Blessings of a story cloth...
Because everyone has a story, and because
every picture tells a story.
Making and sharing stories is to be seen and heard and
to experience connection and belonging !
The story cloth experience is such a self empowering creative pathway to welbeing.
Creative Wellbeing for adults & children"The language of visual art - colours, shapes,lines,and images- speaks to us in ways that words cannot. Art therapy is a modality that uses non verbal language of art for personal growth, insight, and transformation and is a means of connecting what is inside us - our thoughts , feelings , and perceptions - with outer realities and life experiences. It is based on the belief that images can help us understand who we are and enhance our life through self expression".
* C. Malchiodi, pg 3, The art therapy source book, 2007. |
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Benefits
Of creating your cloth indivdually or in a group...
Remembering who we are and what we stand for
Increase sense of belonging and connection Mindfullness and relaxation Increase sense of self and identity Feeling less alone and more connected Disconnect from technology and reconnect to ourselves and each other. Appreciation and gratittude. Supporting the journey through illness. Postitive affirmations. Remembering our strengths and abilities. Encourage cross cultural collaborations. Acknowledgement and social inclsuion. Connecting to nature and place through creativity. |
Unites & connectsReconnecting to ourselves...
can come in many different forms. For some it can mean solitude to be able to listen to inner needs. For others it can mean expressing creatively. The creative act of intuitive mark making help us to gain access to parts of ourselves which might have been unavailable to us before. Creativity can be cathartic and expressive. It dosnt matter weather youre creative. It dosnt matter whether you think you can draw. The intention is simply to express yourself in a different way. Making a story cloth gives you permission to experiment and explore and it reconnects us to our ituitive self without judgement or criticism - something that we could all do with on a regulalr basis. Why make art in Groups? It allow us to see that we are more similar than different, to be witnessed and valued by others, and best of all, extend ourselves by becoming part of the greater whole. |
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ChildrenWhat would making a story cloth offer children ?
Most importantly this collaborative creative act provies children with a crucial sense of belonging and inclusion. Art is a child’s natural language, a natural form of pre verbal communication. Making meaningful marks on a story cloth offers a way for children to keep their language going in an organic way and to practise the important skill of oracy by developing their own narratives whilst connecting ideas and events. Drawing a story gives a child a way to express their own ideas. Group work can provide social interaction in a safe & supportive space to practise & improve ability to relate, grow & develop. |
Our natural marksNon Judgement and self acceptance
There is no right or wrong way to make our marks. From observing mother natures wisdom and how she naturally leaves her marks on the earths grounds and surfaces, perhaps we can quietten the voice of our inner critic and learn self acceptance through loving our own natural marks.
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