Ask A Pro Live: Creativity
Join Us!
I’m super excited for this month's Ask A Pro Live because we are talking about creativity! Studies have shown that activities such as writing can help to process difficult emotions and painting and drawing can help people express experiences that are difficult to put into words.
Being creative can mean so many different things and there are some very solid reasons why having creativity in your life has some rewarding effects on well being. An article written by Medical News Today goes into more detail, if you’re interested in having a read you can here.
We wanted to delve into the idea of creativity being good for mental health and we found the perfect guest to have this live chat with. Rheanna Lotter is an artist and young person who has both accessed ReachOut as a service and has now come full circle and does art for the organisation. Below is a little more about our guest!
"My name is Rheanna Lotter. I am a proud Yuin woman from the south coast.
I grew up on Gundungurra Country in the Southern Highlands and am an active member within our Indigenous community. I have been painting since I was a young child, alongside my mother and sister. I named my business Ngandabaa (Yun-da-baa) after my grandfather Keith Thorne in 2014.
I am extremely honoured to provide custom pieces to Individual's and companies around Australia and the world"
Rheanna has used creativity has a tool to manage mental health and connect with her culture. I feel super lucky that she will be making some time to chat with our community on Wednesday 3rd of June. I'm looking forward to hearing about the role creativity has played in everyone's lives and how we can use this powerful tool better in the future.
Rheanna is looking forward to answering our questions about creativity and her experience as a Yuin woman and artist.
Join us live on the 3rd of June from 7:00pm - 9:00 pm (AEDT).
@WheresMySquishy -- that sounds lovely! Yeah, I had a mini mood recording app that I used every day for around two years, I started journalling on my phone at the start of the year, and I tried to start drawing every day... but COVID kinda interfered with that, I just haven't had the energy to do little things anymore! 
Hahaha I'm the same @Hozzles I have so many journals that are empty because I don't know where to start or what to do first.
@Bre-RO - I seriously went to Officeworks the other day meaning to get more journals, then I thought 'hang on, what about all my other empty ones?' 
@Ngandabaa - starting definitely is the hardest part I agree with you completely @JazzInMay, I'm so hard on myself that it blocks my creativity.
Honestly just start, say "ill try" and just go for it 🙂
Definitely feel you that it's hardest to start - that is always my problem! I think I need to be a bit kinder to myself and lower those expectations, especially as it's about feeling not perfection
Being kind to yourself is so important when creating but can be a challenge. Moving on to our next question...
Is strong mental health required for having creativity?
I believe the best place to start creating is when you’re feeling low, it’s a great form of therapy
That is so hopeful @Ngandabaa I think it would be comforting for a lot of people to know that no matter how low you get, there are still things you can do to tell your story through art.
Art is so individual, it is your story, your feelings. You can be creative at your lowest and highest points which I believe is a very beautiful thing and gives me a lot of hope 🙂
And the amazing thing is, you can help other people through their life experiences through your unique expression of what has happened in your life 🙂
Would it be okay if you share a painting of yours with us here? and maybe tell us a thing or two about the piece?
So this painting was actually a commission for a surprise birthday present 🙂
The daughter had organised this and it shows their family tree and connection to each other. It was the father and his two daughters in the middle and then their extended family is the outer circles with the connection (song) lines 🙂
It shows that even though they aren't always together, they are still connected and loved 🙂 Which is such a beautiful thing, I love this artwork 🙂 Really proud of how it turned out (I can be hard on myself with my artworks, but this piece really makes me smile) 🙂
That is sooo special, thanks so much for sharing that @Ngandabaa What a beautiful present that I'm sure is very treasured 
Not everyone is as confident as Kanye! I know I definitely struggle to let my creative juices flow when I can tend to want everything I create to be "perfect". We had a member who asked a question around this...
What can you do if mental health is hindering creativity (e.g. by perfectionism)?
- Utilise music, find music that puts you in the right headspace such as instrumentals and also music you haven’t listened to before
- To use scaffolds and templates. This really helps if you are a bit of a perfectionist like my - self. I will sketch all my designs out first. Remember that art isn’t perfect and its okay if your first draft is a little rough. The beauty of art is that it is unique and that’s the best part about it
The main point is that art isn't meant to be perfect and that's actually my favourite part about it 🙂
If I am struggling with it, I'll pick one part of it that I like. I'll sit there and appreciate that part, you'll find that once you see one small beauty it'll open your eyes up to more 🙂
@Ngandabaa Making art is a really good exercise for not listening to that inner-critic! As you said, art is not meant to be perfect. The main thing is how it makes you feel!
I really like your tip around using templates to get you going! Also, music is so helpful for getting you into a creating zone. I always listen to music if I'm writing something 🙂 Do you have any favorite music to listen to while painting?
Just reading that wiki link now @WheresMySquishy so interesting!
I would say while I'm painting I'll have some music by Indigenous artists, such as; Archie Roach and Mandawuy Yunpingu. But I'll also have Ed Sheeran, Kane Brown and the "Acoustic Hits" playlist on Apple Music gets used a lot!
@Ngandabaa thankyou so much for the advice! I really struggle with perfectionism, but as you said I can see how finding one part of the piece I am working on that I like could be helpful. There's no such thing as 'perfect'! 
It's been so nice to have you online with us tonight @Ngandabaa Getting to know more about your art and why you do it has been really uplifting as well. Thank you for making the time to talk about creativity and mental health.
We have one last question and everyone is welcome to contribute to the answer to this question 🙂
What are some useful resources we can use to admire art or get creative while staying at home? For example, apps and websites.
I love looking at artworks, museums and crafts online. One resource I've found is Google Arts and Culture. I also like looking at pictures of nature, so I like websites such as Atlas Obscura too.
There are also other websites where you can share your artwork like DeviantArt.
I also love websites where you can create your own artwork, such as Silk. I remember I used to love one where you could draw and paint with virtual crayons, pencils and paintbrushes as a kid but I can't find it now.
@Bre-RO I used to love Art Attack as a kid! Thanks for reminding me about it. 🙂
@Ngandabaa Thank you so much for chatting with us and sharing your story and tips! I've learned so much.
I’ll have to look at the links later, but I completely agree with everyone here!
Art is medicine, music helps a lot with art, and perfectionism can definitely get in the way, but there are also great ways to overcome it! 🙂
I love indigenous art @Ngandabaa! I’m not of indigenous background, but I love how dots, lines and symbols can be used, to tell a story. I made a story from indigenous art once, and that was on a boomerang. I’ll have to see if I can find it, and I’ll post a pic here. 🙂
Also, love the gift artwork! It’s amazing!
Art Attack was such a cool show @WheresMySquishy I thought about it the other day because I was watching videos from this awesome artist Callen Schaub
@Bre-RO That's so cool! I've never heard of him before.
I like watching videos of people creating things like soap, cakes, scrapbooks, etc. Some YouTube channels have tutorials that don't work or are dangerous though. I find the ones from individual creators to be better. Some good ones are How to Cook That, Moriah Elizabeth and Royalty Soaps.
