A creative space for the sometimes noncreative, Spark Central’s Heartistry offers mindful art practice

Spark Central hosts many programs and classes aimed toward the creative and artsy. But what if you don’t feel particularly creative or artistic?

That’s what Heartistry is for.

Every Tuesday from 3-5 p.m., Spark Central volunteers provide mindfulness prompts to guide visitors into simple exercises that explore basic watercolor concepts. All materials are provided for the all ages program that promotes relaxation and mindfulness.

“Heartistry is really good for people who don’t think they’re creative,” volunteer and Heartistry coordinator Krystianna Livernash said.

Instead, the focus of the open, drop-in program is discovery.

“We are connecting,” Livernash said. “That’s the essence of it.”

Livernash and fellow volunteer and Heartistry coordinator Nadia Hitchcock met at Spark Central as volunteers. The two creatives bonded and launched Heartistry in February of this year.

The program generally provides a prompt for watercolor painting, which Hitchcock calls “an extremely forgiving medium.”

“It can be a practice in acceptance,” Hitchcock said of the paint that is prone to bleed and leave patterns outside of the artist’s control. Hitchcock has been watercoloring for a decade.

But Heartistry participants can partake in any medium they prefer and are not required to follow provided prompts.

During a recent Heartistry program, visitors were provided directions to paint hearts in the style of “sakura,” a Japanese motif of cherry blossoms. Watercolor paper and paints, pencils and brushes were on hand for participants, some of whom chose to paint rainbow color schemes, while others stuck to monochrome looks. One visitor – who dropped in near the end of the program – brought their own supplies and artwork, part of a weekslong project unrelated to any prompts. Another Spark volunteer sat alongside Heartistry artists to prepare for Drop-In & Zine, a program directly following Heartistry.

Other art mediums available for Heartistry visitors include quixels (ironing beads with water), air-dry clay, play dough, magazines for collage, a loom, an electric typewriter, pom-poms, crochet, Legos, jewelry-making pieces, pipe cleaners, sequins, colored pencils, markers, Washi tape, shrinky dinks and more.

“There’s not a lot of set restrictions here at Spark, but especially at Heartistry,” Livernash said.

As an all-ages program, Heartistry gives opportunities to parents and their children to bond or to socialize. During the school year, the program is popular among home-schooled students. It is also open to all abilities.

“I do what I can to make it accessible to all accessabilities,” said Hitchcock, who is autistic. “Solidarity is solidarity.”

The program is free and leads directly into the Teen Write Club and the all ages Drop In & Zine, for those who want to soak up the creative expression and air conditioning a bit longer.

Spark Central, at 1214 W. Summit Parkway, is “the ‘third space’ we’ve always dreamt of,” Hitchcock said.