25. The Healing Series, Part 1; The Healing Power Of Art
Updated: Oct 18, 2023
**Please note: In this post, I do not write about specific traumas. I never write any explicit details.**
Blank Slate
I've chosen to focus on art as the first example of an outlet for expression because art has been tremendously therapeutic for my own journey. I've taken art classes here and there throughout my life, but have never studied art in depth, or trained in a particular medium. I have often enjoyed making art, and more recently, have been able to experience it as a support in my healing process.
These days, a lot of my artistic experience is literally the experience of making the art, rather than a series of tasks to complete to build a particular desired outcome. Sometimes, I have guiding thoughts about a particular medium (clay, markers, etc.) that I'd like to use to express myself, and sometimes, I have guiding images I see in my head about a particular function for the end result (something to embody warmth, something to indicate safety, etc.). More often, the art I work on starts out one way, and shifts during the process with my emotions, thoughts, ideas, inspirations, questions, and hopes.
Total Autonomy
An element of art making is the empowerment I experience when creating. I am literally in charge of what I invent and how I construct it. I am the creator, and even if others influence my creation, I am still the one actually making my art. This is full autonomy at its finest. It's a beautiful opportunity for me to experience my own decision making process in full effect. I make every choice, nothing prevents me from changing my mind whenever I want, and all of my decisions are unchallenged and thus upheld.
I handpick the materials I will incorporate into my work. Will I use ink, thread, found pieces in nature, cloth, or charcoal? Will I mix elements by adding water color to my oil pastels, by spreading sand into my paint, or by burning the center of words? I select which colors I will utilize to communicate my message. Will I resonate with bright greens to convey vibrancy, or will I choose bold reds to represent strength? Will I play with dark and light, associations and stigmas, or generate a different take on a grey scale? I commission the size of my creation. Will I fashion something intricate and small, or will I take up huge space with my creation? Will I construct a gigantic piece of art that is a compilation of smaller pieces? Will I add details or leave blank space?
I decide the amount of time spent on my art. I can spend as little or as much time on my art as I want. My work time might be influenced by what else is happening in my day, but if I'd like to work on something for 30 hours, I can devote a whole weekend to it or work on it every night for 15 minutes before bed. I can always put something down for a while and return to it when I'm ready to continue work, when I feel inspired, or when I have new ideas.
Facing Pain Dressed In Other Forms
The helpful mirror to reality is that although I act as the agent of authority in creating the art, I don't have ultimate power in how it turns out. I can't just think it and have it appear in exact replica form as the picture in my mind. I can put in a great deal of effort, and if I have a combination of ideas and fine motor skills, it may result in something amazing that I hoped for. I can also have a product that does not perfectly reflect my intended result. I may be the only human working on the art, but I am not the only influence. The materials themselves have properties and potential. I am working with items that present possibilities and limitations.
The other side of not being able to ensure perfection in the outcome of my art is coping with the end results, coming to terms with what I can do and what is not mine to control, being ok with how it turns out, even if it isn't the ultimate desired effect. Sometimes that entails learning to love something in its imperfection. Other times, it's recognizing something for both its strengths and weaknesses, and seeing it as both flawed and lovely at the same time. Many times, it's recognizing that how it turned out reflects the human experience of things not always being fair.
A Medium Through Which To Alter Reality
The wonderful thing is, I can work on it for as long as I need, I can tear it apart, I can discard it, I can reform it, or I can create a new version of it. Whether or not it turns out how I imagine, I am the one who has shaped it to the best of my capacity in the direction of my ideals. Basically, even though I can't ensure a particular outcome, I have options in dealing with the outcomes I do reach. When I reach a conclusion that I hate, there is always an opportunity for me to determine what is next. Making art has reminded me of the power of the ellipsis, that even at the end of a sentence parked with a period for closure, I can always add two more dots and it transforms from a finale into something with only a temporary conclusion, to be continued...
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Please see my next post about how connection with a greater power has helped me in a similar way during my healing journey.
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