Arts Lab 6.0: Savanephone Riand - Month 2

It has already been two months since I've been in Târgu Frumos. During these two months I got used to doing so many creative things, both on my own and with the kids. In the beginning of the month, we did the French cultural night with my friend Ella, and I think it was one of the funniest nights I have ever had. We made them taste some of our traditional dishes, and prepared some activities for them. I really enjoyed showing them the protest activities, making them learn our protest songs and everything. They had to yell super loud and they were all into it, I couldn’t stop laughing. 

Of course we also did a lot of workshops with the kids. One of them took place in Iași, and I think it was one of the most challenging to me. We had so many kids and we attended the workshop on our own, and sometimes I didn't know how to make them not feel bored or anything. Because I usually always do workshops related to drawing and illustration, some of them that don't like to draw just drew stickmen and then they waited till the rotation ends. I know by the end of the project we will be used to having a lot of workshops with the kids, and I think we will be more and more prepared throughout these months, and even after, it's a process that never ends. 

This month, I met a dog on the streets, she was so scared of everything, cars, humans, anything, and I spent a few hours making her allow me to pet her. After this, she followed me everywhere, and she was waiting for me when I had to work inside the house. I told myself that if she stays every day I will maybe consider adopting her. She is now staying at our doorsteps, and she seeks love from everyone here. I give her food and drink, and she is now barking at anyone that goes in front of the house. She is like the house dog, and I will consider taking her with me when I go back. We named her Cappuccino (full name: Dobby Cappuccino). 

This month was a very special one, because we did our first exhibitions, about the Jemom museum. With these events, we could have seen everyone’s specialties, because we kind of never really saw what any of us could really do before. It was really interesting to see the other’s artwork, and I’m looking forward to seeing the next ones for future exhibitions. The people that came to our exhibition were also really nice and they seemed to enjoy it too, they interacted with each one of us and our artwork. 

This month went so fast and I don’t remember everything we did, but because we are doing so many things, this month passed and we don’t even have the time to see how fast it passed. 

Sometimes when I’m not doing anything I feel bad because I’m used to doing something all the time, so when I’m not doing something artistic sometimes I feel bored, and I try to do some artistic stuff again. I think throughout the days that pass I realize everyday how this project is affecting me and will affect my whole life in the future, not only in a creative way. And for now, it gives me the opportunity to do a lot of stuff that I always wanted to do before.

Report written by Savanephone Riand, she's from France and she's one of the 14 volunteers participating in Arts Lab 6.0, a project co-funded by the European Union through the European Solidarity Corps program.