Eva Antonel
I know you'll laugh, but I genuinely feel
that crocheting and soap-making has saved
me from singing the blues this long, cold
winter. Creating something other than a plan
for how to keep warm and dry ‘til it's time to
open the windows again has kept me busy
and happy. Now that I think about it, I have
been sleeping more soundly, taking less
medication for my usual aches and pains and
getting out more than I usually want to at this
time of the year.
Could it be that creative endeavours keep
us from reaching for the aspirin bottle?
Apparently so. Not only does looking at
beautiful images, enjoying theatrical
productions or listening to music give us
pleasure at the time of the experience, but the
process of creating something provides even
more.
The practice of using art to alleviate
physical and emotional issues has been in use
for decades with much success. Art Therapy
and Music Therapy have been utilized all over
the world, including our community, to help
with such concerns as coordination, memory
and trauma recovery. It would make perfect
sense, then, that if it's of benefit to those with
serious problems, it can be therapeutic for
you and I as well.
One does not have to be talented in any
particular art form in order to reap the
rewards. If you haven't held a paintbrush, a
musical instrument or a lump of clay since
you were in Kindergarten, chances are you
don't consider yourself an artist. I was one of
those people. Any attempts at drawing or
playing anything other than a kazoo have
Art is not a thing
— it is a way.
- Elbert Hubbard
proven that my talents must lie elsewhere.
The problem with the search for talent is
that it can paralyze us creatively until the
moment we think we're "good enough,"
which often never arrives. The trick is to just
do. The simple process of putting pencil or
paintbrush to paper, strumming the strings
of a guitar or twisting yarn with a bent stick
into a scarf can have immeasurable rewards.
Allowing our imagination to let our bodies
express our unique voice is both freeing and
empowering. Giving ourselves permission to
make a mess, to put things where we think
they don't belong and to take things apart and
put them back together in a way we have
never done before is the key to letting our
intuition take us places where our intellect
has never allowed us to go.
And that's what I did last year, one late
summer day. I held a bottle of lavender oil
and said "that would make a wonderful soap."
I looked up the method and made it. Since
then, my family has been lucky enough to
wash with soap covered with tea leaves,
embedded with coffee grounds and some
even formulated with Pinot Grigio wine.
When taking a break from making soap, I
taught myself to crochet and every baby
within shouting range will now have a
blanket and booties (and a headband if
they're lucky enough to be a gir!). In the
process, I've thrown out many a tangled mess,
cleaned up many a sticky bowl, but also
discovered that I like the scent of lavender
more than I thought and find the feel of wool
slipping through my fingers more comforting
than reaching for a bottle of aspirin.
Is art keeping you warm this winter?
Tell us about it on Facebook, or tweet us @TheHubWE #artmatters
March 2015 - The HUB 9