As you all might remember, one of my main 'PhD New Year's Resolutions' was to get more involved in the social events hosted by the department's PhD History of Art group 'SHADY.' The group has had fantastic get-together's so far, adding an initial coffee-meet-up at the very hip Fossgate Social at the beginning of term and several sessions of theory readings and discussions to their regular pub night on Thursdays. However, I personally think that this latest addition, 'SHADY Crafting Potluck,' has been its latest smash hit.
In this pot-luck-turned-pizza-party, we had a mix of 'colourers' and 'knitters' - all laughing, all relieving our stress over some delicious baked goods contributed by the lovely bakers amongst us. Though we all joked about the trendiness of 'mindful' colouring, I for one felt considerably more 'mindful' and relaxed after, even when the 'William Morris' colouring book at my disposal was considerably too small and too intricate to finish in an evening (especially when giggling made me draw outside the lines like a Kindergartener!).
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| My 'work-in-progress'.... |
It wasn't a conventional 'History of Art PhD Forum' but hey...what better way to connect with your fellow art historians then through a little 'Arts and Crafts' of our own! This is certainly one of the reasons I am so happy to be at York as a research student - the community of both PhD and Masters students is so large, there is always time and room for some fantastically dynamic exchanges, whether after the latest departmental lecture or over a piece of pizza and some crayons!
