THE FEAR OF A R T

Staring at a blank page can be intimidating to say the least. Where to begin? What color to choose? What if I make a mistake? What will others think? What if it's not good enough? These concerns are all the voice of our internal critic playing havoc on our psyche. These messages might be the result of some childhood experience with art or any other experience, where we were told something to the effect of, that's not how you draw a (fill in the blank.) The internal critic is the creature who resides inside of us telling us that we are not good enough or perfect enough.

I remember a creative writing course I took years ago, where we were asked to write about why we were taking the course. I begin my piece by saying that I was taking the course because....As students began to read what they had written, I became numb and wanted to leave the room asap. When the instructor asked what I had written a chill encased my body and I said something to the effect of, "it is not very good and..." The instructor responded, we are all at different places with our writing and you must respect where you are in this creative journey. Hey, I like that I thought. Respect where I am in the process. That makes sense. Whether you are writing, painting, engaging in another creative or self-expressive process, respect where you are in the process. Beginnings can be challenging, but what are the consequences of not beginning? Where would we be if we did not crawl, sit up or walk? The same is true for the creative process. When I began writing poetry, I was told to begin with,"this is a poem about..." I could always go back later and change the first line. The same is true for art, though we can't always change the images, we can add to them, we can add color or shapes to them and we can allow ourselves to be present with the process instead of thinking about the product.

Tip 1: begin with collage - it is less intimidating than drawing. Though you can begin drawing experimenting with color, shape and images.
Tip 2: Focus on process
Tip 3: Remember to have fun
Tip 4: Tap into your beginnner's mind
Tip 5: Leave perfection at the door
Tip 6: Invite imperfection in
Tip 7: Let your heart speak

Next time you come across a blank page, ask it what it wants from you, where it would like you to begin and allow your heart to speak.

AnXieTy: Can Creating Art Really Help Me?

You have a test coming up and though you've studied, just the thought of it has your heart racing, your palms sweating and your mind going nonstop. You try breathing and that seems to work for only a few minutes; then you try a relaxing bath, but once you leave the tub, dry off and change clothes your thoughts resurface and you're faced with your racing thoughts again. You're convinced you can "fix" your anxiety yourself without medication. Your therapist tries cognitive therapy with you where you've tracked and challenged your irrational thoughts, but your cognitive brain just won't listen or take the bate. As an art therapist, I might suggest ways to manage your anxiety including the above ideas along with another too: the circle. I've written about creating mandalas a lot on my blog, because I believe in the healing power of them. More specifically, the calming effect they can have on our over-anxious minds.

I would introduce how creating mandalas, (Sacred Circle) can help promote calm during bouts of anxiety and worry. Drawing a circle can be done in almost any setting. I don't recommend it while you are driving. But, if you keep a pad with you, you can create a circle while waiting for a doctor's appointment, studying, before a test, waiting for a blind date to arrive or pretty much any situation that brings anxiety and/or worry on. I have made a few suggestions about approaching your circle below.

Promoting Calm Amidst Anxiety & Worry

• Keep a journal or pad with you at all times.
• BREATE


• Keep a few colored pencils, markers or regular pencils with you


• You might have the blank pages already traced with with a circle


• The circle can be any size you wish


• Begin in the center of the circle and draw outward


• Leave perfection and judgements outside


• Staying within the circle, allow your pencil to led the way


• It might be helpful to choose calming colors


• Focus on the circle


• Breathe


• Continue drawing until you feel you have reached a place of calm


• Finish when you feel your mandala is complete


• Bring this calm with you and return to the circle when you feel anxiety surfacing again


• Move on to what tasks need your attention

What I am suggesting is the creation of the mandala circle to help you relax and focus your thoughts. The circle provides a safe and secure area to work. Doodling works too, but I recommend the circle because it provides a contained area in which to work.

Creating Mandalas for Healing...

A Weekly Expressive Art Group For Women Who Live With
A Chronic Health Condition

The word Mandala, comes from the Sanskrit language meaning “sacred circle.” The use of mandalas throughout time have been used by various cultures for meditation, self-reflection, healing and as a symbol for the self.
In this weekly group, we will create mandalas from various art mediums including oil and chalk pastels, markers, colored pencils and collage. The workshop is meant to provide a relaxing and reflective experience that supports and promotes healing.

