Dialogue with yourself through painting

Art has the power beyond language

Expressive art therapy is a broad artistic activity developed in recent years using multiple artistic media, focusing on Through the use of media, Yu explores life stories in free creation, captures the flow of the inner soul, and displays inner emotions that cannot be expressed in words. The overall finished product presented builds a bridge between the inner and outer minds of the creator, and also provides a channel for communication between the outside world and the creator.

This treatment approach has gradually emerged in the fields of mental health care, psychotherapy/counseling, education, social work, medical rehabilitation and other fields, and has become one of the catalysts for holistic care of body, mind and soul.

Looking back on the history of human development, in ancient times when there were no brushes and pigments, people already knew how to use materials from nature to make paintings and records. Prehistoric rock art shows that painting can have the function of conveying a message regardless of medium, class or mental age. Modern people with easy access to materials invest time in various studies, often striving to be more social, knowledgeable, advanced and efficient; they pay attention to professionalism in work, taste in leisure, and pursue exquisiteness in art. However, at the same time, they often forget purity. The childlike innocence of play forgets about nature, forgets about oneself, and forgets that as long as you are willing to try, you can pick up various tools at hand at any time and create with great freedom.

I remember that when I was in elementary school, there was a "Life and Ethics" course. My tutor always assigned me extra homework every Saturday: hand-draw the next week's text illustrations at home on a piece of drawing paper according to the script, and the next Monday the tutor would post the drawings at the back of the classroom for viewing; this happened every week. Although I dislike rigidly imitating ready-made pictures, I still silently accept it and complete this boring task again and again.

In the miserable time, fortunately there are also warm moments

During one of the hard times, my father came over and picked up the crayons and started coloring on the drawing paper naturally. , smudge, mix colors, and tell me at the same time: "Which colors should be stacked on this color to blend it into the color you want."

It was an experience that gave me an instant reminder, like an enlightenment. A profound private enlightenment. So, I began to observe my father carefully and found that he was a self-taught piano player. He could play and sing the scales accurately by himself, and he was very comfortable. I am amazed by my father’s talent and by the potential that can be unleashed in people when they are in a relaxed state of doing nothing and letting their true nature shine through.

The experience of being forced to imitate did not inspire my sincere interest, but instead limited my imagination and painting ability. When I was young, I was curious and confident about trying several talents, but I always felt frustrated and uninterested in painting. Until I was nearly 30 years old, I joined an art therapy growth group.

In the group, I found that no matter what media I use and what form of creation I have, I or any member of the group has a unique and identifiable personal mark. This phenomenon fascinates me deeply. Through creation and works, "unique existence" is no longer a slogan, but a reality that can be experienced.

From then on, I seemed to have opened another eye, eagerly watching art exhibitions, appreciating painting albums, and reading Jungian psychology. However, I still don't have the certainty that "I can draw" or the positive action to fixate on painting.

It wasn’t until I grew up with my children that I came into contact with the treasure trove of children’s picture books. I noticed that some picture books use very little text or even only pictures, regardless of medium or creative form, but they are able to vividly express the ideas and emotions that the author wants to express on the page, and readers of all ages can understand them.

For example, Leo. "Little Blue and Little Yellow", a classic children's book published by Leoni for more than 50 years, features simple lines and bright colors. Although the story and images are simple, they have profound meaning.

Ari. Carl started illustrating children's books when he was nearly forty years old. The joy of drawing in childhood kept emerging. He knew that this was what he wanted. Since 1969, he has created more than seventy books. He is now eighty years old. He continues to create beautiful picture stories for children of all ages; Sher. Silverstein uses concise and vivid lines and words to explain fables about "perfection and flaws", "growth and pursuit"; Quentin. Blake, with his smooth and dancing lines and colors, creates a melody and rhythm on the picture. Even without using words, he still expresses overflowing affection and humor.

When reading these childlike and creative picture books with my children or by myself, I was repeatedly touched by the strong colors and images and choked to tears and laughed heartily. Even though I was fascinated by it at that time, I was still afraid that I could not draw. At best, I was just a collector who loved picture books. However, the artist's incredible imagination and creativity, intertwined with brilliant colors and astonishing images, inspired me day after day, and I quietly ignited the idea of ??"I want to paint and see".

Returning to painting actually started out of necessity

When I was about forty years old, I faced the challenges of physical injury, functional degradation and identity crisis. I was constantly anxious about death. Eating me. Driven by these multiple problems, I no longer had time to think about it, and relying on my intuition and drive, I let myself go and started scribbling to find a way out. As she continued to draw, the little girl who was eager to draw but disliked and did not want to copy other people's works released herself and regained her long-lost freedom one stroke at a time.

In this way, I have been painting as an amateur until now

Putting aside the obstacles and restrictions of the past standardized art education, painting at this stage is no pressure or burden for me. , neither to practice skills nor to pursue whether the painting is good or not. As I deeply explore the inner soul, the images of the unrestrained soul are the content of my paintings. Images and energy continued to emerge, and I reconnected with many parts of myself and experienced the power of integration and healing. At the same time, his personal painting style was gradually developed and clearly presented.

For more than ten years, I have really enjoyed this deep journey of continuing to face my inner self, and the personal experience has allowed me to enjoy this experience after I received training and entered the field of expressive arts therapy. The method is used in group work.

In the past few years of experience in leading intuitive process painting workshops, I have been fortunate to witness each member's personal uniqueness and deep connection with each other through the painting process. spiritual story. I remember that there was once a middle-aged man with a successful career. He repeatedly confronted and compromised with himself, approached and distanced himself for a long time in the painting. He gradually penetrated the layers of self-imposed limitations and barriers of personality masks, and then experienced the spiritual power of his belief. After a series of confrontations and reconciliations, family scenes from his infancy and the faces of several long-lost relatives who died young finally appeared on the drawing paper, and he burst into tears.

To me, painting and other expressive art media are a practical way to discover, express and integrate one's own soul. In this process, we listen to and respond to ourselves, and get to know ourselves. , further support and heal yourself. Every image composed of images from the depths of the soul has its own rich beauty and power because of its originality and authenticity. Although people occasionally have profound peak experiences when meeting art classics in well-known art museums, as long as they are willing to open their deep and boundless inner eyes, they can always have beautiful and meaningful experiences in their daily life, which is full of vitality.

lt; This article was narrated by Wu Peixuan, a consulting psychologist at Xu Li Culture and Education Foundation, and edited by Zheng Zhuxia, marketing specialist of Xu Li Culture and Education Foundation;

lt; This article was published in Xu Li Culture and Education Foundation, which authorizes the magazine to use. gt;

lt; This column reflects the opinions of experts and does not represent the position of this agency gt;