The Institute of Mass Information’s (IMI) regional hub Mediabaa Mykolaiv organised a meditative sculpting class for journalists in a local pottery workshop.

The event aimed to create a safe and cozy space where participants could get a few hours’ distraction from deadlines, spend some time with their colleagues, and recover through crafting.

Sculpting class for journalists. Photo by Mediabaza Mykolaiv

The journalists spent two hours crafting Christmas tree ornaments, mugs, plates, and small symbolic figurines for their homes or just for themselves. The atmosphere was relaxed: with conversations, laughter, and a sense of peace that journalists’ daily work often lacks.

PN journalist Svitlana Strila said that the class had given her an opportunity to truly relax for the first time in a long while.

Journalists spent two hours crafting Christmas ornaments, mugs and plates. Photo by Mediabaza Mykolaiv

“It was the first time in many weeks that I wasn’t analysing anything and didn’t have any deadlines in mind. Suddenly, I felt alive, not just ‘at work.’ After the class, I felt like I was myself again: the me who not only writes news about the war, but also has the right to peace, creativity, and ordinary human warmth,” she said.

MykVisti journalist Daryna Melnychuk also said that the event had a therapeutic effect.

The event was attended by eight Mykolaiv journalists. Photo by Mediabaza Mykolaiv

“I don’t remember the last time I allowed myself a few hours of doing something just for myself: not for the air, not for the team, not for the readers. The pottery workshop was very homely: someone was laughing, someone was sculpting in silence, someone was sharing stories that usually don’t make it into the news. It was a moment when journalists could just be people. For me, it was really therapeutic,” said Daryna.

Ornaments created by journalists during the class. Photo by Mediabaza Mykolaiv

Mediabaza Mykolaiv plans to organise more such events in the future to support the journalist community and create spaces for recovery, light, and warmth amid the constant stress.

All projects were created under careful supervision by Kateryna, the studio’s owner. Photo by Mediabaza Mykolaiv

by Alisa Melik-Adamyan, Mediabaza Mykolaiv communications manager