MAR

Weekend Workshop 2

6/27/2020

A MOVIE, TAKE TWO

Watch a movie, start to finish. Pick a scene from that movie and rewrite it. Don't worry about proper script formatting. Just change the scene in a dramatic way.

Once you're done rewriting the scene, if you're feeling extra creative, use your phone or a fancy camera and reshoot the scene.

Have fun, and we'll see you on Monday.

GO TO OTHER WORKSHOPS

Day 10 Workshop

6/26/2020

COLOR THE DAY WITH FUN

Whip out a coloring book, print some patterns, sharpen the crayons or colored pencils, dust off the markers, and get to coloring. Coloring is soothing and known to reduce anxiety and stress, so watch let your woes slip away today as you fill in the empty spaces with color.

GO TO OTHER WORKSHOPS

Day 9 Workshop

6/25/2020

DEAR DIARY

Take the day to journal. Write about your frustrations, anger, and fear. Shift to thoughts of happiness and gratefulness and journal about that. Take a lunch break. Get some stuff done. Journal again. It doesn't matter about what exactly, just focus on working out issues you may be having that are posing as creativity blockers. Keep journaling until you feel better, have a home-cooked dinner, and get a good night's rest.

GO TO OTHER WORKSHOPS

Day 8 Workshop

6/24/2020

PAINT TIL IT'S PRETTY

Bust out your watercolors, oils, acrylics, spray, or Tempera paint and go to town on whatever you can find. Paint on paper or canvas. Paint rocks, wood, metal, rubber, or plastic. Paint the fence. Paint the sidewalk. Cover up the funk with color until you have something pretty, interesting, and/or fun instead.

GO TO OTHER WORKSHOPS

Day 7 Workshop

6/23/2020

GO TO OTHER WORKSHOPS

OH, WE'LL BE TWINE

Scavenger Hunt your house, yard, and/or neighborhood for items to make a piece of lawn art. If you don't have a yard to display art, consider displaying your piece on a balcony, special room in your house, or gift it to a friend. You are limited to items around your house for the bulk of your piece. If you need to go get twine, glue, or other tools to assemble your art, that is acceptable.

Want some wind chimes? You just need some twine and a few metal and/or wood pieces. How about creating a sculpture or customized sign? Look around, see what you can find. Then, tinker*.

As you search for items, consider this trite phrase, "one person's junk is another's treasure."

Don't be afraid to fail miserable at engineering, and expect to make some ugly shit. Trash what you hate and keep what you love. When you're done - hang it, plant it, stake it, set it, or prop it up for the world to see and be proud of your creation.

* Tinkering means trying to build something that "works," as if you were a child messing around with tools and gadgets you've found in your parent's workshop, shed, junk drawer, or garage. If you didn't have that experience, now's your chance.

Day 6 Workshop

6/22/2020

CALLING ALL KIDS AT HEARTS

Take the day and play a variety of games. Lean away from electronics and lean into traditional, old-school games. Play cards or a board game you used to play all the time. Don't forget about outdoor games and childhood favorites like hide-and-seek, hop-scotch, marble shootin' and the like. You could do puzzles, build with blocks or Legos, or put together a model car.

Play games alone or play 'em with friends, but take a day and channel your inner child. Once you've played until your mama calls you home for dinner, sit down and journal out the details, rules, and need-to-knows of your own game. Once you have created a fun, safe, totally awesome game, play it and marvel at the wonder of what it feels like to be a kid again.

GO TO OTHER WORKSHOPS

Weekend Workshop 1

6/19/2020

WRITE IT OUT

First: Congratulations. After you complete this workshop you will have finished your first week of #MAR2020. You're doing great. Keep up the good creative work!

Second: This activity in today's workshop can't be finished (properly) in one day. It requires a weekend extension.

Workshop Details: In honor of Juneteenth, write an editorial or blog post (word count is up to you) that addresses the question:

1. Am I a racist?
and/or (you can always write two)
2. How has racism impacted me?

The reason this assignment requires a weekend extension is because:

If you're answering the first question honestly, it takes time to reflect on internal thoughts and your past, present, and future words and actions. Reflect back on the entire course of your life, not just in the past few years. Think about your relationships with other people, be it family or friends. Consider your support of businesses and people. Don't lie to yourself. Consider all the subtle things and, of course, the not-so-subtle things. Be brutally honest, even if you're ashamed, didn't mean to, or didn't really think you were hurting anyone.

If you've chosen to answer question two, you need the weekend extension because, if you're being honest, you need to go beyond the obvious. You must travel down a rabbit hole that can lead into scary and dark places. Even if it's painful, degrading, and scary, tell someone about it in this workshop.

