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The only rule given to participants at Meow Wolf鈥檚 Intentional Collage Workshop on Tuesday night was that there were no rules.

鈥淎s long as it鈥檚 something that resonates with you, then that鈥檚 perfect. That鈥檚 great. There鈥檚 no wrong here,鈥� said event host Kate Major.

Major, who works in the wardrobe department at Meow Wolf, was the lead designer for the workshop, responsible for gathering materials such as maps, magazines, fabric, scarves 鈥� you name it 鈥� available for crafting. Nearly all of the available art supplies were upcycled, consistent with Meow Wolf鈥檚 unconventional that are famous for turning trash into treasure.

Major, whose background is in costume design, spent a decade touring with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, then Cirque du Soleil, before finding a creative community at Meow Wolf.

The other host for the program, also named Kate, is guest artist Kate Dignan. She works in the tech world by day and spends her spare time dabbling in artistic mediums of all kinds. When she鈥檚 not teaching classes at a local public library, you can find her throwing clay for her newest ceramics piece. But Dignan has a bone to pick with the phrase, 鈥減ractice makes perfect.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檝e gone to ceramics every week on a Friday for three or four years. I鈥檓 still terrible. But that鈥檚 the point!鈥� she said, laughing. 鈥淲hen I learn everything, then I鈥檓 bored. It鈥檚 much more engaging when we just accept that 鈥榝ailure鈥� is OK. There is no perfect. Everything that you were ever taught about art 鈥� how to be 鈥榞ood鈥� at art 鈥� it鈥檚 not true. When you get hung up on that, it sucks the joy out of art.鈥�

The activity was to create 鈥渧ision boards鈥� for the new year, while also reflecting on what had been learned in 2024. A list of discussion prompts was provided to assist the artists in connecting with the others at their table and in visualizing what to create.

The questions were:

• What are some difficult moments of the past year that have shaped you? 
• What鈥檚 something from last year you didn鈥檛 do that you want to get done this year? 
• What are ways you can love yourself more? 
• What are some ways you鈥檇 like to be creative this year? 
• What are some of your favorite memories of the past year? Why? 
• What are things you want to add to your life? 
• What are things that make you feel motivated? 
• What makes you feel powerful?

Hosted in the jazzy upstairs area next to Sips (with a Z), Meow Wolf鈥檚 bar that looks like it came straight from the 鈥�80s, guests sat at tables decked out with a spread of watercolor paints, paint brushes, decoupage glue, and an assortment of recycled materials to select from, while soft lo-fi music filled the air. 鈥淭he Kates鈥� gave instructions, or, rather, loose suggestions a few times throughout the evening, but were mainly there to offer help or answer questions.

It was interesting to see what people鈥檚 vision board themes centered around. A lot of folks wanted to travel more in the new year. Another common theme was the desire to care less about trivial matters and to stress less. The majority of the attendees appeared to be in their 30s and 40s.

Healing inner child work is what makes this work so important, Major and Dignan said.

鈥淲e try to keep our work super open-ended, as the other Kate was saying. A lot of it is geared towards adults who don鈥檛 get a chance in their lives to do art on a regular basis. While kids have a lot of opportunities, adults often don鈥檛,鈥� Major said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 great to pair an adult setting like this one with an art activity and just let them be creative. We have no stakes. You could literally come here and just scribble on paper, and we鈥檇 be thrilled, because you鈥檙e getting your creative juices out,鈥� she said.

Dignan kept the prompts for the vision boards more vague and open-ended this year, because she finds rigid New Year resolutions to be 鈥渁 losing proposition,鈥� she said. Rather than, say, 鈥淚 want to do XYZ this year,鈥� she asked artists to consider, 鈥淗ow can I love myself more this year?鈥�

As artists headed home, vision boards in tow, they picked paper affirmations out of a bucket, but staying true to her brand, Dignan made a point to keep them realistic.

This story was made available via the Colorado News Collaborative. Learn more at https://colabnews.co