“TELLING WITHOUT TALKING” Introduction to Storytelling and Art · 2019-06-02 · art therapy and healing, I found that expressing my experiences through art, ... of your story

1 1. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/arts-and-health/201608/why-art-therapy-works

2. http://meandpete.com/ 3. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/24/science/personal-myths-bring-cohesion-to-

the-chaos-of-each-life.html?pagewanted=all

“TELLING WITHOUT TALKING” – Introduction to Storytelling and Art

Welcome to The Art of Sisterhood! My name is Deanna Strachan-Wilson and I am a mixed media artist. I live on the Central Coast of California with my husband, Craig, and two cats and I work full time managing an employment program for people with mental illness who want to return to work. I am so glad you are here. I am so excited to be part of this group and this journey.

We are going to dive right in and begin to think about who is in this sisterhood of life with us and how have we grown, developed and healed because of this sisterhood? Who are the players in our tribe that we TRUST and with whom we can be VULNERABLE? What are their roles in our lives and what is my role as well? We will think about these things and use their inspiration to direct our creation. We will refer to this guideline of storytelling for my main lesson and both art journaling lessons though each project will be different.

What I will be covering in this document and will describe in the main lesson: ● Background information on healing through storytelling. ● My personal story laid out on canvas. ● Guideline for creating your story. ● Step by step demonstration of my process of layering words and paint to tell my story.

HEALING THROUGH STORYTELLING

In 2013, I returned to art following the dissolution of my eighteen year marriage. I found a place of healing and a way of coping with emotions that at the time seemed to have no words. I have since come to describe this as “Telling Without Talking”. You will hear more about that story later.

I found that when I am creating, I am able to focus only on the present moment, which gives my heart and mind rest from that with which I am currently occupied. In researching more about art therapy and healing, I found that expressing my experiences through art, my identity and self-image were strengthened. Furthermore, making art allowed me to investigate my thoughts and feelings in such a way that I was unable to do with words alone.(1) The two images below were my initial foray into mixed media. I love the kinesthetic of the paper, paints, glue, brushes. I would find quotes that resonated with where my heart was at that time and added those to my paintings.




“Great Love” – 2013 “Peace in Your Heart” - 2013 A CONTAINER FOR THE SOUL

Soon after, I began using an art journal to collect ideas for new art pieces and a place for quick sketches. Juliana Coles(2), Fine Artist and Teacher of Extreme Visual Journaling, presents the idea of a journal as a container; a container for our vulnerabilities, emotions, ideas, frustrations, tragedies and celebrations. This idea resonated with me because I have always thought of my body as a container of my soul and that my body contains my vulnerabilities, emotions, ideas, frustrations, tragedies and celebrations. I’m not very good at listening to my body however and in order to pay more attention to this, I’ve decided to work more in an art journal rather than always on canvas. The journal is a place where I can put these things when perhaps my body, heart, mind, soul, etc is at capacity. It is an outlet. A container. It is also only for me. Those I choose to share my VULNERABILITIES with have earned the right to be there. They have become a TRUSTED player in the story of my life. They have become part of my Tribe.

MY PERSONAL STORY The story that I’m going to share with you is more about the players in the story rather than the actual event. I mentioned earlier that I returned to art after my marriage of 18 years came to an end. All of a sudden, I was alone; my mind was swirling with decisions, feelings, pain and relief all at the same time. There were various people in my life that came to play different roles, filling different needs for me. There were care takers, problem solvers, prayers, protectors and healers, to name a few. There was one instance (more than one, but I




remember this one) where I felt my most unwanted and unneeded and all Sally had to do was put her hand on me. There were no words. None really needed to be said. That simple act was enough for me to know, in that moment, that despite the pain I was experiencing, I was loveable and worthy of being loved.

It was during this time I found art to be a form of expressing my experiences without using my own actual voice, the words did not have to come from my mouth. The words came from my heart and landed on the canvas. I like to use words in my art, especially words the viewer cannot necessarily read. This allows the viewer to wonder and create their own story about what is happening in the painting. I have used actual journal pages that included my feelings during this time. I have used graffiti size pens and scratched giant swear words across the canvas. I have written quotes and poems about love, loss, pain, and grief. What I have noticed however, is that in my layering process, these words get partially covered. I work so that some always shows through but now they are partially covered by beautiful colors, faces, and new words or images that bring empowerment and healing. This layering process will be part of my lesson. The image below is the piece I created in preparing for this course. We will be creating something similar in the main lesson.

This canvas is covered with many

layers of papers, words, journal

pages, my own hand written story

which was the inspiration for this

piece. What began as painful

memories became an extremely

healing creation. With each layer, I

thought of the people in my life

who supported me during the

difficult time and in, the end,

where I am now.

“No Longer Broken But Healed.”




GUIDELINE FOR CREATING YOUR STORY

This section takes you through the four components of creating your story. ● Naming the Tribe ● Naming the Players in the Tribe, including yourself ● Using a Timeline ● Creating a Tagline

NAME THE TRIBE

In preparing for this lesson, I looked up the word “tribe” in the Thesaurus. I know that word does not resonate with everyone so here are a few alternatives.

