One of the coolest things about Expressive Arts Therapy is the use of many different art forms: music, sounding, visual art, dance, theatre. One of the key components is moving between art forms, which we did a lot of this week. In class we started off with making music together, just using our bodies for percussion and vocalization. From the experience we wrote down words or phrases that came to us. Then we choose a word or phrase that spoke to us and took it to the page. Mine is in the picture above.
We then took the step of working with others, combining 4 of our art pieces into one installation piece. This is always an interesting place to negotiate as you try and respect each other's work but also create something new. And it didn't end there. Once we came up with a piece we titled it. And then we moved onto another group's installation and turned our response to it into a theatre piece and shared it with the class. What an afternoon!
There are so many gifts to this experience. It expands your creative abilities as you start using media that perhaps you haven't used before. By responding to the same thing with many different approaches, it opens up the possibilities of what you might see and experience. And it's just plain fun.
How could you explore one of your creations in a new way? What if you turned a journal entry into a dance? What if you sang your painting? What if you wrote a poem to your photography? I'd love to see what you come up with.
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11 comments:
Your idea of singing a painting is sort of what James Abbott McNeill Whistler was into when he painted. His paintings are often called "symphony in ..." or "Nocturne in ..."
His most famous is probably Arrangement in Black and Grey #1: Portrait of the Artist's Mother (commonly known as Whistler's Mother) Here
and Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket
Here
The idea was to intertwine music and visual art. His stuff ends up being pretty interesting.
I'm very intrigued by this whole expressive arts idea...and will give your post some additional thought when my head clears. ;)
I just love hearing about all that your learning in your expressive arts program. This is so timely, too, as last night I was reading Natalie Roger's "The Creative Connection" as inspiration for Thursday's call on expressive arts coaching. She talks a lot about the transition from one mode to another and how using multiple mediums helps us express ourselves more fully and how each medium impacts the other in new ways. And I was thinking of doing some exercises like you mentioned here on the call. Man, I just love our synchronicity :)! Some of the things I've experimented with in the past myself have been dancing to colors, then drawing/painting my experience and then writing a haiku (http://blog.unfoldingyourlifevision.com/2006/09/01/color-chronicles/),
In my Yoga and the Emotions class we did yoga poses, drew and then wrote poems about our drawings (http://blog.unfoldingyourlifevision.com/2007/07/29/asana-a-has/).
this is so inspirational! It is going to be mulling around in my head and heard for a looong time.
I used to love making poems or stories based on a photograph... I don't know what happened to that. I kinda miss it. *thinking I might try it again sometime soon*
good ideas jamie...now...which one am i going to try...
That IS so funny Jamie, I did do that didn't I?!
I love your sign, the arrows are a very cool graphic idea and I love how fitting in for you is also about movement. The people nestling in the letters is also phenomenal!
I don't know why, but this post brought tears to my eyes. I think you tbecausapped into something that I really, really really want for myself and am unable to realize. :( I need to think about that.
I love your blog, by the way! I don't comment enough because I read you on my phone, but your blog never fails to lift my spirits. So, thank you SO much for that.
My art has always contained much symbolism; which is a huge reason I rarely show it to just anyone. I like the idea of creativity being more than one level.
Very interesting post.
Wow, that sounds like a wild and memorable experience!!
writing to your song? singing to your dance? wow!
TTTTRRRRULLLLLLYYYY an amazing challenge. one I feel compelled to take on.
with love and exploration,
jenn
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