I visited the Floating Garden of Emotions at the Village Artist Corner (corner of Larkin and Fulton) last weekend with friends.

Inspired by The Eckmans’ Atlas of Emotions, the public was invited to explore their own personal journey of emotions through a whimsical participatory experience. It started with rolling a large-scale ‘emotional die’ to reveal what emotions to explore; this corresponded to a spectrum of Anger, Sadness, Joy, Disgust, or Fear. We were then asked to write on three labels 1) what is something in our life that could prompt an emotion (a trigger), 2) how it feels in the body (a physiological response), and 3) what we might do as a result (action).

Then, our labels were attached to a color corresponding balloon in the Floating Garden of Emotions. At any point, visitors could explore the emotional episodes represented throughout the space and learn how others experience their emotions. There was also a station in which people could pinpoint where in their bodies they felt sensations during an emotional episode so they could learn to listen to their bodies through life. By better understanding their own and others emotions through this creative exercise, the hope is that the community will become more compassionate beings.