Diary Of An Art Therapist II: Artist Talk & Insights Into My Art Practice

It has been a little too long.

I thought I should jump on here and share some cool things that have been happening recently!

I currently have a solo art show! Possibly the largest solo collection I’ve displayed (18 drawings).

It is on until the end of January at Gold Coast University Hospital. You can see it until then, or you can read a little more about it:

Gold Coast Health writes about it here.

Yesterday, I gave a brief artist talk about the show. I shared a bit about my art process and thought I would to share a little bit here too.

My Drawing Process:

• I generally prefer working on A3 sized paper. Just large enough to convey what I want without feeling cramped, and small enough that it’s not overwhelming so I can finish the drawing in time before I lose interest.

• I use 300GSM university cartridge paper- Just a nice texture and weight that my pencils work well on. I buy this from School Art Supplies in large scale a1 sized packs and then cut them down.

• I store all my finished artworks and blank papers in an art room in my house that I have to climate control to ensure nothing grows mold (it’s an older house prone to trapping humidity). I run a dehumidifer 24/7 to make sure I can control moisture levels for preservation.

• I use a combination of biro and prismacolor pencils usually- I find these pencils the most vibrant of any brand I’ve ever used, and most pens dry out over the top of them, hence the cheap store biro works well for outlining.

• I find that an idea really needs to light up my imagination and stir something in me or I lose interest too quickly to stay with the idea for a whole drawing. I do dabble with other creative things (occasionally painting with watercolours or sculpting or making earrings etc) but for me, drawing is my primary expressive outlet, and is especially the medium I turn to for processing, wrestling with the world and finding my ‘voice.’

• I am in awe of artists who do what I cannot do. I cannot do realism. I cannot do patience and longsuffering over art that takes months or years to finish. I cannot do mathematical things like grid up my page because i find that boring and too formulaic. I am in awe of the precision of those kinds of artists. I can mainly use my imagination and deliberately avoid trying to get correct proportions and angles and details etc. I hope I can pull off the quirky style instead, lol.

Inspiration:

-Overhead snippets of conversations

-My faith, and biblical stories

-My work as a therapist with people in the mental health sector

-Music, particularly the Beatles as a standout source of inspiration

-My internal emotional experiences (frustration, sadness at ‘the world’, delight, confusion, outrage etc). Drawing is my answer to “what do I DO with how I feel?” I put it down on paper and express it, which feels productive/ useful and helps me to stay balanced and find some hope.

My advice for emerging artists finding their voice:

• Don’t worry so much about how other artists do things. There’s a lot of advice in the art world about what to use, your techniques, etc. You will find your voice, in your way, that satisfies how you want to do things.

• Don’t ignore your impulse to ‘make’ when life gets busy. I think of a pressure cooker. It explodes. When you get the impulse to let some of that steam out and put pen to paper (or whatever you prefer) don’t ignore it! Make time, even brief, to keep accessing creativity as your outlet.

• Something to ponder in your practise: art is a vehicle, a communication tool. Aside from art for art’s sake and pure enjoyment (nothing wrong with that!) if you are creating original pieces, what are you saying? What are you pointing people towards? You have something to say. Is it political? Religious? Defiant? Calling people to something positive? Spend time with that.

Until next time, which hopefully isn’t as far away as the last time, x.

Mental Health Week 2025 Reflections: Art As...

Art is a survival tool. I mean survival in the sense that I could live without art, but the quality of my life would be diminished.

I drew this when I was 17 and in grade 12. I don’t think I gave it a title. This is what I mean by ‘unbottling’. This image represents the teenage angst, anxiety and frustrations I felt at this time- and I needed somewhere to put this. Thank God for having a tangible way to represent and ‘unbottle’ my emotions.

I mean survival in the sense that art is a bridge to others, to share common humanity and tell stories. Art is deeply humanising.

Also, the process of making art helps preserve my good mental health.

This week is Queensland Mental Health week, and I wanted to reflect on some of the very specific ways art helps me personally to stay well.

