Here is another blog written by freelance contributing writer , Helen Farnes hope you find it interesting.

For many centuries now, we have cultivated a very persistent artistic stereotype. The idea of the tormented creative, driven by inner turmoil and the horrors within to create works of transcendent beauty and significance is one with which we are all familiar [1]. Indeed, many believe that the world’s greatest creative works have been born out of pain or pathology [2] – without such motivating factors, this view holds, the ‘art’ is nothing more than a blank reproduction, devoid of deeper emotional meaning. While this is perhaps a rather too exclusive view of creativity, it is true that many of the world’s greatest artists have found ‘inspiration’ in the darker recesses of their souls. The apparent ‘link’ (or otherwise) between ‘madness’ and creativity is one which continues to fascinate[3]. What is less explored, however, is the idea that the relationship between pain and creativity is less causal and more progressive. There is considerable evidence to suggest that engaging creatively can help to heal the psyche in the aftermath of traumatic events.

Cause Or Cure?

In the traditional view of things, the tormented artist is driven by the trauma they have experienced to relive their experience over and over again through the medium of art. As their artistic talents grow, so the artist themselves diminish, until they seem devoured by their work, and (more to the point), by the pathological problems upon which their creativity must feed. It’s a romantic scenario, and one which fires the popular imagination – not least because we can seemingly apply it to real people. Vincent Van Gogh, Toulouse Lautrec, even Amy Winehouse – we enjoy the myths of these individuals as ‘troubled artists’, driven ultimately to their deaths by the fires which consumed them from within [4], as much as we enjoy the wonderful art they created. However, when studied closely, the art for which these people were known does not, actually, have a direct causal relationship with either their troubles or their tragic problems. Indeed, if looked at from another angle, it could be argued that their art kept these individuals back from the brink of disaster for many years, until finally trauma overwhelmed creativity. How much sooner would they have succumbed to their demons had not art expressed their problems and kept the demons at bay?

Creative Resilience

There is, in fact, a lot of evidence to suggest that creativity can play a vital role in resilience to and healing from traumatic events. The ability to express emotions through art is one which gives trauma survivors an effective ‘vent’. Those who lack this ability to safely express their feelings are at risk of developing more troubling ‘coping’ strategies, which could present a danger to themselves or others. Substance abuse, for example, is common among trauma survivors [5] who lack safer outlets with which to deal with their emotions. Female victims of trauma in particular may find themselves on the wrong side of the law [6]. However, those who are blessed with creative tools have another way to explore and deal with the problems with which their trauma has left them.  Exploring one’s emotions through art allows one to process and express psychological baggage in a non-confrontational way. Art allows one to express and explore at one’s own pace, and in one’s own way. It helps us to engage with emotions which we may otherwise shy away from, and lets us bring those dark, gnawing things out into the light, where they cannot hurt us. It can bring us greater self-awareness, and may even speed the process of healing.

Step By Step

Creative intervention and therapy will not, of course, work for all trauma survivors. The creative process is an intensely personal one, and not everyone will be able to express themselves creatively in a manner conducive to their own healing. Nor should creative arts ever be considered an isolated ‘cure-all’. However, when used in conjunction with other kinds of therapy, giving trauma survivors the opportunity to express themselves creatively can be of enormous help [7]. Had the likes of Van Gogh, Winehouse, and other troubled artists not had their art to help them, they arguably would have succumbed to their demons far earlier than they did. Had they had help in addition to their art then – who knows? – they may have led happier, calmer, and healthier lives.

[1] James White, “Suffering For Their Art: The Most Tortured Artists In Film History”, Empire, Nov 2014

[2] Kimbriel Dean, “Is Pain The Key To Good Art?”, Ignite, Mar 2013

[3] Ian Sample, “New study claims to find genetic link between creativity and mental illness”, The Guardian, Jun 2015

[4] Van Gogh Gallery, “Van Gogh’s Death”

[5] National Child Traumatic Stress Network, “Making The Connection: Trauma And Substance Abuse”, Jun 2008

[6] Jennifer Talley, “Context Matters: The Impact of Trauma, Culture and Policy on Women’s Health”, Rehabs.com, Apr 2015

[7] Family and Youth Services Bureau, “Calm Through Creativity: How Arts Can Aid Trauma Recovery

Is your child being bullied at school? Childhood bullying is unfortunately a widespread problem and faced by many of today’s youth.  According to the Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study, 27% of students from year’s four to nine were bullied frequently, every few weeks or more during every term. The bullying that is endemic in schools most often takes the form of offensive teasing and being the victim of lies designed to damage reputation.

