Creative ID: 677
North Shore, Auckland CBD, Mt Eden/Albert/Sandringham/Mt Roskill, GreyLynn/Ponsonby/Pt Chevalier. Avondale.
My arts or creative practice (including details about my specific focus within that art form/practice and my strengths):
I’m an arts therapist who runs one-on-one sessions and group art-making workshops to help participants use their natural creativity to express themselves and explore ways of well-being. Art making is a playful and profound way of getting to know ourselves. It is also therapeutic to express ourselves and what might be going on for us, without having to use words and talk.
I facilitate workshops using a variety of different arts materials from traditional pencils/pens/paints to play clay and using natural or found objects for art making. These workshops are for non-artists as it’s the process of creating that is important, not the end product. I use experiential arts exercises to explore themes of well-being.
We look at:
- what contributes to each person’s wellness and ability to cope with life
- what detracts from their well-being or creates too much stress/distress
- what tools or resources does each person have within themselves to help
- what tools and resources do we have within our communities – family, friends, neighbourhood – that can help keep participants on an even keel
- where can participants get help, if they need support for their mental health or are dealing with anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, or other challenges.
My track record of experience and success - or the track record of experience and success of the creative or artist that I will partner with:
I have a Post Graduate Diploma in Arts Therapy, and I’ve worked as an intern at an art therapy studio and the estuary arts centre with teenagers and adults. I currently run a Creative Fun for Well-being class at a local college. Although it’s for adults, it would work well for students too. I also work one to one and with small groups as an arts therapist, mostly focusing on well-being and dealing with anxiety and depression.
Describe the experience you have had working with children or young people, teaching or facilitating creative processes:
I’ve worked with teenagers as an arts therapist in a weekly arts class at an art therapy studio for two terms. I have run arts activities for school holidays programmes through a local college. This year I facilitated a group of 16 children between 8 and 11 years old. We met at a retirement village and the students paired up with an elder to hear about their lives and then made them an artwork. We had a gifting presentation at the end that was a huge success. This is the third time I’ve run this.
Why I want to be part of the Creatives in Schools programme and how my involvement will link to my creative practice:
I would like to use the modalities of arts therapy and creative play/fun to engage students in how to identify their feelings and manage their own well-being. I’d like to introduce simple ways of understanding the brain (flight, fight, freeze) and how our thinking influences how we feel. I’d like to share information about anxiety and depression and how to deal with them.