Art for Everyone
A Nature Links participant’s interpretation of a Georgia O’Keeffe painting
Renowned painter Georgia O’Keeffe once said, “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for." This winter, Nature Links participants have been exploring the idea of art as a form of communication and personal expression. We’ve taken a deep dive into the ways in which art can allow us all to say things we otherwise struggle to convey. Each Friday, we’ve been studying the life and work of a famous artist, learning about the challenges each faced in their lives and the events that inspired their unique artistic journeys. Each week, after learning about an artist’s life and work we grab our colored pencils, watercolors or even just a ball point pen and paper to try out a particular technique or perspective inspired by an artist.
We began our winter art hour series with Frida Kahlo. Kahlo’s artistic career began only after experiencing a terrible bus accident that ultimately left her with a range of physical disabilities. While recovering, Kahlo began to paint as a way pass time and distract herself from her excruciating pain. What began as a form of therapy for Kahlo turned into an incredibly successful career. Kahlo is best known for her imaginative self-portraits, often full of plants and animals that held personal significance to her. We studied Kahlo’s work and talked about the idea of a self-portrait serving as a way to promote self-confidence. “Here I am, unibrow and all!” it feels like she’s saying to the viewer. In our class, Nature Links participants talked about what plants and animals are important to them and why, and then created their own self portraits. A few of our participants who have suffered traumatic brain injuries from accidents felt particularly inspired by Kahlo’s story. Her self portraits also helped us all think about the ways in which art can make us feel proud of ourselves.
A Nature Links participant’s self-portrait inspired by Frida Kahlo
The following week we looked at Wassily Kandinsky, paying special attention to his painting “Squares with Cocentric Circles”. Kandinsky had synesthesia, a neurological condition which meant that his experience of color and sound was highly connected. When he heard music he saw colors and, in turn, each unique color triggered a specific sound. We looked at Kandinsky’s work and talked about the ways in which different colors make us feel. Blue can be calming for some and energizing to others. Some participants love bright, neon hues while others are drawn to more muted tones. Kandinsky’s life and work is a great jumping off point for conversations about our unique experiences of the world and how to have respect for others’ feelings and opinions. When something so seemingly entrenched as the color yellow can be perceived in such wildly different ways from person to person (it could even be heard as a sound!), it opens the doors to the idea that we have so much to learn from each others’ unique perspectives and experiences.
The following week we studied Picasso. We spent much of our time examining his cubist portraits, noticing how several different views of one person had been painted together to form a single image. That’s how Picasso ended up with noses on the sides of his subjects’ heads and eyes that seemed to look in all different directions at once. We found that painting like Picasso gave us all a certain freedom to let go of our idea of making something look “real”. A painting is always an abstraction of the real subject and can never fully represent reality. Remembering that allowed us to let go of any inhibitions and paint from a place of expression, rather than one of perfection. There’s a familiar, self deprecating phrase people will say when they’re not confident in their artistic abilities: “I’m no Picasso, that’s for sure!” But instead, we found that we were most able to paint like Picasso when we gave ourselves permission to be free.
A Picasso-inspired drawing of Derian, one of our Nature Links participants
Art can be an incredibly powerful subject and form of expression for anyone, but especially for people with disabilities. Creating art has been found to promote relaxation and relief for folks suffering from chronic pain. Art can provide a powerful voice for those with speech impediments or verbal based disabilities. Learning about the challenges faced by famous artists throughout their lives can provide hope and inspiration to some struggling with their own physical or emotional challenges. Creating art can be especially powerful when participants are given the freedom to interpret an idea or technique on their own and are encouraged to look for the ways in which even world-renowned artists have embraced beautiful imperfections in their work. It’s no wonder Georgia O’Keeffe found that through art she could communicate more freely!
