Team Blog Post – Sophie Brender for Swallowing Clouds

Swallowing Clouds gives children the gift of a supportive, sensitive space in which they are invited to listen, notice, respond, and express—engaging their full being. The program presents rich, challenging, and beautiful stimuli, and in return, the children offer the gifts of their honesty, curiosity, imagination, feelings, and creativity. It feels boundless! Below are two of many moments from my time as an apprentice facilitator at Swallowing Clouds that have especially highlighted to me some important truths about creativity and connection. 

In the middle of a lively, vigorous warm-up, the children are challenged to move only the right side of their body, then only the left. Then – the challenge to move only half of our faces too! As I attempt to make expressions with only the right side of my face, I notice the impossibility, yet the joy of the task. Laughter mixes with deep focus in the group, as we stretch and connect our minds and bodies in new, unusual ways. We are testing the limits of what our body suits can do! I am reminded that sometimes, all we need is a simple, playful invitation to explore new ways of inhabiting our minds and bodies.

We read a poem, Ordinary Magic, by Erin Robinsong, then ask the children..  What did you see in your mind as you listened? What did you feel? What words stand out? The children feel all sorts of things, from floppy, to sleepy, to sparkly. They see things too – from a face in the clouds to godzilla. We discuss the meaning of the word vast, and many express excitement at the word transform. Any of the childrens’ responses could be the inspiration for a piece of art or an exploration. The sensation of floppy could become a dance solo, and what if the face in the clouds and godzilla had a conversation? What a poem that could be! How about a mural based on the word vast? Throughout the week’s sessions, we move, write, and draw together based on our responses to the poem. The attention we give to each of the children’s ideas and curiosities is the foundation for our creative process. When we practice awareness, interest, and respect for our own and each other’s inner worlds, creativity and exploration can naturally spring forth from what bubbles inside. 

It is my hope that as we (both children and adults) practice attunement, attention, and brave creativity in artistic environments like Swallowing Clouds, children will feel more confident and safe to express themselves creatively in the broader world.