Art gives voice to our internal world.

Breaking expectations, 2021, acrylic paints and collages on an A5 paper

    I was feeling slightly frustrated and angry after my session. However, I was unsure of why I was feeling so. I created "breaking expectations" to explore my emotions. I cut the artwork I created during the session into smaller pieces and remake it into a collage. Both these processes of cutting and pasting somehow created a sense of repetitiveness and henceforth brought me into a state of calmness and a here-and-now moment. Looking at the artwork, I felt stuffy as if I was shut inside those tiny pieces and was unable to escape. I included the collage phrase "break expectations just for a moment" because it really resonated with my emotions. After careful introspection and reflection, I learnt that the feelings I felt were due to the expectations I had for the session. The process of making this piece provides a deeper insight. Through the creative process, it offers a way to vent my negative emotions and find ways to cope with them. 

Discovering new directions, 2021, acrylic paints, pastels and ink pens on an A5 paper

    After knowing the antecedent of my expectations, I became aware of it and the feelings I had earlier reduced. My follow-up art piece "discovering new directions illustrates three koi fishes were moving towards a space with bright light; to me, I found that this movement manifests positive energy; it yields new direction and focus. 

These two art pieces clearly explore the theme of how art gives voice to our internal world. When words become difficult to say, art can be an alternative approach to navigating them. When we connect to the art, we in fact connect to our internal world by giving it an outlet to communicate through metaphors and symbols. As a result, we find ways to better manage our emotions and thoughts that our inner selves may find difficult to express, and in the long run, build inner resilience within ourselves. 

🌼Ling In🌼 

December 12, 2021

In this safe, held, and contained space, I invite honesty and acceptance and simply focus on engaging in my creative-making and reflective visual journaling, to find ways to express, empower and build inner resilience. 

This blog is intended only to record my own art practice and reflective visual journaling. 

[All images and texts belong to the artist/writer.]