We are made of stories. Who we think we are, our histories that have led us to come to know ourselves. The values that we live by. It's all stories.

I'm creative. I'm a victim of this circumstance or that one. I'm someone who hates the cold.

Because I hold these stories about myself, they influence my actions in various ways.

Because I tell the story of hating the cold, I live in the tropics and refuse to go south in the winter.

What if I tried on the story of being an Antarctic explorer? Perhaps I'd buy some warmer clothes and go south for the winter, treat it like an expedition into the unknown… it'd be a very different experience of life from my current one.

Creativity is for you. Singing. Dancing. Making art. Not just for people with 'talent'. Not just for professionals. For you.

Humans are inherently creative, but many of us have been taught to believe that 'creative' means 'able to paint a masterpiece that will end up on a gallery wall'.

How might your life be different if creativity was something you did, the way that birds just sing, rather than something to ‘be good at’?

Short answer: no. That sounds kind of creepy. But it’s a question I get asked a bit.

The reason why I can't look at something you drew and see into your psyche is because your creative process is unique to you. The colours you choose, the way you express yourself on the page, the images you create relate specifically to your thoughts, beliefs, emotions, dreams, fears, trauma, lived experiences, etc.

"I can't draw."

I hear that a lot from people. I used to hear that a lot from myself. For decades. I made a lot of art, but it was all abstract or stylised because I couldn't draw "real" things.

It was true that I couldn't draw, but only because I hadn't learned how yet.

Learning to draw is like learning to read - when you've learned the letters and the basics of grammar, you can read whatever you want. When you've learned the basic principles of drawing, you can draw whatever you like.

Want to know a (not very) secret about our bodies? They’re only ever in the present moment. So when we engage in a creative activity with our hands, the act of drawing or gardening or cooking or knitting draws us into the present. This is part of why creative activities are so good for our wellbeing.

[the mandala drawing above was created by my friend and art therapist colleague who is running the online therapeutic art group with me - mandalas don’t have to be symmetrical!]

How does it feel to have the power to make something that wasn’t there before? To create something from nothing? A blank page now covered in colours.

We do it all day long. The meals we cook, the photos we take with our phones, the way we dress and do our makeup, the gardens we grow, the art we make. Creating things that weren’t there before.

Mostly, we take it for granted (I know I do).

But sometimes, every now and then, I realise that the drawing I’ve just done, or the meal I’ve just cooked - that’s an act of magic making…

There’s something magic that tends to happen when you create with others - often, the positive effects are amplified, because you’re not just doing something creative, you’re also part of something creative.

So here’s your gentle encouragement to find a friend or several friends and spend some creative time with them. Read on for more ideas…

What’s the difference between art therapy and using art as therapy? Is there a difference?

Short answer - yes! There is some overlap, but they are different things.

Read on for more…

Here’s an art therapy exercise you might like to try - a body map.

A body map is good as a check in – it’s a way to pause and notice: where are you right now, how are you feeling, and what might you need?

This can be really useful, as can help you to notice patterns you might not be aware of otherwise.

Art can be healing, and can be used as a therapeutic tool - but when you’re just getting started (or when you’ve been doing the same old thing for a while) - how do you know what to draw?

This is the first in a series of posts offering some suggestions. We’ll begin with spontaneous drawing. These suggestions are written as if you’re going to draw in an art journal, but you can give these a go on a piece of loose paper, on a wall… whatever you have to hand.

Creativity is freedom.

When you write or draw or make things or sing - you can do anything you want.

Put red here. Blue there. Burn it and begin again.

Write some words, fit them into sentences, read them back and reorder them so they sound like poetry.

Creative freedom is absolute within whatever limits exist.

It’s a nice puzzle. You’re not free, because there are limits, but within these limits, you are completely free. 

Seasons never get stuck. Have you noticed?

They roll on, one into the next, in their own time. Sometimes winter will be long, or sometimes summer will be cooler than usual, but the seasons keep on moving through their cycle, one after the other.

The moon is the same - it’s never stuck. It cycles through its phases, one into the next, drawing the tides with it as it goes.

There’s something comforting about seasons and the way they keep on moving. Maybe we don’t like the season we’re in, but if we’re attuned to our internal seasons, we can have some idea of where we’re at, and of what might be coming next.

Making tiny altars is one way that I bring moments of space and sacredness into my ordinary hours. They're a way of intentionally connecting with the unknown. They’re also good way of bringing some kind of creative practice to your day without needing to know how to draw - art therapy can take many forms!

I build tiny altars usually for one of two reasons. To hold an intention, or to hold a meaning.

Spontaneous gestural drawing is one of my favourite things to fill my art journal pages with.

That’s a lot of big words - what do they mean?

It's a way of making an image that encourages stepping away from our thinking mind and letting a different part of us choose colours and marks.

Instead of thinking about what colours, and what shapes, I like to let my eyes go a bit soft, a bit blurred, and instead FEEL the colours and shapes. What colour jumps out at me? Start with that. What shape feels nice to draw? Draw that.

I don’t have a 10 step process to anywhere.

My lack of answers sometimes dismays me.

I want to be able to tell you - here’s the path. Do these ten things, one after the other, and then you will arrive, and live happily ever after.

Alas…

Life, relationships, healing and growth don’t really work like that.

Know what they DO work with, though? Curiosity.

When your feelings feel bigger than you, what do you do? There’s not enough room in you for all of your anger, there’s too many tears for you to ever cry them all, the heaviness pins you to the floor, life is overwhelming and confusing, the bigness of what you’re experiencing is too much and it’d be so nice to have somewhere else to put it.

That’s one of the things that art therapy can help with - it gives you somewhere else to put some of those things.

One of the first things many people say when they find out I’m an Art Therapist is:

“Oh, I couldn’t do that, I’m not creative. I can’t even draw a stick figure.”

If this is you, I have good news for you!

You don’t have to be talented, know how to draw or see yourself as creative to benefit from art therapy. Here’s why.