Hello! you beautiful, and creative beings!

My name is B. Taddei also known as @FeralPetals (feralpetals.com) I am an artist, and aspiring art therapist. In the beginning months of the pandemic my small business (and so many like mine) were deemed non-essential and shut down. Everything I had worked for was gone and I honestly did not know if I would be returning. With everything not once as it was and uncertainty the only thing being certain… the only thing left for me to do was to paint, draw, and be creative with my newfound time in quarantine. I decided to help work through my own trauma and the inevitable discourse we are all facing going through these crazy times together through art and mindful creativity.

Once I began working on myself by expressing my pain, grief, sadness, and anger through my art I began to feel better. I had forgotten that it was ok to just be creative without pretense. I had forgotten to give myself permission to let my mind play somewhere along the way through the years. The further I got in my own healing, the more I began to see a collective need within my community for moments of mindful creativity. Moments where you create art just for the sake of creating art. Honoring the vulnerability of these moments for ourselves; there is no intention for profit, there is not even really an intention for sharing, but to simply create a space for yourself to facilitate creative growth and giving yourself the permission to play.

Somewhere along the path of self-discovery and healing myself through art, I decided to begin my journey back at school at the age of 33 to become an art therapist. The first task I set out for myself on my path of self-healing was to create in untraditional ways, ways not traditionally assumed with being an artist by today’s standards. In my case it was creating non-traditional self-portraits and journaling with my Archer & Olive Blackout bullet journal. I passionately believe that everyone is an artist and that if it is the intention of the person creating the piece with the intention for it to be art, then so it is. By allowing ourselves to “play” with tangible creative mediums, we no longer fantasize about letting our mind’s wander off course, but it becomes an active part in the creative harmonization we need to maintain living in such chaotic times.  I genuinely believe in the healing and transformative power of art as therapy and would like to share with you all a small way I like to facilitate a moment of mindful creativity within my space at home.

Materials:

Archer & Olive Bullet Journal

Acrylograph Pens (Tropical and Fall)

Holbien Acrylic gouache

Pentel Brush Pen

Where to begin:

• Gather your materials
• Take the time to organize your space, clean it if needed. Make your space a place you want to be for a while.
• Give yourself permission to be creative without critique.
• Allow yourself to manifest a mantra for this practice of mindful creativity.

*My mantra for this piece was “constantly creating better versions of myself.”

• For myself in this example, I decided to create a surrealist self-portrait using the materials listed above. You however can express yourself in any way that feels natural or right to you with the intention you have set for yourself in this moment.
• There is no wrong way to create. This is about making time for you to be creative in any way you feel is right.
• As I was creating, I began to meditate on other aspects of what my intentions for this piece means to me. I then decided to write out other mindful affirmations next to my portrait that I thought of while creating. What are some affirmations that you find inspirational? What are some that came to mind while you were creating? Make them part of your art!
• Allow space for mistakes and imperfections to happen. Make them part of the art, evolve with them. As Bob Ross used to say, “There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.” For example, I decided the word “judgement” would be better as “critique” and took this opportunity to not start over, but to embrace the imperfection and allow it to become a commentary on the piece.
• Enjoy the process, there is no time limit. You are not on any deadline to finish this piece. This is your moment, enjoy it. Enjoy the materials, feel them on the paper, enjoy the color and the texture of the materials.
• Take time to admire your creation. It can be hard to accept and love our own art, especially if you do not consider yourself an “artist” by traditional standards. Love your art and honor the time it took to create it.

Thank you all for allowing me to share with you a small peek into my journey through self-healing through art and mindfulness. Thank you to Archer & Olive for gifting me with this wonderful journal and the awesome acrylograph pens to document my journey of healing with. My hope is that by creating small moments for ourselves, we as a society will begin to see and value art and artists as valuable to the sustainability of our cultures and communities. By influencing small, positive change within ourselves and giving ourselves the permission to play will hopefully foster an on-going love of creativity and using creative outlets as a means of self-care and healing.

 Keep creating, keep healing!

-B. Taddei 
@feralpetals feralpetals.com