No art experience necessary.

Group begins, Thursday, July 7th, 2009
6pm-8pm

WEST LOS ANGELES LOCATION

$20 Per session

SUPPLIES PROVIDED

Facilitated by Victoria Van Zandt, MA
Registered Art & Marriage & Family Therapist
Intern #52087

No art experience required.

Please call for more information and/or to participate in the group.
Call 310-922-3957

Supervised by Gwen Lotery, MFT #37140

Mandalas For Reflection, Meditation & Healing

I made my first mandala when I was in graduate school and have been drawn to them ever since. Mandala is a Sanskrit word meaning sacred circle. C.G. Jung discovered the healing power of mandalas when he embarked on his own healing process and soon learned the power that they possess. There is much I could say or write about mandalas including their history, the various cultures that have used them for thousands of years and the belief that they are representative of the self. I'd like instead, to share about their calming effect and how drawing them can bring about healing as we sit in a quiet place and focus on creating our mandala. Here, where there is no judgment, right or wrong or internal critic at play, the body and mind are at rest. And, I believe, when the body and mind are in a calm state, healing begins. The immune system is at rest and so are we.

Circles are all around us. Take a moment the next time you are out or when you are in your home and notice the circles that surround you. They are everywhere. Circles can center us in times of transition and bring us back to a place of balance and clarity. Mandalas are also the voice of the unconscious, where we can meditate, reflect and/or be present with their beauty.

Making your mandala

Mandalas can be created with many different types of materials such as oil and chalk pastels, paint, paper, sand, stones, shells and the list goes on. You can use colored paper, white paper, a notebook and/or canvas. It is important that before you begin to create your mandala you find a quiet place. Closing your eyes to begin and allowing your unconscious to guide the way as far as color, images, symbols and starting point on the circle. You can trace a circle from a round object or make a circle freehand using a color that you have chosen or that has chosen you as you make your circle. Don't rush, just let the process move you. Once you have created your circle, you can begin filling in your mandala. Letting images, shapes and colors come to you as you ask the critic inside of you to step aside. You can create your mandala with color or fill in the color afterwards. Once you have completed your mandala or when you feel it is at a place of completion, meditate on a title. Is there a theme in your mandala? Does it evoke a message or say something about you? Turn your mandala around and view it from different positions. When you have discovered the position that feels right, you might want to make a little mark at the top point - this will be the position you want to view your mandala from. Date your mandala to keep track of when you've completed it and number them if you make more than one a day. It is fun to be able to track the sequence of your work.

There will be more information about how to work with color, symbols, images and shapes in my future blogs. For now, enjoy the process of creating your mandalas. For more information, refer to Susanne F. Fincher's book Creating Mandalas for Insight, Healing, and Self-Expression.

In Healing,

Victoria

Doodling Our Stress Away

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary defines doodling as scribble or draw, esp. absentmindedly. I especially like the use of the word, absentmindedly, because if we are doing something absentmindedly or without the mind, there is a tendency to be more at ease. So, it would make sense that if the mind or for that matter, the thinking brain, is at rest and not obsessing, one could experience calm. I have not done research on the relationship between doodling and relaxation, but I tend to believe that while we doodle, our brains are resting, compared to when we are sitting around waiting nervously for a physical exam or academic test to begin.
There are a few ways to approach doodling. For instance, you can put pen, pencil or marker to paper and let them lead the way as if they have command of the page and see what happens. You can continue that process and after you have completed your doodle, look for an images that surface and color them in. That is what I did with the piece attached to this blog above. You can use color or black and white. I happen to enjoy doing this type of doodling. You can doodle with an image already in mind, but then I'm not sure it is really doodling, but none-the-less, your mind is elsewhere then on pressing issues. Doodling can be done on paper napkins, the little cardboard coffee holders, newspaper, Styrofoam cups and/or anywhere that is free for the taking. I love the fact that you really can get lost in the process of doodling and free one's mind for a few moments. I have made doodles that I've turned into larger pieces by taking the original doodle and having it enlarged at a printing store. It is endless what you can do with doodling. Next time you are feeling anxious instead of reaching for the Valium, try reaching for a pad and pencil. It might just do the trick!
Peace in Art-Making

Art Speaks Louder Than Words

An art therapy piece where color is used to depict feelings.

