What do you discover when you are still and use your creativity? This weekend was filled with discoveries on many levels around friendships, vulnerability, healing, and upsets. The art brings me back to listening to the part of me that desires to be expressed and in the process I am learning to sit with the fullness of my emotions-sometimes, messy, sometimes in spurts of fits, sometimes without grace, sometimes cutting and angry, sometimes sad and broken- all with an honesty, compassion, and willingness to hear what needs to be expressed.
Posts Tagged ‘art making’
Mandala Mondays
January 25th, 2010Mandala Mondays
January 4th, 2010
Monday’s Mandala making reminds me of what I choose in my life and how we consciously choose what we create in our lives. My figure in the center is a flowing tree that is holding the space. As I created the strong lines and leaves I could feel the flow of emotions of holding the emotional space for others and as I sat with those feelings, a deeper realization emerged. It was the holding of the space for the flow of my emotions, a reminder of how easily it is to be in other people’s pain and lose sight of my needs. So I allow the flow of feelings to move through my image, knowing it is all part of nature, and my being. I come back to the reminder that I consciously choose to honor my needs and be in self-love.
Using Art Therapy to create what you desire 2010
December 31st, 2009I just so love and adore the new year. If you know me then you have heard me say, ” you get a do-over”. A do-over is a word we used as a kid. If you missed the ball while trying to hit it you got another chance. It didn’t count, you get to call a do-over, and you get to do it again. I love kids because they really understand do-overs. You could spend half an hour pitching the ball and they call do-overs until they get it. That’s pretty smart, asking for what you need. So I adore the new year, because it’s like a natural do-over.
However, do we practice do-overs in our lives? Many of us practice “do-agains” instead. I looked back at my yearly journal entries and see many of the same goals, be more compassionate with my family, loose 10 lbs, etc. The resolutions are great until someone in my family does something and I get so frustrated or I sign-up to get 8 boxes of girl scout cookies, then I’m face with rewriting the same things next year. Does this sound familiar?
So I began to wonder why some really big things I set out to accomplish, like writing my book, happen and why other less difficult things don’t happen. What I found was I needed some concrete outcomes, steps to take to get there, and supports around me to help me make the changes. Even bigger than action steps is the commitment I made to the change and how I decided to feel about it.
If there is specific area in your life that you are longing to transform allow yourself to focus on that one thing. Here’s where the do-over comes in handy. You can change the way you think and feel about this by using your creative possibilities thinking. So identify the problem (one is enough), be very specific and clear what it is. Now go grab some art supplies, magazines, chalks, oil paster, markers, paint, whatever you have on hand. Sit with this problem and ask how would I be different if this problem was resolved, what would I be doing, thinking, or feeling? Allow yourself to use the art materials to express how different your life would feel and be if this was no longer an issue. This is your do-over. This is your map to make changes.
My collage hangs over my fireplace as a reminder of what I am choosing to create.
Mandala Mondays- Giving Gratitude
December 28th, 2009
This Mandala Monday is focused on gratitude, often forgotten when life becomes difficult. There are so many mixed emotions the first holiday after you lose a loved one. Although it has been a few months since we said good-bye to my mother-in-law, the rush of the holidays kept our family busy. The loss and sadness appears and disappears, but came strongly during the holiday. There is nothing that can be said or done to alleviate the pain and loss. So we embrace it, with all the other feelings that come up this time of year. We welcome family and friends into our home and connect over the phone and skype those who are far. We nap, eat, cry, laugh, go for bike rides, burn a fire, walk the beach, listen to music, and feel a string of sadness that is woven throughout. Yet, in these moments there is such gratitude. Gratitude for being alive, feeling the sun on my face, the smell of salty air, the fur of my dog, the hug of my mother, the joy of snuggling in bed on a cold night, the heat from the fire, a good book, and a cup of tea. All these moments, all these feelings, I give gratitude and know the blessings of being able to feel and be here and bear witness to my life.
Sarasota Season of Sculpture on the Bay
Mandala Mondays
December 21st, 2009
Saturday’s Mandala holds sacred the feelings of change and loss and the sheer beauty of moment. I walked on the beach Saturday with my husband. The wind had been blowing all day and there will a wild brilliance of crashing waves that we don’t often see in the gulf. The waves held a raw beauty that comes on a cool winter day at the beach. We picked shells for my mother’s holiday gift and let the feeling of sadness move through us. This was a favorite spot that my mother-in-law treasured when she came to FL. We knew she was walking with us as we combed the beach; this will be the first holiday without her and she’ll be in our hearts as we celebrate, yet there is a sadness that we honor as we move through the holidays.
Today’s Mandala holds the image of coming back to home, back to the heart. Since my husband and I are native northerners, this time of year there is a longing to be up north with family and friends, decking out our house in the Finger Lakes. The trees and hills are the north. Since we had traveled monthly over the last 6 months we decided to stay local and be with my family in the south. There is a longing to be playing in all that snow up north and having things be the same a they had years prior. Yet there is the the water, representing the south, and the continuity that life goes on. There is a sadness in all the changes, and a longing to “return home”. Yet, there is clarity that home is love- love of self, love of others, and love of spirit, and we are always returning home.
Gratitude- Using Positive Psychology and Art Therapy
November 24th, 2009I do love this time of year as a period of reflection on what what has transpired over the last 12 months. Although the year is always is filled with change, this year I reflect on the gifts I’ve been given- strength in being vulnerable, grace in the midst of loss, many supportive friends and family who lovingly witness my journey and accept me where I am I my path, my own deeper loving acceptance of who I am. All these glorious gifts I give gratitude for. Although many were discovered in difficult times, I give thanks for the ability to welcome growth in the midst of change.
The feature article below offers some thoughts on giving thanks and how you can use your creativity to celebrate what you are grateful for.
As many of you know I am a fan of positive psychology and use in often in my life and in my art therapy practice with clients. If you haven’t heard of positive psychology it is a new field of psychology that emphasizes the strengths and resources of the individual. Instead of focusing solely on what’s wrong, it encourages you to explore “what’s right” in your life. Needless to say it encourages resilience and the belief that we are resourceful creators in our lives- meaning we can use our innate gifts to live a happier life, regardless of the circumstances.
So how can you apply the principles of positive psychology into your life and help your family use these tools too?
One of the basic tools positive psychologist have been studying is called “Three Good Things in Life”. The research suggests that by writing down three things you are grateful for each day you can reduced depressive symptoms and increased happiness for six months (Park et al., 2005). How simple, yet how effective!
So here are some simple ways to bring this practice into your home and encourage yourself and your children to explore gratitude.
1. Make a gratitude ritual-
At dinner or before bed allow your child and yourself to reflect on what you are grateful for each day.
2. Journal-
This simple tool will allow you an opportunity to reflect on the day and find the good. It’s nice to do this before going to bed to allow your mind to think positively before drifting off to sleep.
3. Make gratitude art-
This could be in many forms, such as marking an image or using collage to create what you are grateful for; or creating gifts of gratitude for others.
4. Create a Thanksgiving tradition-
Encourage your child (or do this yourself) to draw or use magazine pictures to make place mats for each member of the family. On each place mat create an image of what about that individual you are grateful for (such as who they are, what they like, what they do, what makes them special). This is a great activity to keep your child busy while you are cooking and a unique way to celebrate each person in the family. You can collect them throughout the years as each person grows, and reflect on their changes and unique attributes.
Having problems at home and need more support? We can help, contact us at info@thecreativityqueen.com
Park, N., Peterson, C., Seligman, M. E., & Steen, T.A. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of intervention. American Psychologist, 60.
