Art therapy proving a boost for mental illness
In an art studio at Graylands Health Campus, Liz Kelder sits on one of several chairs, slouching over a plastic plate of white and purple paint.
She mixes the two colours furiously, before cautiously and deliberately applying the resulting lilac to one of three separate trees painted on a small canvas.
She won't say how old she is, mumbling that she's "over 50," but she does say that she has been painting for decades, since she was a small child.
It's a childhood she does not like to talk about, a childhood of abuse and trauma.
But with every brush stroke,
Golden Goose V Star she paints over those memories, and forges new ones.
Liz Kelder was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder about three-and-a-half years ago, and shortly afterwards was referred to an art therapy program at Graylands.
She says since then, her
Golden Goose May art has become her salvation.
"It made me realise that I needed to dig further, I needed to look further into what was happening and find a way through the black and white," she said.
Art therapist Danita Walsh says the program has also brought others struggling with mental illness to the easel. TherapeuticShe's been involved in that journey for the past 11 years and says the program gives people struggling with mental illness a way to express themselves.
"It provides people a different way of communicating that is largely non-verbal, but also provides them a way of exploring inner thoughts and feelings, trauma, grief and loss in a visual means," Ms Walsh says.
In a small gallery next to the art studio, more than a dozen of Liz Kelder's finest pieces crowd the walls.
Her work was chosen to be displayed as part of a solo exhibition, and while it's only been open to the public for an hour, red 'SOLD' stickers can be found firmly stuck on most of the pieces.
Liz Kelder's favourite piece is a triptych: three single paintings hanging side-by-side.
The first shows a male figure cloaked in darkness, lurking in the background of a West Australian desert landscape. In the foreground, a baby's bottle lies beside three beers.
The next shows the same landscape, stark and lonely. A clothes line made of barbed wire holds two single pairs of underwear: a man's, and a child's.
The final part shows a door slightly ajar. Behind it, is darkness. In front, lies two pairs of shoes: a blue pair of dainty sandals, and a pair of unlaced boots.
It's the most confronting piece in the exhibition, and Ms Kelder says it was the hardest
Golden Goose Slide to do.
"This is really symbolic, it's something I've thought about a lot: the power play between a child and an adult.
"If I had the courage I would have started with those, but they're towards the end because I didn't have the courage to do it."
Another piece paints the scene of one of Ms Kelder's recurring childhood dreams: a black and white forest with
Golden Goose Ball Star a pale, ghost-like face in the background.
"This made me realise that I needed to dig further, I needed to look further into what was happening and find a way through the black and white," she said. Old friendsThe use of art therapy to help people with mental illness is not new.
For centuries, mental illness has featured in the lives of some of the world's most celebrated artists.
But Danita Walsh says in recent times, how, and why it helps is becoming increasingly clear.
"Art therapy is a service on the rise, people want to find another way to express themselves, and express what trauma they've gone through,"
Golden Goose Superstar she said.
For Liz Kelder, it also helps her husband and four children understand the full effects of her mental illness.
"I don't have to use words, sometimes words aren't so easy to explain," she said.
And she says the true
Golden Goose Mid Star beauty of her art is that she doesn't have to use words to heal old wounds.
"It's sort of letting go of emotions that I've held
Golden Goose Starter in, or thoughts and feelings.
It lets them loose and then I can go on and deal with them."
For more information on the
Golden Goose Francy Graylands arts program visit:
http://www.health.wa.gov.au/arttherapy/ ... ontact.cfm
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