Previous generations could find a safe haven in their home but young people in the 21^st century have the added threat of cyberbullying so if they choose to use social media to chat with their friends they are also at risk of ‘trolling’. The same researchers found that people who bullied others at school would also bully online – although less common than face to face bullying, 14% of students experienced cyberbullying and 7% experienced both.  The most frequently used mediums to bully someone online are MSN Messenger, social networking sites, texting and email.

Usually the bully and their intended target know each other and may even describe each other as ‘friends’.

The person on the receiving end of the negative treatment may end up feeling anxious or depressed as a result as well as being isolated and lonely. There are also physical side-effects of bullying, like upset stomach, disturbed sleep and increased susceptibility to infection. This is because the child is pumping out extra cortisol, a stress hormone that raises blood pressure and pulse while suppressing the immune system.

If your child has become the victim of bullying, if their grades are slipping, they are skipping school or you think their mood is low, art therapy is a way you can help them release those negative tensions and start to feel good about themselves again.

What is Art Therapy

Art therapy is a type of psychotherapy that uses art as a method of expression so that a person can communicate how they feel through painting and drawing. The approach is based upon psychoanalysis – a technique by which a person accesses his deepest held impulses and instincts and acknowledges them even if they are considered unacceptable. Repressed emotions can manifest into psychological problems so recognizing underlying feelings in important in maintaining good mental health and balance. Art therapy could be described as a symbolic language, that is, experiences that are too complicated or frightening to describe in words can be described more easily through the use of pictures. Just as Freud – the father of psychoanalysis – was able to interpret a patient’s true feelings and motivations through dream symbolism, the same can be done through picture symbolism.

Art can bring out the hidden desire for revenge against the bully or help the artist’s self-esteem by giving him an outlet to bring colorful creations to life.

Art therapy is often used for children who are victims of child abuse; physical, sexual, emotional or verbal and who may be suffering from mood disorders, attachment disorders and behavioral problems. As victims of bullying are also subject to emotional and verbal abuse – and sometimes physical abuse – this makes art therapy an ideal form of therapy for them too.

Art allows traumatic memories to be communicated on paper or other media and is particularly useful in children who find it difficult to talk about what has happened to them. Nurturing their creativity and expressing themselves through art can encourage some children to verbalize their experiences when they previously didn’t.

Is Art Therapy Effective?

Art therapy is an effective strategy for preventing anxiety caused by bullying and can be used as a way to explore self-empowerment methods. Edith Cowan University reported on a 10 year old girl who was psychologically affected by bullying and had started to skip school because she was worried she would experience more bullying. She was given six, directed art therapy sessions with one follow up session to encourage her to express her fears and worries about being bullied. She also saw a child psychologist before and after the art therapy intervention to get a measure of her emotional state pre and post treatment. After she had completed the course, she reduced the number of times she skipped school, had a greater opinion of herself and improved relationships with her family members, according to her own estimation and the opinion of her mother, the school principal and the child psychologist.

Art therapy can also be utilised by a child who is displaying bullying behaviour as an outlet for expressing negative emotions in a safe way instead of expressing them by intimidating others. This approach is increasingly being used by schools to prevent bullying from occurring in the first place.

References:

Art Therapy, Children and Interpersonal Violence, Psychology Today, accessed December 20, 2015, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/arts-and-health/201310/art-therapy-children-and-interpersonal-violence

Bullying and Cyberbullying Facts, Queensland Government, accessed December 20, 2015, https://www.qld.gov.au/disability/children-young-people/bullying/facts.html#common

Physical Effects of Bullying, Kwik Med, accessed December 20, 2015, http://www.kwikmed.org/physical-effects-of-bullying/

Matthews, F. (1998). A Case Study : A Short Term Art Therapy Intervention For A Child Victim To Bullying, accessed December 20, 2015, http://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1449

Forest, Melanie (2006), Children who Bully: A School Based Intervention Using Cognitive Behavioural Art Therapy, Concordia University, accessed December 20, 2015, http://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/8960/

Lyndal Bond et al, Does Bullying Cause Emotional Problems? A Prospective Study of Young Teenagers, BMJ 2001;323:480, accessed December 20, 2015, http://www.bmj.com/content/323/7311/480.short

The Blog today is written by freelance contributing writer; Helen Farnes and I hope that you find the article both interesting and useful.

