Tag: expressive arts
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Reflections on learning how to hold a pencil inspired by Quilty’s work with Syrian refugee children
In 2016, Australian artist, Ben Quilty, travelled to Syria to work in refugee camps. The project involved supplying children with quality paper and pencils and encouraging them to tell their stories through pictures. The drawings were complied into a book, titled Home. The images and stories are moving to say the least. If you’d like…
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Can you see the turtles?
About three years ago, my son, then 15, and I went to an exhibition opening at a small community center in a suburb on the outskirts of Brisbane. It was a chilly winter night and many of the locals were there in their finest felt hats and colourful scarfs. I had submitted a couple of…
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The Art of Perception: sight and mental health
The process of seeing involves light entering our eyes and influencing the physiological mechanisms for sight in our brains. At the back of our eyes is our “retina” which is largely composed of “cones” and “rods” that interpret visual information. The cones and rods send communication signals via nerve impulses to our visual cortex and…
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How to Zentangle: Art therapy style
When people first try art therapy there is often some level of self-consciousness. Thoughts and comments along the lines of “will my drawing be ‘good’ enough?” or “I haven’t been creative since I was a kid!” or “I can’t even draw a straight line!” often come up. Such things often arise as a result of…
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Art Therapy and Neuroscience
Renée Spencer, 2018, Tree of Hearts, pencil on paper – digitally enhanced Art therapy and neuroscience have an intimate connection. There are many facets to this which can be explored, however, as an introduction to the topic this article will be focusing on the creative process. Other connections between art, therapy, the brain, and mental…