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).
Hey all - I apologise for having to duck out, I had to get onto a meeting!
But @Ngandabaa thank you so much for chatting tonight, it was really wonderful to hear a bit of your story and your message about creating and mental health and your artwork of course!!
Loved reading everyone's contributions as well! Definitely made me want to get out my paints! 🙂
ahhh such a nice chat to read through! and such beautiful artwork!
definitely going to try some of these suggestions 😄
Quickly popping in again to say thanks so much for the chat and your valuable insights tonight @Ngandabaa! 
Also @Bre-RO I miss Art Attack so much, I remember I always went on the website and wanted to do some of the crafts but I never got around to them. Maybe I can do them now for my younger self 
You should totally do that @Hozzles It's never too late to try something new or something you never got around to!
Here are a few that you can access 🙂
Websites:
- Art Gallery of New South Wales
- Museum of Contemporary Art
- The Artists Network
Apps:
- Daily Art
- Colourin! Artists Book (ipad only)
- Autodesk Sketchbook
So glad to hear that @Ngandabaa thanks again for making the time and enjoy the rest of your evening 🙂
My suggestions would be going on virtual art galleries and museums for inspiration
Watching old school episodes of Art Attack
Trying out apps from this list of 50 apps for creative minds
Awesome! And I agree, I think all kinds of creative expression can be therapeutic.
@Ngandabaa That's so true that art doesn't have to be perfect. A lot of beautiful crafts and artworks are actually designed to be imperfect or asymmetric. Some Japanese designs come to mind.
@Ngandabaa What a nice story! I love the detail in that picture. 🙂 You did a wonderful job with it!
@Ngandabaa- absolutely agree, there's a reason different forms of art therapy are used in different contexts! 
"Creativity takes courage" - Henri Matisse
"Art speaks where words are unable to explain"
Amazing quotes @Ngandabaa, I love quotes like that Being creative really does allow you to think more deeply about things. I like writing and I often find myself thinking about how I would write about what's happening around me as I'm experiencing it, or how a character would perceive it. As I mentioned, creativity allows us to be more mindful!
It definitely allows us to be more mindful!
My answer to
"How can art represent the things we feel but struggle to put into words?"
I express all my emotions through art, it’s a bit harder now because I am commissioned to do certain artworks.
However, when I can be creative and paint for the fun of it, I use certain symbols within Aboriginal art; such as family and connection/song lines. I use symbols to share stories within my art and allow the audience to connect with it.
Art is very individual, it allows us to see ourselves in it, especially for Aboriginal art because our paintings are based heavily on our story.
If I am having a rough week, I will paint with colours that I am feeling. So, when I feel really anxious, blues really calm me because I think about the ocean. So, I will sit and just paint those colours and focus on every individual movement.
That’s how I express my feelings through art. You can use this method of the colours with anything, it doesn’t need to be painting 🙂
@Ngandabaa I really love what you've said about seeing yourself in art. It's so special to have time set aside to feel your emotions, find ways to express them and process important stories in your life/ancestry/culture through art.
@Hozzles hahah I literally have to remind myself I have a full drawer of journals every time I see a pretty one!
@Ngandabaa I think it's so wonderful how you've become more connected to nature through your artwork and able to appreciate natural things more. I also like looking at nature and being in nature.
That's really beautiful @Ngandabaa you've made some really important points about how creating something can shift how you feel about yourself and your experiences.
@Ngandabaa thanks so much for sharing! I'm sure we will get into it in more depth, but art is so great for mental health for so many reasons. The mindfulness of creating, the ability to express yourself/ your inner emotions, the collaboration of sharing your art and finding others like you... it's one of the best things!
