A WINDOW INTO ART
Inspirations for creative art
By D.G. Bamfield. Librario Publishing (http://www.librario.co.uk). 68 pages. £6.99
ISBN 1 904440 71 1
For people with physical, mental or emotional disorders, practical artwork can often be important as part of the healing process.
This useful little book is very easy to follow, helpfully illustrated, and is aimed principally at group leaders involved in counselling within churches. 20 outlines for group sessions are included — each starting with a reading or theme for meditation, before embarking on a practical activity — such as drawing, working with colour wash, or clay modelling. These themes could also be the basis for drama or creative writing.
As a practical guide for group leaders — especially for those unused to organising sessions of this kind — there are useful suggestions for basic materials, all of which are readily available.
The general focus of each session is on enabling the participants to share their inner feelings. The author’s intention is for group members to enjoy using their imagination freely, like children, without aiming for perfection. Most of the suggestions for artwork are thus very open and unspecific.
While this can be very encouraging for beginners, it is here that emotional healing and ‘releasing creativity’ can easily become confused. Experience proves that nurturing talent also involves the satisfaction of individual improvement — the gradual alignment of personal vision on the one hand, and technical skills on the other. (It is interesting that the Bible always mentions skilled craftsmen with respect!) This can mean effort, challenge, and the discipline of sustaining ideas — but perhaps that is the subject for another book!
