Painting Through Grief with Joy Simon
Dear Wonderful, Creative You:
Today is the last twenty-four hours in the Creative Self-Care interview series, and in a way, I've saved the near powerful story for last.
Joy Simon is an artist who I've known through the Mindful Fine art Studio community for a few years now. She is a pupil of Fine art Journaling 101 and the Starting Your Art Periodical eastward-volume. What has spoken to me over the years near Joy is how she has been able to use fine art to talk nearly and process one of the almost painful and about taboo topics – child loss.
I want to share her inspiring words and fine art with you here because I recollect she shows a fashion for us all to talk about really difficult things in really beautiful and transforming ways. I'm moved by her work and I think you will be as well.
If you lot are interested in reading the other amazing interviews, yous can find them here:
Creatively Yours,
Amy
AMY: What are your earliest memories of fine art making, and creating every bit a child? What'south the first time y'all remember feeling inspired?
JOY: I mostly remember the constant availability of a bucket of crayons, markers, pencils, and paper. Nosotros never had to inquire permission for annihilation to be taken out to depict with, it was merely There. One Christmas, I really wanted to give gifts to family unit members. Being 8, I had no coin. So I drew anybody pictures.
I remember getting real, genuine, sincere praise from one uncle in item. He has ever encouraged me to just get for it when information technology comes to fine art, and non permit anyone tell me I can't create and I'm non an artist.
I too have an aunt who had the most amazing old cupboard Total of anything and everything a picayune heart could perhaps want to paint with, draw with, or glue together. It was astonishing. And again, at a very immature age, she would just open it up and let me create annihilation I wanted. My grandmother was much the same, just with sewing and knitting. I had a bunch of teachers and encouragers in a lot of areas!
In general, I think my childhood creativity was fueled by people who just asked what I wanted to create, how I wanted to practise it, and let me practise information technology. There was a lot of encouragement to create and play with so many different things. Information technology wasn't an "extra" thing, or a messy affair that needed to exist cleaned up, it was just part of life.
AMY: What are your favorite means to express yourself creatively? What kind of art do you make?
JOY: I dearest to paint. I dear to play with it, smear it around, or just sit and stare, waiting to come across what will happen. I Love texture right now. I love seeing brush strokes and paint drips and layers layers layers! I'm in the eye of finding my mode, I recollect. Working with more intuitive art, where I used to practice much more typical impressionistic landscapes and animals (which I loved doing). But I'yard finding something a bit more than me – a bit more expressive and emotive.
AMY: If you've ever gone through a period of feeling blocked or that yous don't accept "permission" to make fine art, how did y'all find the backbone to create again?
Sometimes, I merely need to take a break. So I do. Other times, I just continue plugging abroad fifty-fifty when I hate how what I'chiliad working on is turning out and I'm feeling remarkably uninspired. Most of the time when that happens, the fine art works itself out.
If neither of those tactics work and I'm notwithstanding feeling creatively blocked, I'll zone out on Pinterest or my various art groups on Facebook looking for inspiration. At that place's always leap to be something I'll run into that just makes me want to Make again.
Yous can find acrylic paints like to the ones Joy uses, and the white gel pen she uses to create those lovely designs here.
[bctt tweet="At that place's something about artwork that helps pause downwardly barriers surrounding such a taboo field of study like pregnancy loss and the death of a kid. Joy Simon #artheals" username="amymaricle"]
AMY: What role does art play in your life? How is fine art self-treat you? Does it help you express, cope or empathise your earth? Can you explain your process and how you use it?
Art has become my emotional release. Creating has become an essential part of my mental self-care.My son was stillborn in 2014, and I was encouraged to write and talk about it to aid in healing. While both of those helped, what has actually been freeing and the nearly healing for me is creating. It is how I express pain, feet, hope, longing, anger, and a plethora of other emotions that I but don't have words for. I continue to utilise creating and art as a manner to keep healing and to reach out to others who accept experienced loss. At that place'southward something near artwork that helps pause down barriers surrounding such a taboo discipline like pregnancy loss and the death of a child. Information technology seems to be more than socially adequate to be open about that kind of hurting and loss through fine art than it is to talk publicly and openly virtually it.
AMY: What inspires your art? Who are some of the artists/places/situations that inspire yous?
There'southward this one episode of Doctor Who, "Vincent and the Doctor." At that place'southward a line that refers to Van Gogh's work and says, "He transformed the hurting of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our globe – No one had ever done it before. Perhaps no i e'er will again."
This line electrocuted me.
I'd been painting and doodling for years at that indicate only for fun, but that… I heard it right after my son died and that has become my goal. Not that I could always be compared to a master like VanGough, but I absolutely desire to use my pain to create dazzler. I want to show that, even in horrible loss and pain, you tin find hope and beauty.
And you, Amy, seriously. I recall y'all were the first person I plant when I become more serious about using art as self-intendance who so wonderfully described and showed me how to focus on "process non product. Information technology's inspiring and freeing to see the procedure of seemingly random colors, blobs, lines, dots and shapes plough into something beautiful and meaningful.There are a slew of artists I follow on Instagram for inspiration also.
Joy is a student in Art Journaling 101, which leads you pace by step through intuitive painting and drawing exercises that will help you develop your unique creative voice and express your feelings through fine art. Click here to learn more than.
AMY: Do y'all have artist friends? Why is being in the Mindful Art Studio community of import for you?
I don't have many in-person artist friends, merely plenty of over-seas "people I know in real life only live too far away from at present to collaborate with face to face" art friends. Which is why online groups like The Creative Self-Care group take become of import to me. It's a really encouraging and supportive group to share artwork and ideas in, without whatever stress of information technology existence extraordinary. Whether you lot're a beginner or a professional artist, everyone in the grouping is wonderfully supportive, total of praise or tips and tricks on how to ameliorate skills.
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Source: https://mindfulartstudio.com/creative-self-care-painting-through-grief-with-joy-simon/
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