Six months passed since association „Sunce“,for the duration of 12 months as a part of the „Little steps for sustainable society“ project, part of the programme of the European volonteer services, admited volunteer Milana Peshikj from Skopje. In merely half a year, Milana discovered her talent, based on combination of art and nature.
Participating in Dalmatia Green programme activities I developed knowledge about eco-friendly interier, learned how to creatively restaurate old furniture to have „soul“ again, says Milana, who advices Dalmatia Green’s renters on how to eco-decorate their interier. In the eco-apartment each detail tells a story, and innovative decorations and restaurated furniture makes it authentic. To inspire renters, it’s paramount to start from inspiring ourselves. Therefore, in the Associations offices, she creatively restaurated furniture on the use-reuse-recycle principle, and the same model is used in workshop for kindergartens, where she educates children how to make their own ecologically-acceptable decorations and toys.
Milana also participates as an assistent on the Green fieldtrips for children that the association Sun takes on less-known tourist locations. „It’s interesting to see modern children – the „indoor generation“, who aren’t connected with nature in slightest, and technology is their single point of life. Children don’t know how to walk on grass anymore, and that’s why I find that the Green fieldtrips really are useful to give them a look into nature and healthy lifestyle.
She devoted her free time to mandala drawing. A mandala is one of oldest and most universal symbols known to man; on sanskrit it means „circle“, and we can find it everywhere from paleolithic gravitures to the alchemy of middle ages, and tibethean buddhism. Today, it’s commonly used to pinpoint emotions andpersonality as a whole.
„Since I’m inspired by a mixture art, psychology and nature, I developed my own programme titled Art Therapy in Nature. I see my career moving in that direction, and the EVS programme allows me to gain both education and experience, so I can host these type of workshops on my own and help the participants to acknowledge their emotions while practicing art.
Milana loves Split’s sun and sea, especially when the summer is just beginning, so she can swim every day. The only thing that is a culture shock for her is the „closedness“ of Dalmatians. „In Skopje, social circles are more open, it’s easier to connect with local community and make friendships“.
We are happily anticipating her creative works in the following months. If you want to know more about EVS experience, watch Milana’s EVS promo video.