The Art of Mental Health

When you get into the flow of doing something that holds your whole attention, the experience can become almost like meditation. We can immerse ourselves into this relaxed state when reading, painting, gardening, even for a few moments while ironing or washing the dishes, but when it is a creative activity that catches us up, the benefits can be even greater. Art can be wonderful for your mental health.

The Creative Mind

Creativity doesn’t always have the best press when it comes to mental health, although we are increasingly keen to encourage people to be more creative. There are still many articles suggesting that the examples of great artists affected by mental illness show that being creative makes us much more susceptible to conditions such as depression. There is even some scientific evidence to back up claims that those of us who are more creative may also have a slightly increased chance of developing certain mental health problems, such as bipolar disorder, and that there may be a higher incidence of mental illness in the families of creative people. Some of the characteristics that we prize in a healthy creative mind, such as openness to experience and the ability to make unusual connections between apparently unrelated ideas, can also be seen in certain kinds of mental illness, combined with symptoms that can make these characteristics very problematic. However, this does not mean that creativity and mental illness must go together. There are plenty of creative people who have great mental health, and many people who are affected by mental illness who have never been particularly imaginative or artistic.

The Science of Creativity

Scientists have been working on understanding exactly what the apparent connection between creativity and mental illness means, where ideas come from, and how the creative process itself actually works, but figuring out how our minds work when we create might be even harder than creating a work of art. It is not as simple as the traditional idea of left-brain logic and right-brain creativity. The process of creation seems to involve a complex series of conscious and unconscious processes that take place in networks of neurons spread across the entire brain. These networks work to keep us focused, to reconfigure what we know and remember into newly imagined combinations, and to pinpoint the best and most important thoughts. Exactly how this results in a new poem or piece of art is still something of a mystery, but while we might not understand exactly what creativity does to our brains, we do know that art can help us to heal.

Art as Therapy

The link between mental health and art can actually be a very positive one. While some people fear that creativity can spark mental illness, the truth is that art can actually play an important part in helping people to manage these kinds of conditions. Art therapy is increasingly being used to help people who are affected by mental illness or who are recovering from issues such as drug and alcohol addiction or trauma. Art therapists encourage their patients to express themselves through a variety of forms, from visual art and writing to drama, dance and music. While these types of creative processes can often feel very cathartic and may act as excellent stress-relievers by themselves, under the guidance of a trained therapist or art psychotherapist, they can also be used as diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

How Art Can Help Your Mental Health

Why is this sort of therapy so successful? It turns out that producing art can help to shape our sense of self, a sense that therapists are often working with their patients to change and strengthen. It can help us to express our feelings and to process our experiences, even when we have suffered extreme trauma. Art can also provide a different way for us to communicate with other people, which can be particularly important when there are subjects that we find difficult to talk about. When we create, we can gain insight into ourselves, increase our self-esteem, and develop a greater sense of empathy for ourselves, and for those around us. We learn to see the world from other perspectives.

Artists Healing Themselves through Creativity

Although these benefits of creativity have only been recognized by therapists relatively recently, many artists have been aware of them for years, and there are some interesting examples of people, like Agnes Richter, whose embroidered jacket is preserved by the Prinzhorn Collection in Germany, who expressed themselves creatively while experiencing mental illness. Now that the value of art for mental health has been recognized, these types of creative works are no longer shut away of ignored. Instead, they can form part of therapy, and be celebrated in exhibitions like the annual MIFQ show in Brisbane.

Links on Art and Mental Health:
1. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s TED talk on Flow, the secret to happiness
2. The Scientific American explores The Real Link Between Creativity and Mental Illness and the Real Neuroscience of Creativity
3. Everyday Creativity in Psychology Today
4. The Australian and New Zealand Arts Therapy Association explains What is art therapy?
5. Agnes Richter’s jacket at the Prinzhorn Collection
6. The Queensland Mental Health Commission reports on how Creativity Shines at Iconic Brisbane Art Exhibition

So on the theme of health at the end of Helen’s article I thought I would add just a little humor to the blog with this great quote from James H. Boren;

” I got the bill for my surgery. Now I know what those doctors were wearing masks for.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and enjoying life.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I have PMT and a Hand Gun, any questions?

