Creativity

February 1st, 2016

I can't believe it's been a month already. Thank you to all of you who read this blog. It's encouraging to see that I am getting some views every day.

When I decided to become an art therapist, I thought I should get some basic art skills. I signed up for the Fine Arts Portfolio program at The Ottawa School of Art for the following Fall. Over the summer, I visited an uncle of mine who is an artist. He was a bit lonely so I went over once a week. We drove to a nearby restaurant for breakfast then he showed me some art techniques.

There are two types of brains, he was the kind of artist who can look at a block of marble, imagine the shape of the sculpture he wants to make and nip away at it until the shape is revealed. Not me. So, initially, he was showing me how to mix plaster to create plaster tablets. Then he would pick an image from an art magazine and we would carve out the layers of details and perspective to create a landscape or a scene. You had to remove the plaster from the farthest points in the image and work outward. This process frustrated me at the time. It was the first project he showed me and I thought I had made a terrible mistake. Seeing my lack of enthusiasm (and talent), my uncle moved on to another medium.

He collected egg cartons, tore them up into bits, threw them in the blender with water and whizzed the mixture until it was like porridge. We would then strain the mix and use it like paper-mache to sculpt masks. He had a styrofoam head coated with vaseline and he encouraged me to pile on the paper pulp. I did as I was told and then I realized that 30 minutes had gone by without me noticing. He stood back and smoked his cigarette. I turned around, stunned, looking at the clock. He said: "You've done good work". I had. He suggested I step back to admire the mask I had created. The process of adding lumps of paste and shaping it with my fingers was so much fun. I enjoyed the texture of it, the immediacy of the experience and the fact that I never needed to ask him what to do next. It was a very intuitive process and I was hooked.

Oddly enough, what I remember from my time at the art school, is how much I enjoyed the other students. We would head out to the coffee shop between classes and have superb conversations. They were really interesting people. I find you learn more from artists than from structured classes or at least I did.

Recently, I've been looking for exciting new art projects. I contacted a local artist after I saw photos of her felt hats. This intrigued me. I asked her if she would teach me or allow me to observe her process. She suggested I look for tips on You Tube. I found an amazing video tutorial done by a young girl named Olivia. I am excited to try creating felt hats with my daughters. I also found a cool tutorial about using alcohol ink with stamps and images. Thirdly, I saw a really interesting video, teaching how to create stencils with a glue gun and using spray paint to add colours.

Needless to say, I will be busy getting messy over the coming month. I just know my daughters will enjoy learning with me. It's never too late to learn. Google art techniques and see what inspires you. Then jump in and enjoy!

Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org