#Art heals the soul!
#Art heals the soul!
That’s one of my favorite hashtags! (Are hashtags even still a thing?)
Have you ever felt lighter after a session of creativity?
How do you feel after you’ve played with your art supplies?
Sometimes it just feels good to smoosh paint around on the page, yes?
And sometimes, art can set you feel free!
Let me share a story with you about a time when I released some heavy energy with chunky crayons and a large piece of newsprint. I was dragging around negative energy with me because I disappointed my mother. The emotions surprised me - I was a grown ass woman by this point and I was still brought to my knees knowing I had disappointed her. I propped a large pad of newsprint on my easel, grabbed some chunky crayons and started scribbling with big arm movements, making bold marks.
Soon, I was drawing a rough sketch of me sitting in front of a campfire, cross legged and curled over myself. Big fat marks of red and orange flames were stretching higher and closer to me. The tears started to flow. Next, I reached for a light blue crayon and drew long arching marks around the figure, which seemed to contain and cool the flames. And then, I grabbed a gold crayon - my go-to color for representing the presence of the Divine. I drew a bunch of golden shards pointing in towards the figure, and it felt like God was reaching through the chaos of the flames and sending me Divine protection.
I felt free! I imagine my mom was still disappointed in me but I was free from the burden of carrying that negative emotion. The colors, the big movements, my interpretation of the symbolism that showed up on the page all helped me process the emotion and let it go.
Do you have any stuck energy or negative feelings you’d like to release? Here are the steps I used:
Choose art materials that require significant body movements - think big swings or twisting motions. You’ll want to use a big piece of paper - like a poster-sized piece of newsprint or kraft paper. Or cut open and spread out a paper grocery bag.
Grab some chunky crayons that are designed to be held in a clenched fist, or fat Stabilo Woody colored pencils, or a stick of black charcoal for making really fast and bold marks.
If possible, tape up your paper on a wall or use an easel so that you are standing up while you create - that’ll make it easier to move your body during the process.
Listening to some energetic music could also help the energy flow.
Before you make your first mark, pause and have a word with your Creative Source, asking for guidance to release the negative energy that you’ve been dragging around with you.
Make whatever marks you soul guides you to make. There is no right or wrong way to do this.
As you continue choosing different colors and making marks, notice what is coming up in you - that’s more important to what is coming out onto the paper.
When you feel like you have come to a resting place with your piece, stop and take a step back. Gaze at your creation with compassionate, non-judgmental eyes. Title it and date it. Notice how you are feeling. You might want to write a bit about the process on the back of your paper.
Maybe you remember my post last November about how working with air drying clay also brought a sense of release of pent-up feelings and resulted in an angry cat! Clay works really well as catharsis, too.
Creativity can also bring you into a state of flow, a lovely place to hang out. Have you ever lost track of time because you are so immersed in what you are doing in your art space? Dropping into that flow state engages your brain so completely that you forget about the world outside for a bit and don’t need to reach for your phone out of boredom. I need more of that!
Creativity is a way of making meaning around events and experiences that do not make sense. It can give you a way to find your voice and express yourself, and it can offer something beautiful to a hurting world. Back in the early days of the pandemic, I was concerned about whether it was appropriate to post pictures of my art in light of all the uncertainty and illness of the pandemic. My concerns dissolved when a friend of mine, a nurse who was on the front lines treating Covid patients, told me how much it helped her to be able to rest her eyes on my art when she was able to take a break from the trials of patient care.
The advice of 17th century French philosopher, Blaise Pascal feels relevant here: “In difficult times carry something beautiful in your heart.”
Creativity is a bold and valuable tool to turn to when you don’t know what else to do. Instead of feeling helpless, you can grab your paint brushes or chunky crayons and create something colorful, joyful, and bold!
I’ll be facilitating 6 monthly Saturday morning sessions called CREATIVE RESISTANCE to create together in community. Come join us whether you need to process emotions, or want to drop into the Flow state. We are here to support and encourage you every step of the way!
In case you missed it, you can read more about the benefits of creating in community here.
I’ll be opening up CREATIVE RESISTANCE for enrollment on Sunday morning, March 16th. You can sign up for only those sessions that fit into your schedule, or save a bit and sign up for all six sessions. I will not be recording the sessions to protect confidentiality. Each session will be limited to 18 participants so that I can see all of your lovely faces on one Zoom screen.
We’ll be creating together from 11:00 to 12:30 eastern. Here are the dates and techniques for the first six sessions:
March 22: Create art around the news headlines
April 26: Clay: Releasing emotions in air drying clay
May 17: Collage: Let your feelings rip as you rip up paper and glue it down
June 14: Mandalas: Embrace imperfection by creating your own wonky mandala
July 12: Graffiti: Express your loudest feelings in this bold manner of expression
August 16: Doodle your way to calmness
Let me know if you have any questions!