My girlfriend had that quote on her fridge for many years and it always amused me greatly.  Hormones have a lot to answer for don’t they, too much or too little and we all fall apart.  Remember the teenage years with the angst of emotions due to the raging hormones, when we didn’t know where we fit in and who we were and even what we were doing half the time.  Couple that with the stress of school, homework, nagging parents and peer pressure and there is no wonder that teenagers in general do some crazy stuff.

CERAMIC AND MOSAIC SCULPTURE

This ceramic and mosaic sculpture features the Scotch College students in Adelaide rowing, sculling a sport which  has people of every age enjoying life to their full capacity.  This is not a sport just for teenagers and I do have two good friends who still compete on a national and international level in the Masters Games at 65 and 85 respectively.   So OK, as you get older you may require a top up of those hormones but hey that’s no big deal!

GRUMPY OLD MEN AND ART

At the other end of the scale from teenagers, there is the Grumpy Old man syndrome and that seems to me to be a direct correlation to the lack of testosterone or thyroid problems which also has to do with hormones.  I figure the grumpiness comes from feeling tired, unhappy and depressed with a flagging sex drive – who can blame them really, that’s enough to make anyone feel low.  Often there may also be an underlying medical problem such as high blood pressure, diabetes and blocked arteries.

THE ART OF SEX HORMONES

Testosterone is vital in puberty responsible for the voice being deepened, helps to build the muscles and keeps the bones strong and also boosts the size of the penis.  After the age of 30 there is a gradual decline in the testosterone; however that should not normally lead to a lack of interest in sex.  So before you go and reach for the Viagra have a health check and sort out the other medical issues first and then check the testosterone levels and if need be get a boost.

THE ART OF HUMOUR

What I think is vital in tackling any health issue is a good sense of humour and that is what I try to do with my art.  Sometimes tackling the bigger issues through painting and sculpting to give you all something to think and laugh about.  Why not also with a joke; so here is one for you; Did you hear about the man who swallowed his Viagra too slowly?  He got a stiff neck!

So you would think women would be used to having to both deal with and talk about hormones having all suffered from PMT – Pre menstrual syndrome for a large part of their lives.

THE ART OF NOT MENTIONING THE WORD MENOPAUSE

It therefore perplexes me that women are finding it so hard to deal with and discuss Menopause.  Mention that word at a dinner party and find the women shut up, and the men looking around too scared to speak.   It is something glossed over and just not talked about unless it is during a heart to heart with a very close girlfriend.

Is it because for some, it signals that the child bearing years are over – well you can understand the sadness when menopause strikes a 30 something woman, or is it that it makes them feel old?  However for most women the “change of life” comes along in the 40-50 age group, with forty being the new 20’s and fifty the new 30’s that’s just not old anymore.  So just like hormones played havoc with your body in the teenage years so the pesky little devils try to again.

Now luckily we live in an era where we do not have to put up with that – I mean who would voluntarily  put up with the Oestrogen deficiency symptoms such as; hot flushes, light headedness, headaches, irritability, depression, unloved feelings, anxiety, mood changes, sleeplessness, unusual tiredness, backache joint pains, muscle pains, new facial hair, dry skin, crawling feelings under the skin, fewer sexual feelings, dry vagina, uncomfortable intercourse and urinary frequency, loss of memory, muddled thinking and heart palpitations.

It is bad enough to have to suffer through one or two of these symptoms never mind having the smorgasbord effect, lol.

THE ART OF GETTING YOUR LIFE BACK

So women of the world unite, don’t suffer in silence.  Go and speak to a Doctor who specializes in menopause a normal GP will not do (unless you are lucky enough to find a GP with very sympathetic ear and all the specialized skills required).

There is help out there in form of HRT and it is not the bad guy that the press have been making it out to be either.  Best medical information has HRT as very safe for the otherwise healthy woman.  However what is important is to get the dosage right and that takes some consultation over a few months and the added benefits apart from the oestrogen deficiency symptoms disappearing is the long term reduction in diabetes, bowel cancer and osteoporosis.

THE ART OF BEING HEALTHY AND SEXY

GET YOU LIFE BACK, feel as vital and energetic, positive and sexy as ever.  Menopause once treated is no big deal at all.  What’s made it a big deal is the way we have handled it for so long, swept it under the carpet and talked about it in hushed tones.

