No.1/ The ART of life

‘There is a … place of indigeneity within each of us, that can never be domesticated. It is a borderless land, beyond personality and convention, even beyond thought, where pure creativity arises. Like the signature song of a tropical bird, the spiraling of an arbutus tree, the evening scent of a jasmine bush, there is an essence in each of us intended to be expressed. FEw make the trek into this creative wild, because we must surrender the layers of numbness we use to protect our hearts.’

-Toko-pa Turner

Have you ever felt like you wanted to express something? Like you wanted to be creative and bold? And yet, something kept holding you back. Feelings of shame, of not being ‘good enough’, fear of being labelled childish or of having to meet someone else’s expectations…?

Expressing ourselves creatively happens to be vital for our wellbeing - not only as children but way into adulthood does creative expression feel nourishing to us. In whatever shape or form, whether it’s through writing, dancing, drawing, gardening or cooking, most of us can integrate a something artful into their lives, even if it’s the smallest thing. And most importantly, creative expression also serves as a tool to process and integrate our experiences, our emotions and sensations.

Yet, cultural and societal norms have changed the way many of us think about art, making us believe that it’s only accessible to some. How can we unlearn the limiting beliefs that so many of us hold around art-making and find a playful and easy way of creating? How can we reconnect with looking at art more intuitively? And maybe even begin to see the artfulness in the smallest things in life.

Creative therapy is stimulating on many levels and it’s because it tends to this innate drive of ours to create or recreate ourselves. Through creative therapies, we activate all of our senses, mostly touch, vision, smell and hearing. The process of creation can bring about a feeling of pleasure, beauty, and inspiration, stimulating thoughts and emotions through imagery, colours, and shapes. The act of making something with our own hands brings about an incredible satisfaction, a sense of self-agency. It’s a way of becoming the author of our own life’s narratives.

Art therapy has its origins in the Jungian approach to psychotherapy, which looks at the psyche through a depth psychological lens. In the 1930s Jung discovered in his psychotherapeutic practice that occasional painting or drawing helped his clients express certain things that they have not yet been able to grasp or consciously express. Realizing the potential of this practice, he began including it into his sessions and also discovered his own fondness of drawing to help him process the experiences he made during sessions.

There are many different ways how creative therapies can be applied for self-reflection and deeper understanding. In nature-based creative therapy you’ll experience sessions where together with the therapist you’ll be immersed in nature or working with natural materials. The session might be held outside where you’re invited to engage with the elements around you. Or you might be encouraged to create with stones, shells, feathers, twigs, leaves, or clay. It can be a session of land art, where you create a sculpture or a mandala. It can also be the process of making your own colours from food waste, plants, or rock pigments foraged prior to the session.

Through somatic art therapy you’ll experience what it’s like feeling truly connected to your body, while bringing this internal experience out into the external world through, for example, somatic drawing or painting. It is a practice of embodying the qualities that we want to nourish and represent, such as confidence, self-love, and authenticity.

Combining creative expression, nature and the somatic experience through our bodies is a powerful way to activate a deeply felt sense of reality within ourselves. My invitation here is for you to welcome your creativity, and to allow it flow through you. You might be surprised what will reveal itself.