I have started seeing an art therapist a ten minute walk from where I live just off Green Lanes and up a steep hill. Her house has a calmness about it, quite an eclectic feel, wooden floors and doors and the art work space is on a long white table with good natural light. She has many different materials I can work with including paint, pens, inks, charcoal, pencil and different kinds of paper. My therapist is from France, seems quite intuitive and we have good rappore. The first session we talked about different general topics such as the course, family life and past experiences.
On the second session I started doing the art making. I am drawn to bright colours but also in contrast black and white depending on my mood. I chose black ink to begin with but changed my mind when I saw bright colours. We talked as I produced the piece. It was an intuitive and fluid process. I let my unconscious mind make the piece. I talked about subjects such as the fact it was my birthday the next day and how I thought it looked a bit like fire or fireworks (my birthday is 5th November). I find it is a significant time for me and a time of growth.
I also spoke about the masks people wear in everyday life and in particular my sister as I was drawn to choose pink which is her hair colour. I mentioned her addiction problems and the film The Joker came up (actor Joaquin Phoenix) and how the film had highlighted mental health. In my piece I noticed a bird in flight seemed to emerge out from it and as I carried on talking and painting and we spoke about this also. Looking back on the image a few hours later it reminded me more of a phoenix. I had a journey of self discovery with this piece from somewhere dark to somewhere more optimistic and positive. I would like to explore the idea of having a positive resolution with clients at the end of each session after covering something difficult for them, so that they go away feeling positive.
On exploring the significance of the phoenix further I discovered a link to my star sign the scorpio. “This is the totem where the scorpio becomes aware of his/her mysterical powers of healing”. The phoenix symbolises transformation, ”which burns and rises from its own ashes”. This feels relavent to my role in becoming an art therapist and healer. (figure 1)
In my next session again I instinctively wanted to use black and then I saw the pens and changed my mind and I used for bright colours instead. I find drawing like this very therapeutic and a way of clearing my mind. It is like an energy release and I always feel better afterwards. I told my therapist that I felt like I was drifting off in different directions. The pieces are sea like plants. They remind me of my mind floating and free. I noticed I chose to do three which is symbolically a significant number for me. I also remember in the session I was talking about having three placements and where I would like them to be. (figure 2)
In another session I drew this piece in response to the squirrel and habitat piece. It maybe reprosents me coming out of my shell or the shell being a habitat or central point and then the creativity coming out of it. (figure 3)
Website – Karthik Kashyap, The Three Phases of a Scorpio Totem https://exemplore.com/astrology/Totems-of-A-Scorpio (2019)
MA Art Therapy Blog 