ESL Faculty Paint Night!
By: Dr. Kanika Verma
“Love the art in yourself and not yourself in the art.”
–Constantin Stanislavski
The ESL Department hosted a Faculty Paint Night on Tuesday, November 19th at HMC B282 from 6 to 8.30 p.m. Sara Cordeiro Alexandre, ESL instructor, was the artist-mentor for the evening. Ten other ESL faculty members joined the art session. Art supplies (canvas, paints, and brushes) and pizza were provided by the ESL department. The creativity-filled night was a much-needed breather in this hectic part of the semester.
Sara is an excellent artist and a caring and patient mentor. She provided detailed step-by-step instructions on how to paint a fox: see attached pictures. One participant drew Shiva in trance mode. Everyone was blissfully engaged in creativity. We all had a good chat while painting. Sara also put soft music in the background. The entire milieu was soothing to the soul. Everyone was happy with their creations. It is important to be creative and to find what ignites the spark in you. Each one of us has a creative potential. Creativity is meditative, as it takes us deep in the moment. A lot of us are not able to give enough time to our creative passions because of work and family commitments in life. Events such as paint nights give our creativity the wings it needs. Creativity is the real beauty of life, as it helps us relax, unwind and share the overflow in us. The emotional abundance of what we have experienced in life (real or imagined) is expressed through art. So, art unburdens us and makes us feel light.
The ESL Faculty is thankful to Sara for leading the Paint Night and blossoming the art in us. We are looking forward to more such events in the department to help faculty engage in their creative pursuits.
