Art for Healing

Painting of woman in a white dress raising her face to the sun with wings behind her

Why art, why now?

Art has been a profound healing and comforting force in my life, enabling me to transcend the distress and challenges of ill health. Recently, I faced a significant health crisis—spending ten days in ICU, often hovering between life and death. In those long hours of uncertainty, especially during moments of lucidity, I found solace in watching YouTube videos, particularly from watercolour artists. These soothing visual havens transported me to places filled with light, colour, and joy. I was especially inspired by Kirsty Rice, whose joy and playfulness acted as a tonic, helping me reconnect with painting once I returned home.

My journey into the world of art began about a decade ago when I supported a colleague (the amazing and talented Roya Pourali) leading an art and wellbeing project for individuals who had experienced various traumas and mental health challenges. Initially there to help, I quickly realised my colleague had everything covered. I found myself seated at the table, paintbrush in hand, obediently following instructions. What followed was nothing short of magical—I fell in love with painting. I eagerly purchased paints and canvases, dedicated myself to learning techniques, and embraced the many mistakes that come with being an amateur. Each moment was filled with joy, often revealing surprising creations that seemed to flow from an unknown place within me.

Art has provided crucial support through the physical and emotional challenges I’ve faced over the years, becoming an integral part of my healing and spiritual journey. My artwork feels like it originates from a deep, unexplainable source within and beyond me. While this creative flow has ebbed and flowed with life’s rhythms, I’m thrilled to say it’s fully alive now.

I don’t see creativity as a distraction from the cruelty and chaos of the world. I see creativity —however it bubbles up for you—like love, as one of the most powerful forces we have to imagine and build something better.

I’m excited to introduce a new offering through Art for Healing: creativity-for-healing talks and workshops, custom commissions, and bespoke pet portraits that incorporate bereavement support.

What is art?

Often people I speak to will say "I'm not artistic or creative at all". And I understand where that's coming from - a lot of the time art or creativity is associated with an outcome like a painting or a beautiful song, dance, or an outcome that has been validated as 'art'.

Art is creation, and creativity is our natural state. We were born to create - it's what we turn our attention to creating that is sometimes categorised as 'art' or 'not art'.

For me, art is when we...

Listen to to the inner voice and follow

Stop and listen to the birdsong and watch the flutter of a butterfly and it inspires us

Have a vision and have a go at creating it

Are in a flow and don't notice time passing

Art is … whatever you can imagine, and that you love, that comes from inside you.

Offerings:

- Creativity for healing and wellbeing talks or workshops. In these I share my experience of how art helped me transcend a really grime time in hospital and helped me heal, body mind and soul from that experience. How I nurture that flow now, and the healing potential and importance of creativity for us all. Particularly if you spend your time and focus on bringing about a kinder and more just world. The session includes an invitation for participants to reflect and explore:

What makes you feel good?
When you feel in flow
When your thoughts recede, and you don’t notice the time pass
How much time do spend there?
What will it take to give yourself permission to do this more?

- Original paintings & prints: Explore my online gallery for examples of my work (still working prices out - from around £10 for an A4 print, excluding postage)

- Custom commissions: Memorialise loved ones, celebrate milestones, or capture personal symbolism.

- Pet loss support: A unique service combining bespoke pet portraits with a therapeutic discussion to spend time remembering what was so special and unique about your lost loved one and give you space to grieve and honour your loss. Indicative price - from £100 depending on size and individual requirements.

- Greetings cards

Testimonials:

"“Amanda’s truly inspiring art captures the delicacy of nature that aligns so beautiful with the delicacy that we need to approach equality, diversity & inclusion. There is a movement in work portfolios to align our professional selves with our inner creator. Amanda does so in truly inspiring ways that opens the doors for new creation - both art & consultancy work - to collaborate and extend its reach beyond what we thought possible.”

-Dr Dorothea Christiana, International Strategic Advisor

"Being led through the creative workshops was really helpful on lots of levels; being involved in a collective creative activity provided opportunities to discuss our thoughts and feelings in a non-confrontational way, conversations were easier when we were focused on a task, engaging our creative selves opened up our minds to think of more possibilities on a range of levels, focusing on a repetitive task like sewing allowed us time to clear and focus our minds, then bringing all our efforts together we created something beautiful and interesting that again gave us opportunities to explore different perspectives and consider new opportunities.

Amanda was really supportive throughout the process and encouraged everyone including those who felt creativity wasn’t their bag to dive in." - Sam Tedcastle, co-founder Centre for Good Relations and the Peace building Network of UK and Ireland