Topic Tuesday // Art & Creativity // Tues 9th November, 7:00-8:30PM AEDT

Hi @1stepup61 ,

Mindful art is...I suppose, doing art (whatsoever it may be) in a mindful way so as to 'feel' the art. Consider what you feel, hear, smell, taste and see while engaging in art. It is very helpful to de-stress, especially when things are hard going.

Question 5: What are some ways to practice art and creativity in self-care?

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@cloudcore wrote:

Question 4: How can art and creativity help us?

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I find that it gives me a rare, precious opportunity to be myself, and to be judge on my own merits, rather then the act I'm typically bullied into putting on in order to fit in with other people's expectations.

I get a bit of praise for my ability to play-act the character that other people want. I got praised very strongly for it this afternoon, as a matter of fact. But it's all meaningless, because it's not for me. It's for the fairytale character that everybody wishes existed instead of me.

But when I create something all my own, and people like it... that means that I've done something really good. That I'm worth something. And that people somewhere actually appreciate me.

@Paperdaisy - keep on disassociating sorry

What are some ways to practice art and creativity in self-care?

I use art a lot to summarise key emotions around self-care. So for example, I might be writing something I am grateful for that day but then I make it a certain colour or draw a certain doodle next to it to represent it.

I also use drawing to map experiences like a mind map or I might explore my feelings around an event by drawing a timeline. Sometimes I might even use objects like a toy car to drive between the drawings so show how they relate to each other.

Beyond those strategies which can be hard to do if not in the best headspace, I try to make it a goal of my daily self care to do something creative everyday. Some days this may look like just writing down a line of poetry on my phone. Other days it can be much grander. But I try to commit to something creative everyday – no matter how big or small. Often I colour whilst I moderate the forums and that totally counts!

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@Former-Member wrote:

Hi @chibam

In this situation with the Art Therapist the Art Therapist did not interpret at all. It was me who said it was a baby.

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Sorry, @Former-Member , I guess I misunderstood. I read that you were the one who saw a baby in the clay figure; but I got the impression that it was the therapist who decided that the baby must've symbolized "young you", and that you ought to talk to it like it was "young you".

I agree @chibam and I think this goes back to what @Former-Member said about 'leaving a mark' and 'this mattered'😊

@Former-Member - I like to listen to music when I'm going to be doing art

@Fluttershy1 that's okay there is no need to apologise

@cloudcore

Question 5: What are some ways to practice art and creativity in self-care?

Scheduling it in I think?