So here is a quote for the boys by Rita Rudner that I think fits very well here;

“Male menopause is a lot more fun than female menopause.  With female menopause you gain weight and get hot flushes.  Male menopause – you get to date young girls and drive motorcycles.”

Although the ladies may prefer this one instead by an unknown author;

“My husband, being unhappy with my mood swings, bought me a mood ring the other day so he would be able to monitor my moods.  We’ve discovered that when I am in a good mood it turns green and when I am in a bad mood it leaves a big red mark on his forehead!  Next time he will buy me a diamond..duh!”

Till next time,

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I have just joined a gym today, finally after 20 or so years since last time.  Oh and before you get the wrong idea – I have still been keeping fit during that time.  You see we had been living on a farm in the country with the closest gym an hours’ drive away, so I had a treadmill at home in my art studio and could watch telly there whilst I walked.   I used to often do aerobics whilst watching the Good morning programs and go for a run outside (you had to keep the pace up as there were lots of flies in the Australian countryside) and then there were body pump and various fitness classes held in a hall in the local country town as well.  My son Kai and daughter Hillivi would often join in too and we also used to light candles and do yoga in the TV room in front of a roaring fireplace in winter.

ACRYLIC PAINTING

Whilst I was pregnant I had several videos that I used to follow as although we hadn’t moved to the farm yet we had bought a renovated church in the countryside to live in.  I did travel to the city and attended a couple of the keep fit classes for the expectant mum as this acrylic on canvas board painting shows.  That is me in the middle of the artwork in black and green gym gear and baby boy Kai with the balloon!

However this big Gym set up seems like a real luxury to me and lots of fun.  Strange really how things go as I had absolutely no thought about joining a gym again.  Years ago when I lived in Melbourne and Sydney and traveled the world whilst modelling I attended Gyms in every place I traveled to.

THE ART OF DOING WEIGHTS

These days hubby and I are great walkers and do 40 minutes minimum a day often joined by the kids and always joined by our two dogs Cheech and Vegas.  Although I have to admit people that see us often ask me ‘who is walking who’ when it comes to my Chihuahua – you see she refuses to walk for the first 10 or so minutes so I carry her to start.  Lol I figure that is a bit of weight training for me and she has such a cute little face and big brown eyes that I just cannot resist.

THE ART OF A BARGAIN

Anyway my daughter and I found this Deal on the internet where they offered 10 fitness classes for 10 dollars, what a steal we thought and promptly went and checked it out, with the intention of just doing the 10 classes and that would be that.  Well I guess these marketing guys know what they are doing because 2 lessons later and they have got us signed up for the foreseeable future.

THE ART OF THE HOT BOD

Well what can I say; the deal was too good to refuse and the classes so good and the body felt amazing after being pushed that little bit further than you generally do yourself no matter how motivated you are.  It also felt good to be in a structured environment with lots of people keeping fit and all sorts of exercise machines there to use and some hot bods to spur you on too!

THE ART OF PILATES AND LAUGHTER

Yesterday time slipped away from us when we remembered the class was on and hopped in the car to get to the Pilates class.  It is held in with the lights dimmed in a big room with soft atmospheric music and as we were beginners to this class we did a couple of wrong moves which made us giggle between ourselves.  Then all of a sudden my daughter is in absolute hysterics, really trying to contain her laughter in between trying to quietly tell me something.  Well I cannot for the life understand what she is trying to say but now she got me giggling too – both of us like two naughty school girls up the back of the class.  As it turns out she was laughing at me – of course – in my hurry to get ready for the class I had put my yoga top inside out with the tag hanging out at the back!  So much for looking Cool in front of all the buff and fit people, I guess you can take the girl out of the country but not the country out of the girl!   I have to look on the bright side least there are always more inspiration for new paintings.

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Rita Rudner;

“The word aerobics came about when the gym instructors got together and said; If we’re going to charge $10 an hour, we can’t call it jumping up and down”.                                                                                                                                                  

Till next time, happy painting and sculpting to you all, oh and maybe exercising!

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

If you enjoyed this health and art blog you may also be amused at my attempts at meditation; 97 Meditation are you serious & Art

Ever since my late teens I have done some form of exercise every day.  Usually an hour’s worth come hail, rain or shine; the only exception would by New Years Day when my head hurts too much!  Although I am one of these people that need to sit around and sip coffee, have a piece of toast and just veg out first thing in the morning with the Good Morning Television shows, before I get cracking as the artwork below shows.

