Westfield kids ages 9-12  are welcome and encouraged to come to this art break workshop! You do not need to be an artist or have ever tried art before.
De-stressing with art is something everyone can do and the goal is not to make something that looks pretty. The goal of the workshop is to scribble your stress and anxiety away. And you will! We will start with simple exercises - like yoga for your brain and emotions, by drawing and scribbling with pencils in both hands at the same time. We will draw and write with our non-dominant hand to get into the other side of our brain and lastly we will remind ourselves of who and what supports us. The markers, pencils and art supplies we use are the tools that help reduce stress and anxiety. You will easily be able to do this at home again and again.

Workshop leader Margaret Smith is a mom of 4 grown college age kids who are all studying at the University of Notre Dame, where she graduated from as an art & design major in 1993. Margaret is highly involved in the arts in the Westfield community through her work with the Westfield Public Arts Commission, the Coalition for the Arts and the Center for Creativity at the Rialto. Passionate about the arts and working with children, she teaches art classes for children age pre-school and up out of her home in Westfield. Margaret is a certified teacher in the Creative Journal Expressive Arts “CJEA” therapeutic arts method, she is a CASA of Union County volunteer and a level 2 Reiki practitioner.