1. Art As A Great Unbottling

1. Art functions as a way to ‘unbottle’ what could easily be bottled up if I did not have an avenue to let it out. It is a ‘great unbottling’ of emotions. Talking can be effective also, but drawing just allows a little more ‘simmer’ time to ‘sit with’ the feeling and let it come to life on paper. Even the unpleasant stuff, when uncovered and expressed, can be beautiful and has a place within my story. I fear no emotion, in fact I embrace them all when it comes to their usefulness in art making. I once experienced some heartbreak and bitter disappointment, and I made a big painted banner about it, and then someone bought it, and I realised that pain can be transformed (sometimes into personal profit, I learned, lol). Pain doesn’t stay pain when it gets expressed creatively.

2. Art As a clarifying experience.

Kind of like dialogue and debate can give you pause to consider different ideas and arrive at what you think (which takes longer) art making is kind of a shortcut that allows me to stop and figure out ‘what do I actually think about this topic?’ or ‘is that what I actually believe?’ It kind of changes my relationship with ideas, because the act of art making becomes so concrete, so tangible, that it changes my relationship to the idea I am expressing. Like, do I think this enough to put it out into the world and make it more real? Sometimes the answer is yes- cool, I’ve learned something. Sometimes the answer is no- cool, I’ve learned something.

‘Obscurity’ 2018.

This clarifying experience clears my mental fog, helps me understand myself and my responses to the world around me better, and helps me think more clearly.

3. Art as a bridge to others

I love this part of being creative: when you put yourself out there and share your art and someone responds with “I’m not arty but I totally get it…” “I’m not that creative but that resonated with me..” or when people point things out in my work that I didn’t even notice I put there. That happens on a semi-regular basis. Art, though for me is quite a solo endeavour at times, functions to connect me in a meaningful way to other people. I create alone, but then I share what I create and engage and see the response of others which brings me joy. Art is such a great ‘alongside one another’ activity, too, that breaks down awkwardness and transcends verbal language.

Art as a bridge: this image is from a 2019 trip to PNG where I visited remote Western Province villages on a medical ship. I was there to engage kids while medical staff looked after immunisations etc. I took chalk with me and used it to draw with kids from the differing villages. They drew their houses (on stilts) and I copied, then I drew my western style house and they copied me. A great non verbal, reciprocal experience that allowed us to come together and understand each other.

My invitation to you this mental health week, is: is there a creative format you haven’t tried before? What could you use to express or ‘unbottle’?

• Perhaps writing a poem? (doesn’t even have to rhyme, just get it out!)

• Doing some cartoonish drawings while you’re on the phone- absent minded squiggles.

• Writing a ‘dear _____’ letter to express your emotion towards someone (who you will never send it to)

• Some finger painting! It is surprisingly cathartic! it doesn’t have to ‘look like’ anything- the sensation, the textures, the catharsis is the goal

• Write a blog post! Put your thoughts out there somewhere (besides the comments section, therapeutic though that may be…lol)

• What about viewing some art!!! Don’t even worry about the making!!

  Recovered Futures is an exhibit on right now, displaying mental-health themed works by people with lived experience. One of my drawings is available to buy still! Check the whole show out! Here’s the link to see my stuff: Recovered Futures Store- My Artwork

Here’s to unbottling, finding clarity, and building bridges to others via art making this mental health week.

x

Objective Truth Will Set You Free

I had a conversation with a relative recently and we were discussing how fraught social media is (no one else has noticed this yet, we are true groundbreakers).

We came to the conclusion that the divisiveness we are all experiencing isn’t necessarily wilful, but that our algorithms are actually feeding us all completely different information (I mean, I do think there is a huge degree of bad faith mischaracterisation of the ‘other’ with whom we disagree, but aside from that, I do agree about the algorithm. It’s a beast).

We aren’t seeing the same news. 

We aren’t starting from an objective truth and making our conclusions from that. 

In fact, what is objective truth- and why does it even matter?

This is a philosophical defence of objective truth, and why it not only still exists, but it is good for us to pursue it, and I believe it is far superior to a world governed by pure subjectivity.

This blog is going to be pretty simplistic because there are all kinds of philosophical conversations around these topics, but I am a laywoman, and this is a thought for anyone to grasp.

Ok. Definitions. 

