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Drawing as Therapy: Know yourself through art
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About Drawing As Therapy: Know Yourself Through Art
Product Description A practical guide outlining the benefits of drawing as a therapeutic practice followed by 80 guided drawing exercises as an aid to self-understanding and fulfillment. When we’re young, all of us draw; as we grow older, most of us stop. We come to see drawing not as a type of play, but as a craft or skill; one that we can do either well or (more usually) badly. But to see drawing in this way is to deny ourselves one of life’s great pleasures, and to miss out on its profound psychological benefits. By allowing us to express ourselves creatively, and capture our thoughts and ideas on paper, drawing can be a form of therapy. Drawing as Therapy is a collection of playful, creative prompts and exercises that introduce us to the curative powers of drawing. Divided into eight chapters, they invite us to reflect on different aspects of our life and psyche – our personality, moods, memories and passions – by attempting to render them through art. In so doing, they can help us to discover hidden byways of our minds, find new perspectives on our difficulties, summon a state of calm, and begin a process of self-recovery and healing. The exercises won’t teach you how to draw. Instead, they will teach you an entirely new way of thinking about drawing, where there is no such thing as failure or success, only self-discovery and, in the best sense, play. About the Author The School of Life is a global organization helping people lead more fulfilled lives. Through our range of books, gifts and stationery we aim to prompt more thoughtful natures and help everyone to find fulfillment. The School of Life is a resource for exploring self-knowledge, relationships, work, socializing, finding calm, and enjoying culture through content, community, and conversation. You can find us online, in stores and in welcoming spaces around the world offering classes, events, and one-to-one therapy sessions. The School of Life is a rapidly growing global brand, with over 6 million YouTube subscribers, 351,000 Facebook followers, 218,000 Instagram followers and 163,000 Twitter followers. The School of Life Press brings together the thinking and ideas of the School of Life creative team under the direction of series editor, Alain de Botton. Their books share a coherent, curated message that speaks with one voice: calm, reassuring, and sane. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 1. Play First and foremost, for children at least, drawing is a form of play – a spontaneous, imaginative act that amuses and delights. Children’s ignorance of traditional rules is indulged by adults because we recognise, if only dimly, that play is a valuable part of their growth. It is precisely at the point that drawing ceases to be seen as play (and becomes instead another form of work) that most of us drop the habit. This book holds a different view: that play is a valuable, meaningful and therapeutic act at any age. An early proponent of this view was the pediatrician and psychologist Donald Winnicott (1896–1971). Winnicott recognised the vital role of play in psychological and emotional development – for adults as well as children. In his 1971 book Playing and Reality, he wrote, ‘it is in playing and only in playing that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.’ Winnicott is the inventor of the ‘Squiggle game’ – an activity he developed for parents to play with their child, which we have included in this section. In the following exercises, you’ll be discovering yourself through the act of spontaneous, unconscious creativity – what Winnicott called ‘desultory formless functioning’. Here especially, we want you to abandon any thought as to the quality of your work; it should only feel enjoyable, irreverent and fun. Donald Winnicott’s Squiggle Game Turn the squiggles on the page below into drawings, incorporating the squi
