Trauma Artwork
In addition to sharing their stories, experiences, thoughts and feelings, GRACE’s supremely talented members created wonderful artwork depicting their struggles, feelings and hopes.
Rachel Toner, GRACE’ Art Tutor and founder of Headspace Art, explains her thoughts about trauma and the power of art in the journey towards recovery.
“What is trauma? Okay, so I guess it’s something that has happened directly to us and we respond to this with feelings and emotions experienced through a shock. This can manifest into something physical, emotional, psychologically… an incident that an individual has experienced. Trauma is something that builds and as a response which can present itself through a wide range of behaviours. I’m no textbook expert I am more reflecting on my own personal life journey and some of the traumatic experiences that I have personally experienced. Everyone experiences something that touches them, and sometimes can have a very negative result or impact on us.
For example, if you lose somebody, you miss them then yes perhaps there is a response and we are obviously impacted by this through the emotions of feeling sad and loss. However, as you go through these emotions simultaneously it’s perhaps defined as something else, for example, the notion of being bereft. Depending on the circumstances of those relationships or the complex nature of our relationships. It could be that as a result the complexities can sometimes define who we become. In some ways for me personally, my experience of trauma has been delayed reaction to some situations that I have found myself in throughout my life. Without going into too much detail, trauma has usually presented itself after the fact. Sometimes many, many, years later.
It’s strange because of the nature of what I do professionally I think I’m actually very resilient. I seem to have got through so many complex and difficult things. If I hadn’t had all the amazing people that surround my life perhaps this wouldn’t have been the case. A lot of the resilience that I possess I think is through the communication and talking to my wonderful mother, grandmother, husband, brother, sister and a really strong circle of friends that have seen me through some seriously difficult times.
Why Art? Why do I think Art can help heal trauma? Partly because, in periods of my own life I have often turned to Art as a mean’s to perhaps ground myself, find solace and on a large level communicate my emotions through visual and creative means. I find this a safe and positive process. It allows me to communicate & create with no boundaries, in a way that gets all the difficult stuff out into the world. A problem shared a problem halved, as all my matriarchs have told me, all my life.
Although I help others create in a workshop setting and have done continuously throughout my creative career. At times I have to down tools and take time out to purely focus on creating for myself. My own art doesn’t always reflect or even indicate trauma in it’s content, however ,It’s more about taking the time to create as a form of communication and sometimes I find this less of a burden. When I work with people in groups I create a safe space to explore the world around us through a variety of different media, also providing a learning environment that is as inspiring and as it is accessible.
The workshops are designed to enhance self awareness, enrich and ignite inner passion and personal confidence. In turn this can support a series of transferable skills and experiences encountered within every day life. The Artist Studio is a place where we enquire, explore, develop and grow a deeper understanding of the world around us. Sometimes looking at our own personal journeys, or working within a theme or topic that we are passionate about. Having an open dialogue with the group, helping them to underpin their place in this world, giving each individual a voice and means to express themselves in a positive and engaging way. For me, on a personal level this is an amazing experience to witness and it helps the group come together fostering a peer to peer supporting environment.
Always encouraging discussion and an open dialogue is fundamentally what initiates peer driven learning and this is the best form of learning! It is what gives support and power to a learning journey for everyone. From Nursery to University level. Meanwhile we have lots fun in the process. WONDERFUL!”
Rachel Toner, Artist
