/p/contact-me.html Welcome to your own creative self! Come on in .... Artfully Yours from Katie