Always admire the people like my husband who can get straight up and get stuck into chores whilst I sit zombie like for at least an hour.  I think if I didn’t have the exercise routine going I would still be sitting on the couch still at 3 o’clock in the afternoon!

THE ART OF AEROBICS

Anyway for most of my life it’s been aerobics that’s been my thing, in front of the telly, hopping skipping, side stepping and the like, clunking on the floorboards and driving everyone crazy as I won’t stop whilst anyone talks to me or when one of the kids shoes goes missing and we have to search or if the school excursion paper needs signing etc.

Goes without saying then that I have painted a lot of aerobic and sport paintings over the years and here is a acrylic on board one called “I must, I must improve my bust”.

These days of course the kids sort themselves out but now the 2 dogs want all the attention instead.  The minute I go down on the floor for a spot of stomach crunches they are right there ready for a cuddle and pat, climbing all over me, just like the kids did when they were little.

THE ART OF MIXING IT UP

I used to also attend aerobic lessons as well as kickboxing for a while, water aerobic, step classes, yoga and go to the gym but always seem to find it easier to just do it myself first thing in the morning and then have the rest of the day in the studio.

At the farm I would also try to do some running, although I could never get to the runners euphoric state they all talk about – getting past the pain barrier and just going for it.  It just always seemed boring and a hard slog to me, it was better to get on my treadmill and run in front of the TV without having to fight the elements which included hundreds of flies on the farm, lol.  Not a good look when they hang on for dear life and try to climb into your nose, ears and eyes at the same time.  Probably less of a good look if you actually spotted me with an old onion bag on my head!!  A real model look that one!  Here we buy onions in bulk; in a big red bag made of netting and ingenious moi, decided that was just the trick to keep the flies off.  Hubby thought it also worked very well also as a “passion killer”, lol!

THE ART OF WALKING

These days I walk everyday and my husband has joined in this endeavor (if injury allows) as we live in a very hilly area it is actually much harder than it sounds.  We have about 5 different routes that we alternate depending on weather and how we feel.  Very lucky to live by the sea so the choices are a plenty – beach walks, cliff walks, boardwalks, local parks some complete with dams and bird life and also along the streets looking at gardens and houses.

So you get the drift – I am quite fit, apart from a sore arm and neck.    The local Doctor thought I should go and see the physio, well I have been complaining about my neck and right arm for years, my painting arm!

Anyway trotted off to see the physio and was totally gobsmacked in the end – as she said I had absolutely no muscles whatsoever in my back, really my whole upper body strength was really weak!

How can someone exercise all their life, every day and be a total weakling at the end of it!

I may as well have been sitting on the couch eating chips for the last decade.

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Marsha Doble,

“I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I’m doing”.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and exercising  to you all,

Love Marie xxx

If you enjoyed this health and art blog you may also be amused at my attempts at meditation; 97 Meditation are you serious & Art

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans, is what John Lennon said and he was so right.

This acrylic on board painting is one I did for the son of Jim from Elders Fine Art Gallery when he was recuperating after a car accident called Bandaid for Matthew, but I will have to borrow it now for my own husband!

LIFE AND ART

There we were hubby and me” happy and gay the laxet way” (borrowed from an old advertisement) going about our business as usual.  Well usual for us is that I do the art thing and hubby is the manager and runs the household.  Ever since he had a back injury some 20 years ago we have been used to take each day as it comes to some degree.  For the most part he manages very well and does a little bit of this and a little bit of that with a rest here and there.  Hubby is not one to wallow is self pity, the pain is always with him but it is not something that he talks about or dwells on.

HEART ATTACK NOT ART ATTACK

However a couple of weeks ago it got really bad as it does from time to time and he had a few days in bed, but seemed to be on the mend.  So this particular night we went to bed as usual and the next thing I know I am being woken up by hubby standing next to the bed saying “I think I’m having a heart attack, you better drive me to the hospital”.

Now I was in a very deep sleep and suddenly didn’t know if I was Arthur or Marthur, but I shot up out of bed in a jiffy and ran for the phone in the office to call an ambulance.  Hubby thought I should drive him in, “no way” I said as I know from the First Aid training that is a big mistake.  If the patient suddenly looses consciousness or stops breathing there would be no one to do the CPR.

