4 healing arts

Doodling designs. Mucking about with paint. Smooshing clay. Belting out a tune. Sure they're fun pastimes, but they're also excellent therapies that soothe your soul and rejuvenate your spirit, and the good news is that you can easily explore them at home without a huge hourly bill or formal lessons. Here are four women who did it on their own.

Suzanne Stewart, collage artist
"Art makes me feel alive," says 37-year-old Suzanne Stewart of Winnipeg. For Suzanne, making collages is soothing yet invigorating -- the perfect antidote after a long day at work. She heads down to her cosy little art room in her basement, opens the drawers at her worktable, and a flurry of activity ensues -- colourful papers fly, scissors snip, paints smoosh and splatter, markers glide smoothly, glitter glue sticks and sparkles. Within minutes, Suzanne's tension melts away as the joy of creativity envelops her.

Being creative is cathartic, says Suzanne. "It brings up any feelings that I need to let wash over me, and then I feel clearer and more able to fill up again. It lets me empty out whatever I am carrying around in my pockets, take a look at it and create something beautiful to inspire me or something ugly that I need to let go of."

Debra Joy Eklove, lover of song
Debra Joy Eklove lets her spirit soar through group singing. The 55-year-old Toronto resident sings with other men and women at community centres, workshop studios, performing centres and in one another's homes. As Debra Joy explains, the vibrations created in her body through singing refresh and renew her. "Harmonious sounds create harmonious vibrations, and when we are in this flow, we are brighter," she says.

"Often after singing, the songs stay in my head and body for a few days. I'll be driving somewhere and the words or music just pop into my head, so I smile and sing again and feel good." At a recent workshop, Debra Joy chose to sing "When You Wish Upon a Star," a much-loved staple from her childhood. Singing the song made her feel inspired and dreamy, and within moments the five other women in the group had joined in, and they all spontaneously began dancing together. "It was great fun. The feeling of belonging and togetherness was wonderful."

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Joanne Marchildon, portraitist
Joanne Marchildon, 32, of Saskatoon, finds healing in creating portraits. While going through a divorce six years ago, Joanne felt drawn to a local art school. "I felt I needed something positive," she says. As she sat before the blank white paper, Joanne's first strokes were hesitant. But in just a couple of hours, she became more sure, and by the time she finished her first portrait, her self-esteem had soared. What really boosted her pride and confidence was the knowledge that she had created something with her own hands.

And that's not all. A stay-at-home mother with three young children, and a substitute teacher, Joanne often feels run off her feet. So she heads to her art room -- her retreat, she calls it. "When I'm feeling drained, that's the time when art really works for me. It brings back my energy, and I feel better afterward. I feel lighter and brighter."

Jennifer Lagace, poet
For Jennifer Lagace, 33, of Toronto, writing poetry opens a window of self-expression, allowing her to define emotions and experiences she feels she can't always talk about. Jennifer often puts pen to paper while riding the subway, creating her own quiet oasis among the bustling, jostling activity surrounding her. The act of weaving her thoughts and emotions into colourful imagery and metaphor makes her feel great, she says.

For instance, a poem about sitting contentedly on a veranda in Trinidad and Tobago, where she was born, evokes the beautiful sights, melodic sounds and luscious scents of the tropical island. The word-picture also keeps her in touch with her true self. "Through poetry, I found my own voice that defines who I am, and not who others think I am," says Jennifer.

You, the unself-conscious artist
Whether a woman is undergoing formal art therapy or exploring art on her own, feeling self-conscious is the last thing she needs, although it's unavoidable, says Darlynne Hildebrandt, an art therapist from Saskatoon. To get over feelings of hesitancy, Hildebrandt recommends finding a quiet space, taking your time, trying out different media to see what you feel most comfortable with -- be it paint, pencil crayons, clay or something else -- and gently shoving aside that niggling inner voice of criticism. "It's not about making 'good' art. It's about getting in touch with yourself through creativity." In fact, there are no rules. It's all about spontaneity.

Case in point: Suzanne recently created what she calls a "smoosh" picture. She dipped her hands in blue and red paint, added a bit of black and simply allowed her fingers to swirl around the paper. "Did I create something that I wanted to put on my living room wall? No, siree. It was just good to feel the texture of the paint. It took me back to being a kid. I could just get messy and have fun, and not have to create something spectacular. I could just be in the moment." We all can reclaim that innocence and abandon, she adds. "I do believe we have the power to help heal ourselves, and, for me, art does that."

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Getting to the art of it
Not sure which art is for you? Catherine Taylor, an expressive arts therapist from Toronto, suggests some ideas to try out.

• Keep a basket of percussion instruments at your home: a little drum, tambourine, clappers. Put on a CD, immerse yourself in the music and use the instruments to experiment with different rhythms.

• Making collages is great for those who hesitate to use a pen or paintbrush. Leaf through magazines, cut out pictures that "speak" to you and glue them on paper in a way that pleases you.

• To create poems, keep a "word bowl" handy containing slips of paper, each with an evocative word written on them, such as luscious or kerplunk. Choose 10 to 15 words and arrange them in an order that feels right to you, adding other words as you see fit. 

• Clay can provide lots of sensory satisfaction, and easily lets you change what you don't like. You could try imbuing a figurine or amulet with a feeling or goal that could help you get through a difficult time. Keep it in your pocket or on a windowsill as a remembrance. If you don't have an image in mind, work with the clay awhile and an image will likely take form.

Loosen up!
New to art? Here are some tips from expressive arts therapist Catherine Taylor on how to let loose and make the most of it.

• Put your inner critic to sleep. Your purpose is to express yourself, in this moment, so don't judge your work by preconceived standards.

• Concentrate on being in the moment. Think of how children play -- serious but spontaneous, changing as new things arise.

• Take your time. Don't force it.

• Try sculpting with your eyes closed or drawing with a felt pen between your toes. You may be surprised at how meaningful the images can be, and you'll likely get a healthy dose of laughter in the process.

• When you have finished art-making, reflect on what you have created with respect and compassion. What is it telling you that you need to know? How can its message be integrated into your life in a productive way?

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