Category: inspiration

Use your creativity to heal your pain
Art as therapy

Leda van der Post0 Comments

I have just read an article, Healing Trauma by Nanice Ellis, which explained so clearly the background to something I have always believed, and frequently put into practice. That is, art, of any form, can be powerful medicine. Nanice describes how to heal trauma from a karmic perspective, but does not specifically advocate art as a form of therapy. So let me explain myself more clearly. Firstly, I think that, no matter what your spiritual belief system is, the main point in Nanice’s article about healing trauma holds true. Repressing emotional wounds, whether by medication, work, social activities, addictions, or …

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So you want to be creative…
My belief about the nature of creativity

Leda van der Post1 Comment

I never stopped to think about whether or not I was creative. Until people started saying things to me like “I wish I was creative like  you” or “I don’t have a creative bone in my body”. This was usually when they discovered I was a painter. Some people are probably innately more creative than others. But at the same time, if one wants to be creative, or develop one’s creativity, it can be done. Think of young children. When given coloured crayons and paper, they don’t stop to think about whether or not they can, they just draw. Then …

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To paint or write
The dilemma of having creative choices!

Leda van der Post1 Comment

Last night I sat down at the table in my studio to write, page open where I had left off earlier, ready for the words to flow. There, on my left, was a huge canvas, taking up most of my studio space. The painting was particularly tempting because it was at a very interesting inbetween stage, starting to develop elements that were crying out for my attention. I needed to write, but last night I wanted to paint. It got me thinking. What is different between painting and writing? Both are forms of creative expression, but sometimes one form works …

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From mystery novel to academic thesis
Or, what I have learnt from academic writing

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I had handed in the first chapter of my Masters dissertation and scheduled a meeting with my two supervisors to get their feedback. “Well,” began the first supervisor, “I started reading and couldn’t put it down. Then I remembered that I was reading a Masters, not a mystery novel.” I looked at her curiously, not quite understanding. “You see,” put in supervisor number two, “what you need to do is tell us what you are going to be telling us, then tell us about it in detail, then summarise what you just told us.” “But that’s so boring!” was my …

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