I loved doing art when I was younger and really enjoyed the Acrylics course, which I had done at Artreach Studios with Kate and Colette.
When I saw the online Art courses during lockdown I seized the opportunity to immerse myself in art. I have loved the experience and learned to factor ‘art time’ into my week when the live videos were on. It really worked for me and I’m convinced this helped me through the lockdown. I was able to forget what was going on in the real world whilst I was immersed in my ‘art bubble’. Kate taught us how to draw and gave me the confidence to experiment and let go of the usual insecurities I have concerning whether I’m good enough. I think it also helped, initially, that no-one could see what I was creating, so if it was awful it didn’t matter!
The first time I posted my art work on The Artreach Tribe page on Facebook I was scared! Then I realised that no one was going to judge me and it was lovely to receive encouraging comments.
I loved the feeling of warmth and encouragement which I felt during the art sessions and really looked forward to each session. Pinterest is amazing for ideas and a starting point. I’d never really used it for art before. As the weeks went on I was able to develop my own pictures, using Kate’s ideas and Pinterest.
I absolutely loved doing the Characterful faces drawing workshop. I just let go and drew whatever came out. I was amazed to see how different each face was each time. I just didn’t know what was going to appear!
I have made birthday cards for all of my friends, rather than buying them and created a jungle picture for my grandson in the UK. Each week was different and called for different styles of drawing and designing your art work.
Since the end of lockdown real life has taken over, I’ve lost my art time. I’m catching up with friends and back to work but once the novelty of seeing everyone dies down I am determined to devote at least one afternoon a week to art. It’s my ‘Me’ time and I have felt the benefit. I’ve put all my work in a folder and named it Lockdown Art to keep. However, what’s more important than the folder is that I’ve got through this difficult time intact, with more confidence in myself and the realisation that it is really worth devoting some time to being creative for wellbeing.
A huge thank you to Kate and Colette for giving your time for us. You are amazing and I look forward to coming onto another course soon. xx
