D.A. Brave Series: A man brought his artistically talented wife, “D,” to the studio in hopes of reigniting the joy she once found in creating art but since her loss of cognitive functioning he explained, “she seems to have lost her ability to paint or make art.” He hoped Process Art could encourage her creative energy to flow again. Our first collaborative painting, Landscapes Blurred View, describes the grid she see’s life through now that she feels like her brain has “escaped.” Painting together helped discover her art voice again.

The Brave Series is about choosing to be brave when adversity comes. May you be encouraged by my friend’s choice to show up, face her fears, and create beauty in the midst of great adversity. Choose Brave.

D.A. Brave Series: It’s a miracle to engage in art with a fellow artist, D, who is navigating life with life altering memory loss. While she’s unable to paint with precision, just handling a brush and dabbling the paint on canvas awakens her ability to see beauty in this tragedy as we process the ups and downs of this road less traveled. On this day, she recalled the season of the grape harvest and shared the memory of putting her feet in grapes years ago at a Greek festival. Art tapped into this memory. Choose Brave.

Making straight lines was a challenge for D… she prefers moving her brush in a rhythmic squiggle (left bottom) which makes me think of the random non-linear fall of each leaf as it hits the ground giving new life to vegetation below by dying. D talks about losing her memory but she’s certainly finding joy in creating again.

D spoke of her late mother during this session. She recalls her mother who survived polio and who lived with the greatest strength she’s known described as “a fighter with intentional fortitude.”

Then she said this profound statement: “Those severely handicapped are bestowed great powers.”

The painting reminded her of her mother because purple represents strength… and then a Purple Heart appeared in the painting process showing it’s aura and impact to the environment around it (yellow swoops)-just like how D. described the impact of her mother’s, “unrelenting strength fortified in the fire of struggle and suffering.”. Choose Brave.

Intent of this time with my client was to allow the brush to wander where it leads, “strokes of shalom” if you will. The colors are deep, rich, and pervasive ~ like the yearning in the soul.

She had no answers. Just “answered prayer” in a way she never asked for. Reasons unknown, pain so deep she could barely breathe. Manipulation. Lies. Betrayal. Loss. She’s been in this story too many times to count but this was different.

As the paints swirled, dried petals stuck, the old man’s soil edging the page … she see’s a dancer in gold and her heart is reminded, “the pain lasts for moment(s) but joy comes in the morning…” Perhaps not on this morning but joy WILL come one morning. Selah.

By April Robinson, Mixed Media on Paper

“This represents when I feel calm but the other side of me is anxiety slowly taking over my calm mood until I feel paranoid, isolated and sad. The angel is an angel I saw in a dream once. He told me he was my guardian and has watched over me and he told me it will eventually get better . I think of him a lot. I believe he is the angel always watching over me and takes care of me, trying to calm me down.”

Creative Soul Care Client

I found 2019 to be a tumultuous year but 2020 has far surpassed with a world-wide pandemic, an increasingly polarized political climate, racial injustice leading to protests and riots, refugees continuing their flight in search of safety, natural disasters raging, explosions killing and fires surrounding parts of the world. Clearly these are tumultuous times but I’ve also found these times strangely hopeful. Months before the pandemic, Read more