Earth/Sky/Mauka/Makai
CHINATOWN FAIR OFFERS HOLISTIC HEALING
It may, at first, seem like a strange combination, but nonprofit Creative Arts Experience (CAE) hosts The Arts District Holistic Fair from noon to 4 p.m. Jan. 24. Held at Louis Pohl Gallery and eleven44 in Chinatown, the fair features natural healing, aromatherapy and psychic readings.
As CAE executive director Su Atta sees it, art and holistic health are intertwined. Holistic practices, she says, are about “engaging all aspects of who we are in all resources in a way that maintains a connection to your authentic self.” She feels that art can be a restorative treatment in and of itself.
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- Anna Bartelt in a Creative Arts Experience earring-making workshop PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAE
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- CAE, which emphasizes the healing possibilities of art, has hosted a stress-buster kit creation workshop
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- CAE events have included a hand-made lightswitch cover workshop
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- The Arts District Holistic Fair will feature aromatherapy
“The process of doing art can be healing,” Atta explains.
“There is so much benefit just in the process of art — not just in the finished product,” adds Atta, a longtime water-color painter. “Art can really enhance quality of life.”
It was with that goal in mind that Atta launched CAE in August 2014, in partnership with Louis Pohl Gallery. Atta has spent three decades practicing counseling and intervention for mental health patients.
“Intervention is about fixing things, but I also want to focus on prevention — and creating an environment where people help themselves,” Atta says.
Another goal in creating CAE was to provide a place where people who may not consider themselves artists could “realize their creative aspirations.” CAE has hosted a number of pop-up events that have included watercolor painting, illustrating and earring making.
The Arts District Holistic Fair will feature massage, reiki healing (a stress-reduction technique) and jewelry vendors. Plus, Atta will provide aromatherapy.
“(Aromatherapy) has connections to nature — it is the use of essential oils taken from various plants and flowers and bark,” she explains. Studies have suggested that aromatherapy can have a range of positive effects — from increasing productivity to improving quality of sleep.
CAE hopes that the fair will be an energizing experience.
“I would love for people to come and experience a couple of different modalities — and walk out of there feeling better, and just have a sense of well-being,” Atta says.
The fair is free, with prices for activities varying. For more information, email creativeartsexperience@gmail.com.
