the creative process
"learning to enjoy the process without worrying about the product is the secret to rediscovering the childhood pleasure in creating". Natalie Rogers
So what do I mean by expressive arts? For me this is a part of me that I have recently come to find again. When I was at primary school I used to love making things, sitting for hours just creating what ever I wanted, no pressure to "get it right", just to have fun and free to go where ever my ideas and thoughts took me. I loved it.
As an adult I now understand what I felt as a child, the process of being creative, it's not a fixed final thing, there is no right or wrong, it's the process of creating, of exploring, of feeling and expressing whatever that is creatively. Like dancing with my eyes shut, feeling free, getting lost in that moment, like getting a pastel and swirling the colours round and round on the paper, it's what ever I feel like doing in that moment.
So how is this therapeutic?
"it is the process of discovering ourselves through any art form that comes from an emotional depth". Natalie Rogers
In terms of therapy it is the chance to get in touch with, connect with our inner most feelings, to connect with what is coming from deep inside. Sometimes I find it really hard to find the right words to express how I feel, and yet I might be able to get a sense it down on paper. For some the idea of getting in touch with our creative self feels alien, or scary, and that's ok. It is an option and one that's available if it feels ok to you.
For me therapy is always about what feels right and if something doesn't feel right its not right for you. that's the whole point, to go with our gut, follow the moment and trust ourselves for what feels ok.