I have always said that “I am not much of an artist”. I have always felt inferior to others who just have a particular gift for it. I have also known for a long time that I am something like a writer, but give me a pen or paint or pastels and I will either run away screaming my head off or break down crying because I wouldn't be able to create anything worth looking at anyway.
This of course happened before I joined the online group ”Art Therapy and Happiness” (have a look here: http://www.trauma-informedpractice.com/online-courses/art-therapy-happiness-project/). Initially, I was blown away and utterly intimidated by the quality of work I found in the workshops offered to us. And then, I created my first Zendoodle. And suddenly, I was happy and not so intimidated anymore. This is what I wrote in the group forum when uploading the picture:
And yes, I 'cheated' a bit, being a beginner and all - I ran with the idea of tracing my hand to have an outline first and I looked up different ways of filling it in. I did my own thing and I copied some of the stuff I found. And even though it felt a bit like cheating, I realised that what I am doing is actually called 'learning'. And that felt good. I will try and make as many Zendoodles in the next month as possible and I am SO looking forward to the art swap now :-) [where every participant creates 12 Zendoodles, keeps one, sends the remaining 11 to other people, and receives 11 ‘new’ ones] Zendoodles are fun :-)
I was amazed by my positive response to this art activity. I was amazed how quickly I understood that cheating doesn't always equal cheating, that sometimes cheating is actually learning. I allowed myself to be guided by other people's ideas without feeling bad about it – looking for inspiration does NOT equal failure. I have found something I like to create, something other than writing. This has been a wonderful experience for me…
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