Art Therapy

Art Therapy: Week Three

~ holisticlifestylecoachblog ~ 4 Comments

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O.k. to clarify I didn’t  go to Art Therapy this week. I signed up for an actual art class where you produce a painting, today’s theme was poppies, and get to bring the painting home. Seemed like a better idea than spending two hours ripping out the same color again.

 

 

 

*I did do my homework for Art Therapy and glued all of the blue pieces onto the large piece of white paper. Someone told me it was suppose to be calming and meditative. Instead I was frustrated, wondering why on earth I was doing this, covered in glue and cursing at the magazine strips as they ripped. I even emailed the instructor and told her wouldn’t be in this week, see what a good student I am, and asked what the homework was (dreading the answer to be the next color is…). Her response ‘I can’t tell you since you need to be in class to fully benefit from the lesson’. What? Top secret? Benefit from the lesson of ripping out strips of blue from magazines? I turned to look at my completed homework and came very close to destroying it, especially when I learned that the class would be completing that art project this week. Wasted time. Yet, knowing I was missing out on the top secret lesson, I still chose to go to the art class and learn some painting techniques.

I entered the class later than I wanted to. I am always on time or early, so thank you ttc. I quickly picked my spot and tried to catch up. The painting, from far away and on the website looks beautiful. A mountain scene with a sunset, trees and a glorious lush field filled with poppies. Was excited to be guided and bring home my own masterpiece.

As I may have mentioned before I am somewhat of a perfectionist. Ok I am one. I like to do things right and take my time and am my worst critic. The instructor must have been thinking that we were all famous painters, as she was rushing through the techniques, colors, blending and application so quickly that I was still on mixing the green into the white, while she was five steps ahead of me. I was getting stressed out, colors turning out brown and my sunset, which is to be this light purple/pink was anything but. The lady beside me was trying to be supportive (she had taken 2 six week courses already), the lady on the other side of me at one point put red on my pallet (I didn’t even know we needed red), she had taken many courses before. Did I forget to read the fine print?

Has this happened to anyone before? Where you think you enter an entry level class and find yourself in the masters class? (I was going to write ‘in the deep end’ but too many mixed metaphors).

So I struggled to follow, thankfully class was interrupted, when my table partner upended the entire table, paint, water, paintings, everything everywhere. I say thankfully because this gave me time to 1.get a coffee and 2. blame my painting on the table accident. (This really did happen, wish I was clever enough to come up with that kind of a cover story)

By the end I was frustrated and did what a lot of new artists do, I kept painting. Yep. Added, mixed, added more poppies (well large red things in the field), and tried to keep blending till they took my paint away from me. Literally took the paint away.

It is ironic, how all through the class I wanted to leave, what I thought was a 2 hour class was actually four hours, no break, no lunch, just paint and paint some more! Yet, at the end I was the last one sitting there, still painting.

Why did I care at the end? The perfectionist in me? The desire to keep trying? I even carried it home gently and have it up on my bookshelf.

Overall, didn’t go to Art Therapy, traditional art class stressed me out and I’m still scrubbing off paint. Yet I did learn that at the end of it all I am the type of person to still give it my best college try even if I’m not perfect at it and not fully loving it. Last week I learned that sometimes walking away is better for you than staying and being frustrated. Today I learned that staying and trying was the right thing for me. Go with your gut, your instincts and let them guide you. If it means something to you, you will work harder at it.

Ended up being a form of Art Therapy after all. And besides anyone who sees it and says,     ‘ what are those red blobs suppose to be?’ I can always blame it on the lady who knocked over the table…bonus.

 

Art Therapy: Week Two

~ holisticlifestylecoachblog ~ 1 Comment

Art Therapy today, before I write about my class I should mention how I had a restless night sleep, woke to snow than rain and had a meeting after class.

Last class we went through a moving and emotional two hours of choosing colors, cutting up your drawing, discussing who you are now verses who you see yourself becoming.

This class, as I was making my way there I thought I’m so tired but it will be worth it. The instructor had told us we were going to paint. Great, maybe a spirit image or some abstract image which truly reflects something else, who knows I’m in.

Upon arriving, I see magazines on the table and more people present than the week before. Not only were we not painting, we were squished in beside each other. I don’t enjoy bumping elbows. Not painting so what were we doing? Collage? Cool. I start looking through magazines finding pictures and words that ‘speak’ to me.

Unfortunately it wasn’t that type of collage or that type of self reflection class. Nope it was choose a color and than find that color in the magazines to fill up a large white sheet. Just a color. No words, images, nothing. Just two very long hours ripping or cutting out the color blue and putting it in a pile. When I asked when we were going to atleast glue the pieces, I was told next class. Next class? Seriously? Two hours of ripping out the color blue, no one was talking, all you could hear was tearing and cutting and breathing. I started to get irritated and bored.

Ok don’t miss this experience there has to be a reason behind this. An hour goes by. I start tearing out the color green just to mix it up. Someone sniffling starts getting on my nerves. Still no one talking. Geesh. Leave get tea, speak to anyone I see just to talk (yes I would be awful at the 10 day silent meditation retreat people have tried to get me to go on).

Finally an hour and a half in, I call it. No more. I asked for the large sheet saying I think I have plans for next week and will glue the pieces on at home, oh joy can’t wait.

What did I learn? That sometimes, even if something is hard or not fun you stick it out and learn what you can. Or you recognize that the person sniffling and the tearing that is driving you crazy is a sign that you need to leave and do something else.

Its ok to try things, stick it out or recognize that it is just not for you. It is hard though to know when to push yourself, or those you love in seeing something through and when to know its time to walk away.

How do you know?

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