Friday, August 13, 2021

Fellowship Not Fatigue!

Sip 'n' Paint 1
Kristina Baktis, by permission.  Photo shows a painting of a vase of four yellow sunflowers with black centers in a vase in front a blue background. The painting sits on a small easel.

I think by now we all know about Zoom fatigue—and it’s real! On Sunday evening two weeks ago, we brought together some friends and friends-of-friends from around the country for an hour of peace, fellowship, and crafting.

Sip 'n' Paint 2
Iliana Filby, by permission.  Photo shows an etegami of a spoon-carving knife, including a red chop mark.

More than a few worked on the paint-by-numbers kits that were our suggested activity. But we turned out to be a crafty group, and one of the joys was finding out what each of us brought to the virtual table. You can see here what they worked on: a painting of sunflowers, an etegami of a knife, or some visible mending.

Sip 'n' Paint 3
Blessy Mathew, by permission.  Photo shows a coloring book page featuring a stylized panda adorned with flowers and other fauna. 

Many thanks to everyone who came and shared something of their lives and their talent--and also to those who risked showing up without a traditional "craft" (the coloring book page, the day planner decoration. You deeply enriched the gathering. 

A common theme in the conversation was how hard it's been over the time of the pandemic to set aside intentional time to work on a project just for ourselves, for the sheer satisfaction of it. It was a good reminder of how necessary that can be. 

Sip 'n' Paint 4
Rachel Contos, by permission.  Photo shows a day planner page decorated with stickers and written affirmations. 

We're planning our next Sip 'n' Paint (or maybe we should call it "Sip 'n' Craft"!) in October. More info coming soon!

(Photos show a painting of a vase of sunflowers by Kristina Baktis, a knife etegami by Iliana Filby, a crayoned panda by Blessy Mathew, and a decorated day planner page by Rachel Contos.)