I enjoyed listening to the presentation on visual journaling. I thought a lot about how my stimuluses have changed over the past year and how taking this art class has been very stimulating for me. I enjoy learning various art skills and then having the time to create pieces. It’s the one class I am in where there is more than one right answer which takes pressure off and allows me to create the assignments under less stress.
When Ian Birky spoke about a patient of his who used art as a way to express and cope with their conflicts, it really resonated with me because my therapist has worked with me to create a list of things I can do when I am having a panic attack or anxious that I can do to help ground myself. Painting and making collages are two of the things I do. I enjoy those two tasks and being able to lose track of time in those activities helps me refocus myself. I don’t have to be on my phone and I can just be on my own.
In my sketch I focused on memories I have of my grandmother. Her house had a distinct red door and I can still picture it in my head. She loved to garden and she was always in her backyard every time my family visited. I chose to sketch this because I associate the pandemic with losing my grandma and the timeline of the last time I ever saw her.