Art Therapy Again by Susan L.

  It's been too long since I last took part in an art therapy group. I missed the last one because of PREFER training. A new eight week session started up last night. It felt good to be there again. I know I've turned to the art a couple of times on my own to help me work things through. It's different being in group environment; richer somehow. Maybe it's because it isn't so lonely. I wasn't sure what was going to unfold once the creative process began even though I thought about it on the way there. Often what I think will be "discussed" on the canvas or paper ends up falling by the wayside.
  I am okay with that because the art is prayer. Prayer is a living thing. It ebbs and flows like the wind. Taking the time out of other busy-ness and allowing the Spirit to move, to inspire, to speak in pictures is what it is all about for me. I am more than happy to set aside my own agenda.
  However, I wanted to produce a thank You piece. Partly for being back in the group, but mostly going to see "Son of God" at the theatre has filled me with even more joy and humble gratitude that God is so much a part of my life. His presence is overflowing; uncontainable. I wanted the image to be a celebration, a visual representation, of  yesterday's blog: "In Him we live and move and have our being." Acts 17:28
  I wanted to capture the essence of life lived with my Maker, my Saviour, my Hope.
  That's a lot to ask of a ten by twelve canvas and less than two hours of creative time.
  I set my logical, thinking, controlling, demanding, purposeful brain aside. I set aside the preconceived images I thought would be ideal. Somehow they fell short of representing the grandeur, the hugeness, the movement of life.
  A metal palette knife became my sword as I carved the blue, yellow, red paint onto the canvas. Green, purple, orange appeared as the colours meshed and blended. Splashes of black found their way onto the surface. Then snowflake stars. Brush, big and small, paper towel, torn newspaper added texture and softened harsh edges.
  The newspaper surprised me. What began as ragged strips ended up looking like a hand tattooed with script hovering over a colourful, gaseous nebulae in space. Within the rough simplicity of the image was a thousand thoughts.
  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God." Jn 1:1