Women, Painting and Power Posted Aug-28-2007
The Potential Unleashing in Intuitive Painting and Process Art
When we create art, we communicate. We express pieces of ourselves using the mediums and platforms of our choosing, voicing whatever it is that needs to come forth from within: knowledge, humor, happiness, sadness, depression, anger, confusion, beauty, strength, power. Some of this art is intended for public consumption — it's completed, framed, tagged, and displayed — we hope someone will appreciate it, buy it, use or hang it in their home or office.

But some of this art isn't intended for public consumption and will never be seen by anyone but us and perhaps a few close family members or friends. This art is used for personal processing work, much like a private journal is used by a writer to explore, untangle, and understand impulses and issues deep within themselves. This art is referred to as "process art" and is often done through the mediums of painting and other colorful modes of artistic expression.

Art therapists, counselors, and mental health professionals use process art to help facilitate healing and growth in individuals who have a therapeutic need to process experiences and emotions. My first experience with the therapeutic effects of process art happened in 1997, almost a year after the death of my 29-year-old brother Tom who was killed in a work-related accident.

Never before was I encouraged to use art as a way to explore my grief, my sadness, my pain. But when I did, I suddenly felt an inner transformation. No, the pain wasn't gone after one session, but I knew that I had tapped into something very powerful that could assist in the healing I needed. I leaned that I could communicate and feel things through the colors and textures of art and symbolic imagery that I couldn't express in any other way. And it was through that experience that I awakened more to the power and necessity of creative expression in myself, and in others. (The picture above is my "Healing Tree", rich with symbolism related to my family and the loss of my brother. It was done on a huge piece of paper with pastel chalk.)

If you'd like to learn more about process art and get a glimpse into how a practitioner works, I highly recommend reading this insightful piece by creativity coach and process art facilitator Chris Zydel titled, "Women, Painting and Power." The information and insights Chris shares about the value of process art is equally valid for men. She's the founder of Creative Juices Art and has "over 28 years of experience as a compassionate creativity guide." You can also learn more through these Art Therapy and Process Art resources I've compiled on the Creativity Portal Web site. •

© 2007 Chris Dunmire www.chrisdunmire.com. All rights reserved. Please do not duplicate this article elsewhere without my permission.