Learn to weave and use your creative process as self-therapy. Weaving is often, and aptly, used as a metaphor for life. Each experience is a thread which, added to others, helps create the warp and woof of that most unique fabric, the self. Care, creativity, and a sense of adventure are necessary to arrive at a finished product that pleases the senses and the soul.
Weaving for Wellness, a program developed by Wendy Bialek, uses this ancient art to launch individuals on their voyages of self-discovery and self-expression. While learning to weave, participants will explore color, texture, and pattern and discover how to use their own creative processes. With hands-on work and discussion, the program offers guidance to possibilities in dealing with physical pain, emotional struggles, and fears and obstacles to spiritual well-being.
The Weaving for Wellness Experience
The ingredients of a Weaving for Wellness experience might include:
- Guided discussion about creativity, and the steps one can take to set out on one’s own creative voyage
- An introduction to the art of weaving
- An encouraging and sharing of memories
- Playing with texture, color, and pattern as an exercise in visualization
- Steps for incorporating this experience into everyday life
- Hands-on weaving experience
Benefits of Weaving
| Cognitive Training Decision making • Discovering one’s creative self Sequencing skills • Concentration Following directions • Conceptualizing an idea Task analyzing • Completing a task |
Physical Training Eye-hand coordination • Relaxation techniques Gross and fine motor skill integration Coordinating upper and lower body usage Body and breathing awareness |
Program Customization
Weaving for Wellness programs are available in several modes. These can be tailored to specific needs and requirements of facilities or individuals. The programs are appropriate to train health care professionals, such as occupational therapists, or to work with clients in hospital, rehabilitation, or psychiatric settings. It is possible to adapt equipment and make it handicap-accessible.
- Half-day: Introduction, demonstration, and hands-on experience.
- Full-day: An extension of the half-day program with attendees weaving a small project.
- Weekend Workshop: An extension of the full-day program with a larger project and guided discussion about creativity and visualization.
About the Instructor
Since childhood, Wendy has been immersed in the textile arts. She was developing an avid interest in other cultures, gathering information on tools, techniques, patterns, and colors used by textile makers around the world. These interests proved to be a lifeline when she was diagnosed at age seven with a congenital orthopedic condition. Throughout her life, she has had multiple surgeries and times of confinement and found that her creative self-expression allowed for a rich and full life. She found that teaching her crafts to fellow patients and her occupational therapist brought her out of her difficulties while enriching the lives of others.
With degrees in liberal arts and production weaving, and a master’s in special education, Wendy has continued to combine art with instruction and healing, teaching everyone from small children to the elderly.
There continues to be realization in the medical community that such aesthetic elements as color, landscaping, and artwork contribute to the well-being of patients in hospital and rehabilitative settings. As a professional weaver producing custom work, Wendy has explored the power of art to create a healing environment.
Wendy’s custom work ranges from meditation shawls to large wall pieces. The design of these one-of-a-kind creations is intended to nurture the energy of the individual and create works that meet specific needs of the facility’s setting. Woven pieces designed for interiors, such as wall sculptures, floor screens, bedspreads, throws and pillows, not only pull a room together visually, but help create a chosen atmosphere — from soothing to stimulating.
For more information, please contact Wendy Bialek:
928.274.7161
wendy@wendytheweaver.com