.art together

There’s something so special about creating cooperatively. The experiences shared, the laughter, the tears, the feelings, while adding your contribution to a blank canvas is very powerful when it comes to release much of everything we carry inside.

In this special case, the goal was to celebrate someone’s life. Someone everyone who added their contribution hold very close to the heart, someone who was worth to create an art piece to eternalize that celebration moment.

Every moment is an opportunity to apply Therapeutic Art concepts, even though we are not in an actual therapy session. At this day, everyone was encouraged to add whatever they wanted, using whatever color they wanted to express their good feelings about the dear birthday girl.

Some were very excited and jumped right in. Many of them hesitated stating that they have never done anything like that before. That was when Art Therapy and I stepped in, with words of empowerment, encouraging each one of them to break the mind chains that were keeping them from trying something new and experience joy from it. They were invited to express what they felt of positive and sometimes held in secret about the birthday girl, to express what they couldn’t or were not comfortable about communicating verbally directly to her.

Many people find very challenging saying words of affirmation, or validation, and art can be of a great support specially in special occasions such as this, when any love gesture means so much.

The birthday girl felt so loved when receiving the art that has been finalized by me, the piece received the name of “Overflowing Love”, 2021, due to the amount of love poured into the making of it.

And one thing I am sure of, is that not only the birthday girl but everyone was able to take benefit from this amazing experience.

- Natalia Thomaz