GATEWAY
Arts
Joanne Barbara
To be able to enter into a space where putting pencil to paper, or paintbrush to canvas-you can let go of thinking and just focus on whatever it is comes with your hands' movement and the joy of seeing colors.
It is a special time, some would say a luxury, but I disagree. It is a nourishment for me, for my spirit.
Everyone is creative-just living life is a creative endeavor. It is a parallel to therapy for me.
In my continuous search to enhance my well-being-I need this to empty my mind and fill my soul.
It sounds very serious, but it is also humorous. Art activity can alter my mood, most times.
There was a time when in a deep depression the joy was no longer there, it was a great, heavy struggle. The brush felt heavy, the point held no excitement of color for me.
In a detour-like manner I ended up at Gateway Arts and Crafts for those with disabilities. I had an advocate at Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission who asked me what I did for a hobby; and it went from there.
Breaking away from isolating acts that left me feeling like "the only one" who had a major psychiatric disturbance and getting me into a social setting that focused on strengths instead of weaknesses was a Godsend.
Gateway offered me support in my struggles with my art-making process as well as support that just went along with being in an understanding environment. Structure was an opening for me to enter into and continue to try.
A place to go was immensely important for me in my learning about my needs as an ex-patient as well as a human being.
Being in the company of others to "show" my art was at first inhibiting. But now no longer. At Gateway I recognize how much the social atmosphere contributed to my recovery process. It continues to support me even though I no longer attend. Just the knowledge that there are others like me who struggle and find joy in as simple a thing as decorating a piece of wood or something more elaborate as using painting as a mode for telling stories.
My imagination is free and no longer
put down, put aside for more "serious" things. It is a nourishment
I cannot go without.
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