Fiber Arts

In this video, Fiber Arts Instructor Jill Gibbons talks about her work within the Austen Riggs Activities Program.

I firmly believe that creating artwork, no matter what the medium, is really good for human beings as we're developing and changing and going through life's things. And whether we identify it as a method of healing or whether we identify it as just creating art, it's the process of manipulating materials and coming out with a finished product that can be very rewarding and very self-affirming. Hi. I'm Jill Gibbons. I'm the fiber arts instructor. The fiber arts studio within the activities department offers people a chance to learn sewing, quilt making, weaving, jewelry making, basketry, we do die work, and surface design. It's a great place to just get your hands into some nice comforting fibers, and manipulate the colors, and throw things around in a nice way, and play, and you come out of it with a sense of accomplishment you created something really
awesome. When students first arrive here, they're pretty busy. So, we introduce them to us, and to what we offer, and then encourage them to come over. And some people do start right away. Other ones take their time. But we're here. We make ourselves available and encourage people to come on over. Some people will come in with a really definite idea of a finished product. Other people just want to learn a skill or a technique. Either way is fine to approach it. But in the process of getting through it, there are so many ups and downs, and things that are challenges, and it's really the richness of the process that is where the learning is and where the creativity is and where we find ourselves. Some projects students do are intended for gifts. It's a great process that they go through and they put a lot of love and time and energy into it, and then they finally are able to give the gift to their special person. It's really rewarding to be able to give a gift that you've made yourself, with your own two hands, especially for some of the folks here to feel like they are worthy. That there's something that they have to give that is worthy and valuable to their loved ones because they may be here in a very diminished or sad state, and they can actually create something awesome and feel like hey, I did this. This is cool. I do think gets tied to the work that they're doing on the clinical side. It also gives them a really nice break from doing heavy clinical work all the time. To be able to walk down the block, that little bit of separation, and come into a whole different space where they're viewed

differently. We do see real changes and transformations in the students. Initially, some people are pretty confused and not sure, you know, what the next step is going to be. And then as they have a chance to be here, and realize that they're in a caring community that's holding space for them to just be human beings, and come here and make stuff, they do change. We get to see more of who they really are, and they get to see who they can be, which is also great.