Good luck, and may the Great Mother be with you. We'll see you Monday morning for another fun-filled day of creative possibilities.

GO TO OTHER WORKSHOPS

Day 4 Workshop

6/18/2020

Tip: Take more than one picture for each letter. This will give you more options for Step 3.

Tip: Look beyond the obvious. Once you have exhausted - what you think are - all your resources and options, look again. Take little breaks. Look again. The more you look the more you find.

Tip: In Step 3, remember to see what the complete picture looks like in both color and black and white.

Tip: These make excellent gifts.

LEAPIN' INTO PHOTOGRAPHY WITH LETTER ART

1. Think of a word that motivates, inspires, or makes you feel happy. If several come to mind, write them all down.

2. Walk around your house, yard, and/or neighborhood and take pictures of subjects that look like the letters in your word. Is that a ladder? No, it's an "A." Is that a garden hose? Nope, an "S." Keep looking and snapping pictures until you find all the letters of your word.

3. Put them all together in one image.

'Leap' - Mooseville's Mayor, 2019.

'Create' - Mooseville's Mayor, 2016

See other artists' letter art photography in the Bee's Wing at the Mooseville Art Museum in Letter Art Exhibit 2016 and Letter Art Exhibit 2019.

OTHER WORKSHOPS

Day 3 Workshop

6/17/2020

HAND-WRITTEN WITH LOVE

Using the letterhead you made in Workshop 2, hand-write a letter to someone. Tell a loved one how much care about them, speak your mind to a legislator about a cause you care about, or just send a little note to a friend to make them smile.

If you're having trouble picking just one person to send a letter to, you can always write more than one.

Once you've written the letter, use your homemade envelope and mail that puppy. Afterwards, relax for the day and let your creative noodle recover. Or, work on your story from Workshop 1. The choice is yours.

GO TO OTHER WORKSHOPS

Day 2 Workshop

6/16/2020

DOODLE ALL THE LIVELONG DAY

Participant Note: What you produce today will be used in tomorrow's workshop.

Creative Tools Needed:

Blank sheets of paper (you may need several)
Paints, pencils, crayons, pastels, bubble paint pens, or any other writing utensil you prefer

Creative Tools Recommended:

Glue or tape
Scissors
Twine (never know when you'll need some twine)
Thick stock / parchment paper, wrapping paper, thin cardboard, etc

Directions:

Project 1. Doodle for at least 30 minutes (or longer) in the morning. You are doodling images, designs, and lettering that represent you and/or your family. Maybe you go with an important cause or issue you support or just stick to your favorite sports team. Anything is game just so long as the doodles are unique to you. The purpose: you'll be turning some of these doodles into a "crest" - of sorts - for your own personalized letterhead.

After you've doodled awhile, take a break and look over your options, possibly over a delicious lunch. Feel free to doodle more during this time.

Once you have a design or image for your letterhead that you're happy with, transfer* the design to a fresh sheet of paper. This is now your letterhead. Add any last-minute touches and set aside for tomorrow's workshop. (Spoiler: You'll be writing a letter to mail to someone.)

Project 2. You need to make an envelope for your letter. Using thicker stock paper than you did with the letterhead, get to crafting. Pull from the same images or doodle out something fresh. Glue some magazine clippings on or bedazzle the edges. The choice is yours. Jazz it up. Just remember, this will be used to mail a letter. Leave a space to put a mailing address and make your envelope durable enough to withstand some manhandling. You don't have to stick to a standard envelope size but know that people at places like MPS can only do so much.

Once you're done with your letterhead and envelope, put them somewhere for safe keeping until tomorrow, go have a drink on your patio or in a comfortable place in your home, and think about who you want to write your letter to.

*Transfer Tip: Simple Trace Technique - Tape your original sketch on a window that gets good sun. Tape a fresh sheet of paper over the original. Trace away.

AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSION: If you finish up today's workshop early, attend an afternoon editing session on what you wrote for Workshop 1.

GO TO OTHER WORKSHOPS

GO TO WELCOME CENTER

COVID-19 UPDATE

MAR CAMPGROUNDS ARE CLOSED

Due to public safety, #MAR2020 will take place virtually. Please check this site for daily workshop information.

ABOUT MAR

Every summer, Moosevillians unplug from the outside world, circle their wagons, and join together in a month-long celebration of creativity. With the support of our Mayor and all the business owners on Moose Street, the Mooseville Arts Retreat is organized each year by the Mooseville Arts Council.

How MAR Works

WORKSHOPS

NEED CREATIVE ASSISTANCE? CHS
CREATIVE HEALTH SERVICES