Mindful artists use talent as a mental health tool

People who have experienced mental illness know that in times of vulnerability, a positive distraction can be a powerful tool.

For Terry Bateman, it starts small. The size of a dot. He adds more dots and they form an image. Then a breath-taking work of art.

Terry has been doing dot art, or pointillism, for 15 years. “When you have mental illness, there’s negative. It’s hard to have anything positive in your life,” Terry says. “For me, art is very soothing. It’s a way to work out your angst. And when you’re done, you feel like you’ve accomplished something physical.”

Terry carries his art pad everywhere he goes. Karen Underhill wears hers. Karen makes jewellery and repurposes old jean jackets with customized accessories. Both Karen and Terry will be featuring their work in the Reflections of My Mind Art Show.

The show features the work of people who have experienced mental illness, and who use art to help them stay well. Karen’s talent was inspired through art therapy. Now she volunteers to help others find their creative outlet.

“Some people don’t think they have any artistic talent,” Karen says. “I remember one lady in group who didn’t think she could do it, so I taught her how to paint flowers. She went home and started painting more flowers, then focused on oil painting. She made me a painting to say thanks. It was such a good feeling.”

The Reflections of My Mind Art Show is a partnership between the Canadian Mental Health Association and Ross Memorial Hospital. The show will run from October 5th-7th from 8:30am to 3:30pm in the main lobby of the hospital. A portion of art sale proceeds will be donated to the Reach for Recovery Art Therapy program.