Join Lanesboro Artist-in-Residence, Martha Bird, for a group discussion on the health benefits of hands-on creative work and the history of basketry! On August 20th at 10 am at the St. Mane Theatre, all are welcome to engage in conversation about creativity and well being.
Participants will walk away with both a written toolkit for connecting to their own creative passions and access to Bird’s groundbreaking lecture, “Reclaiming Basketry: Working through Stigma to Reach Creative Potential.” This group discussion will be a catalyst for mindful creative engagement: all attendees are invited to return to the capstone event on September 8th to share the fruits of their creative labor and talk about their experiences with creating.
The toolkit, which is a visual representation of the Pleasure Based Wellness Model and Identify your Passions exercise, guides users through different mindful thought and writing exercises to identify patterns in ones own passions and activities. Martha bird created this exercise as a part of her position paper for her Master of Arts in Human Development.
“Reclaiming Basketry” focuses on the history and stigmas surrounding both mental health and basketry, and engages with Bird’s own experience with weaving as a therapeutic tool for healing and self-empowerment. It is grounded in the interrogation of the phrase ‘basket case’ as a weighted and harmful, yet pervasive descriptor in everyday speech. Bird’s narrative of the history of basketry will draw from her research for this lecture, but the group discussion will place more emphasis on the generative aspects of hands-on creative activities in participants own lives. Through their participation in this class, participants will receive a time-limited private link to the full lecture.
Lanesboro Arts is proud to feature weaver, sculptor, nurse, and mental health advocate Martha Bird as the Lanesboro Arts Artist in Residence from August 15th – September 12th, 2022.
During her residency, Bird will create and install a temporary outdoor sculpture made from fresh willow. Grounded in the potentiality for basketry to serve as a source of physical, mental, and communal healing, Bird intends to address the mental health of individuals and communities through art and art based interactions.
View the 2 minute teaser video clip below to get a sense of the full-length lecture participants will have access to during Martha’s residency.
Martha Bird Artist Lecture: Reclaiming Basketry 2 min trailer from Martha Bird on Vimeo.
About Martha Bird
Educated as a Public Health and Board Certified Holistic RN, Martha’s vision is to “use my own art and process to integrate community involvement and utilize my knowledge to empower people to follow their passion and include it in their life, so they can be as well and healthy as possible.” Martha uses basketry techniques as a starting point to create expansive conceptual sculpture that both carry forward the traditional craft and challenge its utilitarian assumptions. Her work draws from her own professional expertise and life experiences to explore the human body, manifestations of trauma, and concepts of resilience, energy and growth. Martha has brought her meditative practice and depth of knowledge to lecture audiences across the United States, and her work has been featured in art exhibitions across Minnesota and throughout the country.
Click here to learn more about Martha Bird’s Residency.
The Lanesboro Artist Residency Program is supported by the Jerome foundation.