Objective truth: This philosopher sums it up: Objective truths are “Truths that are independent of us and our language, conventions, beliefs, attitudes, and social practices”

These are things we can discover. Truth isn’t decided, it’s found. It exists whether we realise it or are totally ignorant of it, and our feelings don’t influence whether it is true or not.

The author asserts that “the notion of objective truth is what anchors all serious, clear-headed inquiry, and without it the distinction between science and pseudoscience breaks down.”

‘“Objective’ means: based on real facts and not influenced by personal beliefs or feelings.”

This psychologist notices the difference here: “To counter the rise of narcissism, we must see a distinction between personal truth and objective truth. They can coexist. When they do coexist, objective truth becomes a tuning fork, guiding a nation of personal truth holders, not to forfeit their personal truths, but to recognize that there are objective truths on which we can agree.”

I would go a step further than this author and say we need a total reframe of even naming it ‘personal truth’

We can’t have individual, fractured ‘mini truths’ that belong to ourselves. If truths belong primarily to individuals and are partially true (true for them, not true for me) they aren’t true. It’s absurd. We have personal experiences. Those, we can own. Those, we can share powerfully. Those are very subjective. There is no ‘your truth’ and ‘my truth’ only ‘THE truth’ and ‘my experiences’ the latter of which are shaped by many factors: knowledge, personality, emotions, upbringing, values, the list goes on.

Subjective truth: ‘Subjective’ means: influenced by or based on personal beliefs or feelings, rather than based on facts.

Subjective ‘truths’ can change, based on new information, perspective, and experiences. It is ever-shifting.

Here' are some examples of why this distinction matters when it plays out:

A person can have a horrendous experience with their parents; a strict dad, or a cruel mother. Because of their experience, it might lead them to assume a broader belief: That fatherhood is a power construct that is designed to control and oppress children, or that motherhood is cruel and mothers are evil.

See how experience shapes what we believe to be true? But when we look at experiences in context, for this person, it’s more like:

The experience of my own dad was he was far too strict, but that isn’t all fathers, and that doesn’t accurately capture what fatherhood is. Just because my mum was cruel doesn’t mean all mothers are cruel. Experience, perspective, opinion= highly valuable, worth listening to, has an important place in shaping our communities.

This person could tell the truth and share their perspective about their parents cruelty and the emotional impacts on them. But experience has a context and a subjectivity that means we treat it differently than we treat objective truths.

I read a book recently that was a first hand account of a war zone.

It was harrowing; and it bothered me. The author repeatedly kept claiming to be ‘telling the truth’ of her people, yet omitted really important objective facts that provide context about what she was observing. I felt the book was designed to tug on the emotions of the reader without providing them the facts to shape what they understood about the story (A journalist documenting life in Gaza, without once mentioning the word ‘Hamas’ or mentioning the Israeli hostages in tunnels; pieces of incredibly important context for what was playing out. No mention at all of her own governments role in the conflict, which would leave the reader under the false assumption that Israel was prosecuting a war for absolutely no reason, which she essentially suggested repeatedly throughout the book).

When we reject even the idea of objective truth existing, all we have left is a grapple for power: who can shout the loudest? They must be telling the truth. Who can use emotive enough language to sway people’s feelings towards them? Without an anchor in what is factually and objectively true, this is the world we have left. It’s a dark place. And no wonder our world is completely on fire if this is the way things work.

Here’s what I think would benefit all of us: What if we, on all sides, came to an agreement: That objective reality exists, that we may be ignorant of it but that it is discoverable, and that the pursuit of it leads us all into a much better place?

Why the pursuit of truth matters :

“When we disregard facts in favor of opinion, we give license to those who wish to rewrite history and justify the most heinous actions. Thus, our fight is not simply against falsehood – it is for the clarity and power of truth itself.”

— Eli Sidlofsky

Jesus himself suggested the truth sets us free (free from personal chains? from believing lies? from being mislead? from the cage of our limited experiences?)

