Art as Therapy: Curative Powers of Creative Endeavors

Over these last few of years, things have become rather neutral in my life. My wardrobe reduced to uniform status: black and white t-shirts, jeans and ballet flats. My house now a boring palette of beige, brown and, sadly, more beige. None of this was a conscious choice. It sort of happened without my looking, until one day a couple months ago, I noticed this achromatic theme had infiltrated my entire existence.

I suppose it is possible that by simplifying my exterior world, I created space for my soul to process the colorful and chaotic experiences without competition from the outside environment.

As I began taking photos for the blog, I noticed myself drawn to color and realized it was sorely lacking in my life, so I have been trying to invite it back in, along with the creative projects that I once so dearly loved.

I recently saw a simple photo of a bike with a basket of beautiful flowers on the front. This sparked mental fireworks, making me think of the bike sitting in my side yard that has moved with us three times, but has no practical use. I almost threw it away during the last move. The next thing I knew, my head was filled with colorful images of the possibilities and I was off to various nurseries for supplies to bring it to life.

It turned into an all day creative endeavor with my son, which included releasing ladybugs in the yard.

ladybugs

Wrapping the Jute twine around the moss yielded a casual yet insightful conversation about how much has happened to us over the last two years, and as I listened to this child of mine speak of things well beyond his years, I was both awestruck and filled with hope. Perhaps a silver lining is tucked into the layers of this dark and traumatic experience.

wrapping_jute

The truth is, there may never be concrete answers to everything that happened. We are left to make sense of things that are difficult to comprehend. And I have come to understand that not knowing is OK. Understanding is blossoming out of the fertile soil of not knowing.Remaining right here in this moment and allowing insights to bubble up has delivered more clarity than I could ever hope for in trying to think my way through this jungle.

By days end, our hands were dirty, the plants in the garden were happily being cleaned up by the ladybugs and we had ourselves a repurposed bike, doubling as an evolving piece of art.

garden flower bike

We were both completely lost in the creative process, allowing the bike to slowly evolve and follow any possibilities we fancied. I see the bike as a 3-D collage, representing the self-propelled healing we have immersed ourselves in. It is not finished yet, but then again, neither are we.

repurposed_bike

Creative endeavors soothe the soul, gently softening the sharp edges of loss, like beach glass tumbled by the sea and sand.

What creative endeavors do you engage in to heal your soul?

-db

Who is Dianna Bonny?

Hi, my name is Dianna Bonny. It’s my mission to candidly share my journey with you. For me, it’s all about the healing: to create a radiant healing energy for others who have befallen a similar fate. Together, we can forge beautiful lives of belonging and connection. Thanks for joining me today! I look forward to hearing from you.

 

  1 comment for “Art as Therapy: Curative Powers of Creative Endeavors

  1. Denise
    March 5, 2014 at 2:31 pm

    How creative and Beautiful!! Love it!!

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