Anyway when I got to the phone I realized I couldn’t see to dial and had to run to find the glasses, felt like I was running around like a chook with my head cut off, lol finally got through and the ambulance was on their way.  Patient was resting on the bed with severe chest pain, but otherwise his color was good and he wasn’t clammy or had any other symptoms.

I called our son Kai who occupies the “man-cave” downstairs so he could keep an eye on his dad whilst I at least got some clothes on, and asked Kai for a running commentary of how the patient was looking.

THE ART OF THE HEART

The ambulance was there within 10 minutes and then off to hospital we go.  After a long night hooked up to “machines that go beep” (as Monty Python would say) blood tests, and ECG and finally an Angiogram the diagnosis was in.  Not a heart attack luckily, however what ailed him was Pericarditis.  What’s that I hear you say, well that’s an inflammation of the heart sac.  From what I understand most commonly comes from a respiratory infection, but it can also come from a mouth or skin infection.  So in this case we think it may have stemmed from a cut/infected finger a few weeks ago – remember when he fell like a timber in the woods, in the LITTLE MISS WEE WEE art blog.

So all is well that ends well, after a few days in hospital hubby is home resting now and for the next 10 days and driving me nuts with the orders of scrambled eggs on toast and other requests, which for someone who normally burns toast and only excels at the boiling of water and possibly an egg is no mean feat.  So it’s quite obvious we all look forward until the 10 days are up! LOL

So life happens to you whilst you are busy making other plans and here is another quote I like on the subject this time by Robert A Heinlein (writer).

“Don’t ever become a pessimist…a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun – and neither can stop the march of events.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you and stay healthy,

Love Marie xxx  (c)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

I just got home from a meditation class, which was only the second time in my life that I have attended one. It does seem to me to be a little bit crazy to be waking up with the alarm blaring in my ears so that I can go off to a class to sit and learn to relax! One would have thought if that’s what I needed perhaps staying in bed and a few more hours shut eye would have done it. But oh no – powers that be says otherwise, so off I trotted to the class!  Think the man in my ceramic and mosaic artwork below is doing more than meditating though – if you want to see the whole image of this sculpture use this link to the art blog 10. If You Remember The Sixties, You Weren’t There, ART

My mother used to go to mediation classes 25 years ago, and come home singing its praises. I could for the life of me not understand why someone would be going to sit in a room full of strangers and try to relax, it seemed like a complete oxymoron to me.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

The way to take time out for me in the past would be getting a massage or having a glass of wine and watch a good movie etc, and that has always worked well in the past.
However these days I find it harder to shut the clutter in my mind up. What is it with that – why do we have to have an internal dialogue in our head that just doesn’t shut up! A head full of random thoughts everything from great painting ideas, to new blogs, worries about health, children, pets, parents, car accidents, house burning down, and burglars (or a combination of all of the above at the same time, LOL). Never mind all the things I said and shouldn’t have, or the things I should have said but didn’t. Don’t start me on the stuff I did or didn’t do- that alone is a whole new chapter!
Get my drift, I really need to learn this meditation – just to be able to take time out and get some rest without actually being asleep.

So there I was this morning sitting in a room full of strangers, just like my mother 25 years ago. (She has always said about a lot of subjects “Just you wait and see” so this may be another of those “I told you so moments”!)

MORE IMAGES TO PAINT

Anyway it was not as bad as I thought, the strangers all turned out to be very nice people, friendly, kind and cheerful. A couple of them arrived in gophers (3 wheeled motorized bikes for the elderly or infirm) and as we got chatting I found out another person had Aspergers syndrome and ADD, which makes it even harder to get a quiet spell apparently.
There was a candle burning but apart from that there was no hokus pokus, just a soft speaking lady and a CD player with background sounds of waterfalls and birds tweeting and a voice guiding us through the meditation step by step.
There are lots of definitions about meditation but as far as I understand the idea is to contemplate; to keep the mind fixed upon; to study; To sit or lie down and come to a deep rest while still remaining conscious. I am aware of two different types; Insight meditation and Transcendental.

Insight meditation: A form of Buddhist meditation that employs concentration sharply focused on bodily sensations and mental events, practiced with the intention of gaining insight into reality.