Other Words for Tribe: Clan

Society

People

Blood

House

Kindred – hence Kin

Lineage

Fellowship

Partnership

Cronies

Community

Circle

There are many more. These are just a few. For this lesson, I want to encourage you to pick at least one word that sits with you, a word that describes this group of players in your life story. Being a Scot, I like the word “Clan”. Remember, too, that you are part of this group, this circle. I believe that as the people in our clan, tribe, circle hear our stories and validate them and, we in turn hear theirs, that healing happens. Not just healing, but growth, development, change, stimulation, forward movement. NAMING THE PLAYERS So let’s talk about the players in our story. We are going to give them descriptive names. I want you to think of yourself as well, you are the main character! Swiss Psychiatrist, Carl




Jung(2), developed the idea of storytelling to help people better understand events that have happened in their lives as a way of healing. He likened these stories to those of Greek mythology and that common archetypes emerged: the care giver, the warrior, the healer, the homemaker, the lover and the counselor, to name a few. You may identify with one of these immediately or several. Your role may have changed over the course of your life. The roles others have played in your life may also change over time. Multiple people may play the same role depending on your needs and the event. You may have different names for the players in your story. For instance, some names I have used for players in my stories include Wisdom, Safety and Protector. You may also have a villain in your story.

USING A TIMELINE

Now that we’ve talked about storytelling and the players in our story, including ourselves, let’s look at our story. One way to do that is to draw a timeline that includes major life events, celebrations and difficulties. I want you to think not only about things that have happened to you, but what also has been a significant event where you played a role in someone else’s story?

LIFE STORY

Birth Braces off

New High School

Chicken Pox

First Car

Grad College

First Job

Marriage New House

Divorce

Laying out a timeline of your life can help you choose an event about which to tell your story for the main lesson. Then, you can outline your story as follows: I will use mine as an example.

EVENT: Divorce

MY ROLE: The Broken One

Who is in your CLAN and what is their role? Sally – Empath/Healer

Michele – Wisdom/Healer

Mom – Care Taker

Dad - Protector

Kara - Safety

Craig - Empath

Shirley – Care Taker




CREATING THE TAGLINE

Now that we have our event and the players in our story, including our own role, we will create a tagline for our story from which we will develop our journal page. It’s a hook that gets the reader, or in this case the viewer to want to know more. The tagline is a one sentence summary of your story and will become the title of your piece. Some guidelines to follow:

● It should be no longer than 15 words. ● Describe characters rather than name them. ● Tie together the big picture and the personal picture.

The following are real life examples:

“The Artist Behind the Gucci Slogans” – New York Times, February 23, 2017

“New Yorkers pitch in to Aid the Women’s March” – New York Times, January 19, 2017 “Life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you’re gonna get. – Forrest Gump, 1994

“Don’t go in the water” – Jaws, 1975

“Every man dies, not every man really lives” – Braveheart, 1995

“Mischief. Mayhem. Soap” – FightClub 1999

MY TAGLINE OPTIONS

Broken Woman Healed by Empath’s Touch

It takes a Village... (I couldn’t resist!) Wisdom. Protection. Safety. Healed. Clan saves the Broken One.

Here is my event, my role, the players in the story and their role and my tagline: EVENT: Divorce

MY ROLE: The Broken One

THE PLAYERS Sally – Empath/Healer Mom – Care Taker

Michele – Wisdom/Healer Dad - Protector

Kara - Safety Craig - Empath

Shirley – Care Taker

TAGLINE: The Broken One Healed




EXPRESSING IT ON CANVAS

As we take our story to the canvas, let’s be inspired from the story and what the story wants to reveal, not what ‘we’ as the person want to create. Let the story be your guide. Let go of thinking and connect with the heart, the emotion or feelings of the story. Ie; what color or shape is divorce? What texture or size is the Care Taker? Will the “Broken One” actually be broken in the painting or have a broken part? Or will she be healed? How are the other characters represented? REFLECTING After the lesson and you have completed your piece, I encourage you to sit with your creation and reflect on all of the layers that went into it. Did you find that the layers changed over time? For instance, did you find different layers held different emotions or content? What was the story? What was your role? Who were the players? SHARING Finally, I believe ultimate healing comes from connection with others. Would you be willing to share your piece with someone who has earned the right to hear your story? Perhaps you feel comfortable sharing your story in the TAOS Facebook group or perhaps you will keep the story to yourself for now. It is your story. You wrote it. You decide. Thank you for being witness to my story and my process. Even the act of sharing our art process can be extremely vulnerable. I hope you found this informative, enlightening and something you might consider adding to your own art process. xoxo - Deanna Strachan-Wilson




Documents

“TELLING WITHOUT TALKING” Introduction to Storytelling and Art · 2019-06-02 · art therapy and healing, I found that expressing my experiences through art, ... of your story