CMR Ermelo hosted its Ladies Sip & Paint Experience on 28 August at the NG Moedergemeente in Ermelo, bringing women together for an evening centred on motherhood, emotional wellbeing, creativity and meaningful connection. The event combined conversation, wine tasting and a guided art experience in a relaxed and supportive setting.
The programme opened with a welcome by Jeanah Motsamai, followed by Andile Dubazana, who shared more about the work of CMR Ermelo. An iNews presentation followed, along with a contribution from Ermelo Spa & Beauty.
Photo: Zandrie Fűhri from Ermelo Spa & Beauty
Ermelo Spa & Beauty shared a message reflecting on the pressures many women carry each day.
“Behind many strong women is often a tired woman — a mother doing her best, a wife trying to hold everything together, or someone who spends so much time caring for others that she forgets about herself.”
The message highlighted the importance of creating spaces where women can breathe, feel supported and know that they are not being judged. Ermelo Spa & Beauty added that their work is about more than nails, skincare or treatments, but also about restoring confidence and reminding women that they matter too.
The local spa, situated at 21 Fourie Street, Ermelo, offers a range of pampering and beauty services and can be contacted on 061 771 3400, at info@ermelospa.co.za, or through www.ermelospa.co.za.
After the message from Ermelo Spa & Beauty, guests moved on to enjoy the wine-tasting portion of the evening, a vast array of wines, all sourced from Cathedral Peak Wine Estate in the Central Drakensberg. The estate planted its first Pinotage and Merlot vines in 2007 and focuses on producing wines that reflect the fertile soil and distinctive environment of the Drakensberg, describing its approach as creating wines with a clear sense of place.
The programme then moved into the guided painting session led by counselling specialist and play therapist Marié Otto, with Michelle Smit closing the evening.
Photo: Marié Otto
Otto's activity was created specifically for CMR Ermelo's Sip & Paint evening and went beyond a conventional painting session. The collaborative art exercise explored what Otto describes as the often unseen emotional and mental "mother load" carried by women, while encouraging participants to recognise their own experiences, strengths, identities and sources of support. Participants worked on canvases that were passed between women throughout the session, allowing each person to contribute to another's artwork and symbolically "witness" and support her story.
Some of the key stages of the exercise included:
- Beginning with the self: Participants first chose five words describing their current experience of womanhood or motherhood and expressed this through colours, lines, images or symbols.
- Exploring the invisible load: As the canvases rotated, women added representations of mental lists, caregiving pressures, emotional labour, exhaustion and the feelings that can often remain unspoken.
- Recognising strength and nourishment: Later additions represented resilience, love, hope and the things that restore women emotionally, including rest, friendship, creativity, support and healthy boundaries.
- Supporting one another: Participants were encouraged to add something compassionate, protective or affirming to another woman's canvas, reflecting the importance of women emotionally supporting one another.
- Reclaiming identity and hope: The exercise also focused on dreams, talents, interests and ambitions beyond the role of caregiver, before participants added symbols representing healing, growth and hope for the future.
- Reflection: Once their original canvases were returned, participants considered how it felt to see others contribute to their story before adding final touches and again choosing five words to describe their journey, allowing them to compare these with the words chosen at the start.
The completed artworks therefore became more than individual paintings. Each represented both a personal emotional journey and a collective contribution from the women around the participant, reinforcing themes of empathy, shared experience, resilience and the reminder that many of the pressures women carry are not experienced in isolation.
Marié Otto is a counselling specialist and play therapist with the Play Therapy & Parental Guidance Centre in Ermelo and is registered with CCSA (SCO 0362). She can be contacted on 083 644 9778 or at playtherapy101@gmail.com. The centre is situated at 21 Collin Street, Ermelo, with sessional offices at 10 Carolus Reinecke Street, and more information is available at www.playandparent.weebly.com.
Through a combination of conversation, creativity, wellness and shared experiences, the Sip & Paint offered participants an opportunity to enjoy an evening together while also reflecting on some of the less visible realities of womanhood and motherhood. The collaborative nature of the art exercise fittingly captured the evening's underlying message — that connection, empathy and support can play an important role in helping women carry life's many responsibilities.
The CMR would like to thank - Spur Ermelo, Dutch Reformed Church Moedergemeente, iNews Ermelo, Marié Otto and, Ermelo Spa & Beauty for their contributions to a successful even.