Transcendental Meditation: A technique for detaching oneself from anxiety and promoting harmony and self-realization by meditation, repetition of a mantra, and other yogic practices, promulgated by an international organization founded by the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (c.1911–2008) (reference Google)

All very good if you manage to do it. However so far I have had little snippets of quietness in between sneaky thoughts that clamour in to disturb me, everything from; what I am going to eat at lunch to shopping lists and urgent matters I should be doing instead of sitting here with my eyes closed. Although there were a couple of times there when I nearly fell asleep and fell of my chair – maybe I just should have stayed in bed instead!

Perhaps one day I will manage to do it properly. Until then I leave you with a part of Kindness Contemplation, adapted from Jack Kornfield “Path with Heart” who in turn adapted it from a traditional Buddhist meditation.
May I be filled with kindness………..
May I be well…………..
May I be peaceful and at ease………
May I be happy……………….
May everyone be filled with kindness………………..
May everyone be well……………..
May everyone be peaceful and at ease…………..
May everyone be happy…………….
Till next time,
Love Marie xxx  (c)

Footnote;  A dear friend of mine has meditated twice daily for the last 40 years,  her name is Nadine Williams famous Author of bestselling book “From France with Love” a former senior journalist with the Advertiser and  now runs her own website.  Here is a link Nadine Williams as it is full of wonderful stories and information about just about everything.  So go and have a look and happy painting, sculpting, reading and mediating to you all.

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

So I thought I was doing so well, feeling fit and healthy, giving the credit to my great fitness regime of daily exercise, lots of fresh vegetables, fruit and nuts and plenty of water (Got to keep the exercise up if you are an artist and sit at an easel painting all day).

I was watching all the others drop like flies giving in to the colds, flus and viruses and thinking that my immune system was second to none.  Feeling rather smug really and no doubt that’s what did me in – smugness is not a great quality and what happened was just Karma.

NOT SO PICTURE PERFECT

So here I sit in the bedroom feeling rather worse for wear, lol no not that kind of worse for wear- the sniffling spluttering kind, with a runny nose and a racking cough.  When I look in the mirror someone by the name of Rudolph springs to mind, and it’s not even Christmas.   With a husband, daughter and son who enquire by the door if I want anything before the scuttle off to the opposite part of the house just so they don’t, heaven forbid, should get whatever it is that has descended upon me.

I know it’s not the flu as every year for the last 10 years we have had our flu injections and if it was the flu (proper) I would not even be able to lift my head of the pillow.  However as this started it came with the aches and pains in the arms and legs and a general feeling of malaise.  It is enough to give you the pips really, I haven’t got time to be sick, so little time and so many things to do.

Now whatever you do if you feel a little ill do not follow in my footsteps and Google the ailment as that is guaranteed to make you feel ten times sicker than you already do.  These people on my ceramic and mosaic sculpture called Drunk as the Lord at the Oxford, will no doubt be feeling ill tomorrow although that will be self inflicted!

THE ART OF THE VIRUS

This is just a taste of what Wikipedia says about viruses; A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms.  Most viruses are too small to be seen directly with a light microscope and they can infect all types of organisms such as animals plants and even bacteria.  Viruses are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and there are millions of different types.

Viruses are spread in many ways, by insects or coughing and sneezing or like the gastroenteritis virus which goes the faecal-oral route (Yucky!) and then there is the HIV which is spread by sexual contact.

As antibiotics have no effect on viruses it is enough to make you ponder whether Howard Hughes and Michael Jackson were on to something with the gloves!

Don’t forget to bring a miners lamp, magnifying glass and tweezers if you are contemplating some sexual contact, oh better bring the book “WHAT ANIMAL IS THAT?” too just in case you cannot identify what crawls down below, LOL.

Well it is quite obvious to me that I will have to stop this goggling of diseases as that would have to be a short cut to the Hypochondriacs Club, for sure.

As a matter of fact I think I am actually feeling a little bit better now that I have seen what a lot of terrible ailments I don’t have!

So here is a quote I like from Lisa Marie Presley;

“I’m a hypochondriac. Yesterday it was brain damage from the vodka the night before. Today, heart attack – my arm and chest started hurting at the same time.”

So until you come and visit me again, I hope you are all happy and very very well.

Happy painting and sculpting to you all.

Much Love

Marie xxx        (C)

If you enjoyed this health & art blog you may also like this one; 97 Meditation are you serious

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.