John 8: 31-32 “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Even knowing there is a truth out there outside of myself takes huge pressure off me trying to create my own truth. It helps me realise I encounter the world through lenses that can distort how I see things, so produces a kind of humility. It also frees me to know that the truth shines a light on everyone, everywhere, not just exposing ‘one side’ but illuminating everything clearly. All are at the mercy of the truth. I want to live this way. I want to be prepared to face ‘the truth’ even if it exposes things in me. I am not afraid of the truth.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn writes striking things about the impact of lies: “Our way must be: Never knowingly support lies! Having understood where the lies begin (and many see this line differently)—step back from that gangrenous edge! Let us not glue back the flaking scales of the Ideology, not gather back its crumbling bones, nor patch together its decomposing garb, and we will be amazed how swiftly and helplessly the lies will fall away, and that which is destined to be naked will be exposed as such to the world.”

We can all have different opinions about reality. We can interpret things differently. But we cannot deny facts or do away with the idea that object truth exists and is really very important. When we do, personal ‘truths’ and lies reign supreme and produce the chaos of a fractured world.

Cling to the pursuit of truth. Re-align your subjectivity up with truth. Let it bow before truth outside of yourself. The truth will set you free.

Whatever Dismays You, Do The Opposite: Thoughts on Charlie Kirk

It feels like the world changed yesterday. The shooting of Charlie Kirk rocked me in a really weird way. I don’t watch his stuff all the time, but I was familiar enough and admired his willingness to talk to ideological opponents. When I heard of his brutally senseless public murder it hit me in a place I didn’t expect.

‘Microwavable Hearts’ 2015.

This represents how I feel today. My heart is soft, and it hurts for a father, a husband, a person my age who was shot for having politically unpopular things to say.

It hit my spirit. It hit deeply. I have some thoughts for people who love free speech, are dismayed at the death of a person who championed SPEAKING and DIALOGUE to resolve differences, and people who share the Christian faith in the weeks and months to follow. This is one of those times where I’m like “Gee, someone needs to say something” and usually, when I have that thought, I’m challenged: why don’t you say something?

PS. This post will have nothing to comment on Charlie’s very USA-specific views around guns or other political topics that don’t translate so simply into other cultural contexts. I really don’t care where anyone stands on politics. I am more interested in the faith, courage and commitment to free speech and open dialogue that he embodied in a very hostile cultural landscape. Those are the things I truly admire and wish I was brave enough to emulate. This post really isn’t about politics, because not everything is about that. He was a political figure, of course, but underneath that, the driver of that, was a sincere and bold faith that I am way more interested in.

Charlie said recently when he was asked in an interview what he’d want to be remembered for: “I wanna be remembered for courage for my faith that would be the most important thing. The most important thing is my faith in my life.”

Here are my thoughts:

1. Don’t Be Surprised 

We are surprised in the face of senseless depravity. We shouldn’t be. We’ve been sleepwalking for a couple of generations now in a cultural context of peace, freedom, and the ability to engage as faith people in the public square. This cultural context isn’t normal, this isn’t the way the world has always been, and this freedom of expression and religion is more fragile than we realise it is. We should not be surprised in the face of senseless violence for speaking one’s mind (and then the secondary evil of people cheering it on) but we should allow this to wake us up, and to remain awake now, and realise we actually need to fight a little harder for the principle of being able to speak, and for our enemies to speak, without the threat of death.

Jesus addressed opposition directly. We should expect challenge and hatred. If the world hated and crucified a man as perfect as Jesus….I mean, in Jesus’ own words:

John 15:18-25: 18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[a] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’[b]

2. Whatever Dismays You? Do The Opposite

Whenever depraved events happen, it exposes the hearts of people who cheer depravity. It also exposes that they are ultimately not powerful and will not win. Image from my book No Matter What, 2019.

I had a boss several year ago who said the single most helpful piece of advice that I’ve held onto.

We were discussing something that bothered me, and she said the advice that worked for her was this:

She was once bothered by someone’s behaviour and someone in her life said to her, “well, don’t you do that”

So, when people delight in violence, I say to myself, and to you: Don’t you do that.

Don’t you be gleeful when someone you dislike is killed

Don’t you be quick to justify violence

Don’t you approach debates in bad faith or be too close minded to learn from others

Don’t you stifle speech with violence

Don’t you be dishonest (“When you deliberately distort and selectively present the truth, you lie” in the words of Charlie Kirk)

Don’t you be cruel or malicious to others

3. Build Virtue

…Even when that is a quiet pursuit that you can’t demonstrate to applause on social media. Do it when no-ones watching. Do it especially when no one is watching. 