At a loss for words? Have no words to describe how you're feeling? No words can express how you feel? I've heard all these statements at one point or another in my professional and personal life. I'm tempted to reach into my bag and pull out a doodle pad and markers and reply, well, would an image or drawing help or a scribble? How about a collage or clay piece? As I like to say, when in doubt, doodle. Some thoughts can not always be expressed with words or staying in one's linear brain. It might be beneficial at this time to tap into the nonlinear brain or emotional Brain. I believe many of life's problems can not be solved with our left or analytical brains. Yes, balancing our check books requires the left brain and building a computer or putting together a bicycle calls for the thinking brain, but when it comes to life's more challenging events such as the loss of a loved one, losing a job or friendship, calling on our thinking Brain will usually get us nowhere. Because when we try to think our way out of events like this, we avoid the feelings that reside inside of us. Whether you call it a spiritual approach or creative approach, using our feeling brains allows us to move into the direction of healing much easier than with words alone. It might not be an image that comes to mind when experiencing a loss, but it might be a color, shape or size that expresses how we are feeling. I always recommend that before trying any art therapy exercise, that you be working with a trained art therapist and/or be in a safe place in case strong feelings do come up. I will recommend a person allows the page to hold their grief where their heart can rest for a moment. Lets say, you've lost your job that you've had for many years. You find it difficult to put words to what you are feeling and you might be feeling many feelings. Begin by choosing a color that represents how the experience is making you feel. If you have conflicting feelings, choose all the colors that come to mind. Let the pastels guide you across the page. You might even want to close your eyes as you move the pastel around the paper. There might be times you want to press harder on the pastel or softer. You might want to move all over the page or stay in one spot. Let your feelings be the guide. I suggest pastels because you can blend them with your finger. When you feel you are finished, sit with the art for a moment and reflect on the process. You might want to write in your journal about the process. In closing, I also suggest keeping a art and writing journal during times of change, transition and loss as they can be a powerful healing tool. I recommend reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, Rituals of Healing, Using Imagery for Health and Wellness by Jeanne Achterberg, Barbara Dossey, & Leslie Kolkmeir, and Opening Up..The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions by James W. Pennebaker. Be well in body, mind and spirit.

Why Art Therapy?

If you are not familiar with the expressive arts, you might ask, Why art therapy? Why not just go to a therapist and talk my problems out? Or, How is making art really going to help me solve my problems, ease my pain and/or find solutions to my problems? First, I'm really glad you're asking these questions. I've heard a few people say they don't like attaching the word therapy to art. That art is art and therapy is therapy. And, there is art for arts sake. I would like to mention the possible added benefits of taking part in art-making. For instance, is art-making relaxing? Does art-making allow you to tap into your memory? Does art-making allow you to make sense out of your life? OK, so now we are beginning to tread in the waters of art therapy, where the process of art-making can provide greater insight into our lives, our relationships, our pain, our thoughts and feelings. Where, it's not about how good you draw, or how perfect your interpretation of a feeling is, it's about getting the feeling out on paper; it's about the process not the product. Though, it is beneficial to process the product and the art-making experience. So, why art therapy? In the case of using art with children, I find that children gravitate towards tasks and experiences that are imaginative, fun and creative much easier than talking about what is on their mind. Their art becomes a hands on experience to express what is on inside their heads and in their hearts. They might not have the words, but art can provide an outlet for feelings and thoughts that they might not have access to. Here on the blank page, they can get their anger, sadness, and frustrations out. With adults, art therapy works pretty much the same way. Not only is it a place to get feelings out, it can provide a relaxing experience where calm can bring on insight, reflection and access to deep feelings. Images can mirror back to the individual something they had previously not thought about. A collage picture might trigger a memory or thought that can be processed. There are many studies that show that by using imagery, direct access to the emotional brain takes place much quicker and easier than language alone. If the voice of perfection is alive and well inside a person, we can explore it as it speaks and develop a new healthy voice to respond to it with.
Feel free to contact me for more information on art therapy and how and where it is used and its benefits.
Peace