Thank you to everyone who joined our Love & Loneliness Awareness Event on Saturday, February 12th. We had a great time painting Valentine cards and talking about love and loneliness impacting iconic and contemporary artists.
If you missed it or want to watch our event anytime, we have it on demand for you!
We started the Event by dedicating it to my uncle, who tragically passed away on Tuesday. In his honor, Rawan painted her Valentines Day Card for him. Rest in Peace Uncle, you will always be remembered. Your laugh, hard work and smile has left a big impression with us that can never be forgotten.
Rawan then taught us the different types of Greek Love and the colors that represent each feeling. Check out the list below. Ella, one of our attendees, loved to paint her card with the right colors!
Philia — Affectionate Love. Philia is love without romantic attraction and occurs between friends or family members.
Pragma — Enduring / Unconditional Love
Storge — Familiar / Platonic Love
Eros — Romantic Love
Ludus — Playful Love
Mania — Obsessive Love
Philautia — Self Love
Agape — Selfless Love
Afterwards, I shared about the types of loneliness, physical and emotional. Physical loneliness is being physically cut off and isolated, emotional is feeling like you need to talk to someone about something but do not have anyone there to talk. Both impact how we think, feel and act.
Tanya then introduced Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Iris.’ Tanya has seen this piece in person and loved the details. Vincent Van Gogh painted this piece while he was alone in an asylum. From loneliness came such beauty!
Our next artist was Willian Shakespeare, who wrote 37 plays over the course of his life. Some of his work was inspired by both love and loneliness. Scholars have said Shakespeare was in a loveless marriage, having married his wife Anne Hathaway at the age of 18. Romeo and Juliet for example, was a tragic love story of two very young teenagers, perhaps showing love at a young age does not end well.
Taylor Swift was our featured contemporary artist. Guest Speaker Olivia Stahl explained how Taylor’s music was inspired by heartbreak, romantic love and experiences by Taylor’s friends and family. Taylor uses her music to express feelings in a healthy way, that happens to also make her millions of dollars! Her music is relatable to emotions we feel and can help us overcome heartbreak and loneliness, even encouraging self love.
Here are tips and advice on how to overcome heartache and loneliness:
- Change your perspective. Instead of thinking about how your friends are in relationships, think about how you can improve in this opportunity you have. Think of how you can be happy and productive without needing to focus on anyone but yourself.
- Pick up a new hobby! I love to read and get lost in fiction.
- I co-founded The Art Spread during the time I was most lonely in my life. Focusing on this organization and helping our community has changed my perspective.
- Art has a beautiful way to express deep emotions in a healthy way. Paint, and join us as we paint! We have free templates and tutorials for you to strengthen your skills or start for the first time.
- Write! Like William Shakespeare and Taylor Swift, write your feelings down on paper. Maybe it can make you rich and famous too.
See you at our one year event on March 19!!
I enjoyed the event. Changing on how one perceives events in life helps overcome sadness and loneliness. For example, instead of mourning the loss of a loved one, look at how long that person (or animal) was in your life and how lucky you were to have the person (or animal) in your life, for however long or short. Same with loneliness. Instead of focusing on being alone, look at it as an opportunity to learn about yourself. Nelson Mandela once said, “I never lose. I either win or I learn.”
Thank you for sharing this meaningful thought. I lost my dad a few years ago and it pains me everyday. As you said, I think of the moments I had with him and the life we did experience together as a family. I am reminded to be grateful of the memories we’ve made. Sometimes it feels lonely without him but I remember how loved I was by him so I hold on to that feeling. He lives on through my art practice and never feels too far away. I appreciate you for helping me reflect on that.
I had so much fun painting together on Valentine’s Day weekend! It was great to see what color people chose for their rose and which word they used to fill in the sentence “You are ____”. I painted my rose blue to honor my uncle who recently passed. His favorite color was blue and I wrote the word “missed” to express that he is missed by so many. I’m grateful to have had the time to create with a supportive community this Valentine’s Day weekend. Looking forward to our next workshop together!
I really enjoyed everyone’s creative spirit and design in the cards. It was great to learn the impact love and loneliness has on art. From darkness we can produce beauty.