We were set a task as a group where some of us had to sit in the middle of the room and produce a piece of art while the rest of the class observed us from different perspectives. Some from a scientific perspective, others from a therapy perspective etc. I was in the art making group, there was five of us and all the attention was suddenly on us. We had to sit around a table and were instructed to take some materials to work with. We had to produce our piece of art for twenty minutes. The room fell into silence as we began. I chose to work with chalk pastels on black paper. My piece started as something quite fluid and free and then a tree emerged towards the end. Being watched and judged was very intense and I felt anxious but doing art at the same time had a calming effect. I felt I was in the zone and shifted my attention away from what was happening around me. It was like a meditation although I was still very aware of the people. After we had to write about the experience for twenty minutes and then read it out to a small group. I found this part much harder as I had to tell the group how it made me feel being watched which was uncomfortable. It made me feel anxious people knowing my inner thoughts as that feeling of being judged was heightened. They said on the outside I looked calm. Which made me think I had done well to contain my anxiety. It also made me think about how appearances can be very different to the way someone actually feels inside. I can use art as a way of letting out nervous energy and turning it into a positive. I had a sense of relief after the activity was over and a new found insight into what it must feel like for a client in an art therapy session. Lots of the clients I will come across will find it hard to communicate and it will be up to me to recognise this and find ways of engaging them and gaining their trust.
MA Art Therapy Blog 