We are so unfamiliar with the concept of virtues in a landscape that celebrates quick takes, the appearance of things and cares NOTHING for a person’s character. Why waste effort becoming virtuous? Where will that get me, career wise? That won’t lead to more content. That won’t allow me to be the loudest voice on a popular topic that I can get clapped for. Why bother with virtue?

…Because it is what will save us and restore our humanity. We need a world of more careful, virtuous people.

It doesn’t matter what the ‘world’ throws at you or accuses you of (I was personally accused of being a ‘rancid little freak’ recently on social media..lol. I appreciated the creativity of the wording) if you quietly know you are doing the best to conform your character to Christ. (by the way, even he isn’t compassionate enough for woke people or hateful people).

I had another Christian ( who I actually know, and could have chosen to talk to me via message lol) rebutt me and police a comment I made on a social media post and correct me for my lack of speaking about what they perceived as appropriate to speak about, calling my perspective into question on a pretty public forum. That approach is not helpful. Not virtuous. The tone of: ‘I’m more virtuous than you, so let me publicly correct you, so everyone here knows I’m one of the good ones, and you’re a bigot’ is not it. Less public virtue signalling. More building of real personal virtue.

And if you’re not a Christian? Cool. A good place to start is developing and prioritising these: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, a list from Galatians 5:22-23 that describes the ‘fruits’ of lives that are influenced by the Holy Spirit. But be warned you might find yourself accidentally behaving in a new way and your life might improve when you pursue and desire these qualities.

4. THINK CRITICALLY

Don’t just accept slogans and chanting and pat yourself on the back for being morally superior.

Weigh ideas up properly. It is not a sin to prioritise logic. Logic and rationality is a gift we have been given as a species. We can know some things via our emotions, our intuitions, or gut instincts- for absolutely sure. But we cannot leave our minds behind and forget how important it is to weigh ideas, test the ones that challenge us, put everything under a microscope to see if it holds up under scrutiny.

Our emotional responses can lead us to places that cloud our judgement- that isn’t good

Our rational thinking can lead us to places that are unnecessarily harsh and devoid of gentleness.

We need both to move forward. Some prefer to chant about empathy (a good when partnered with thinking properly) but it CANNOT be divorced from engaging our minds.

5. EXTEND YOUR HEART, AND THE MIC TO YOUR OPPONENTS

Do what Charlie did. Show kindness to your opponents by bothering to take the time to engage and hear them out and have a dialogue.

I’ve seen people accuse him, in the 24 hrs after his death, of being like the antichrist, or of being hateful. To that I say: Jesus bothered to engage with people. Jesus dialogued all day. He cared enough about people to hear them out. This is one of the most Christlike behaviours we can extend to others. If we give up on the idea of engagement we’ve descended into a dark place. I don’t want to go any further into that place than we’ve already gone. It can be easy to want to retreat into our comfortable silos at times of chaos and even danger. But being prepared to have a debate and discuss ideas (ideas should ALWAYS be on the table to discuss, examine and challenge) will restore us to finding a tiny centimetre of common ground.

My friend asked me yesterday “Can we even hope to win hearts with dialogue anymore?”

My response was this:

We’ve won already.

When we stay committed to dialogue instead of violence, we’ve won already

When we don’t let ugly culture wars warp us into hatred, we’ve won already.

When we don’t let moral confusion get in the way of denouncing senseless murder and political violence, we’ve won already.

When we remember the saviour who is our literal only eternal hope in the darkenss of this world, we remember that He’s won already, and therefore we’ve won already.

1 Corinthians 16:13 and here’s some relevant (though ancient) advice originally given to the church in Corinth:

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong”

It’s easy to feel a little despairing. 

But take courage, you’ve already won.

Don’t Let Those Rascal Thoughts Make You Drop Your Gaze, 2017.

For today: Don’t let the beastly hatred in this world shift your eyes off Jesus. Don’t let the twisted morality of the world tell you light is actually darkness, and darkness is light. Hold your gaze.

Impressions From England