Expressive Heart-Art.
Expressive Heart Art
♡ Sharing in this post heart art creations that are beautifully expressed using different approaches, materials and creative intentions.
♡ Thanks to Lisa, Patricia, Elizabeth, Heather, Natalie, Saba, Naomi, Meghan, Nafisa, Maggie Kat and Taylor for sharing their heart-art creations. I am sure these meaningful pieces and shared reflections will resonate with many.
“Because the heart dwells in unattended dark, we often forget its sensitivity to everything that is happening to us. Without our ever noticing, the heart absorbs the joy of things and also their pain and care. Within us, therefore, a burdening can accrue. For this reason it is wise now and again to tune in to your heart and listen for what it carries. Sometimes the simplest things affect unexpected transformation. The old people here used to say that a burden shared is a burden halved. Similarly, when you allow your heart to speak, the burdens it carries diminish, a new lightness enters your body, and relief floods the heart.”
Lisa.
Art Credit: Lisa Gignac
This was created in response to an experiential from C. Malchiodi’s Trauma-informed Expressive Arts Therapy course.
“This is a tracing of my feet, filled with images I find grounding. The words I wrote are: I bathe my heart-feet through the journey of my life. Complex, rich and sweetly-scented roses of a creative being-time. ”
Patricia.
Art Credit:: Patricia Ki
Image of soft magenta watercolour from beets, in the shape of an anatomical heart, with a river flowing out, and boats made of pistachio shells, floating along, carrying words, “memory”, “holding”, “eternity”.
“If you pour a handful of salt into a cup of water, the water becomes undrinkable. But if you pour the salt into a river, people can continue to draw the water to cook, wash, and drink. The river is immense, and it has the capacity to receive, embrace, and transform. When our hearts are small, our understanding and compassion are limited, and we suffer. We can’t accept or tolerate others and their shortcomings, and we demand that they change. But when our hearts expand, these same things don’t make us suffer anymore. We have a lot of understanding and compassion and can embrace others. We accept others as they are, and then they have a chance to transform.”
“You are part of the universe; you are made of stars. When you look at your loved one, you see that he is also made of stars and carries eternity inside. Looking in this way, we naturally feel reverence.”
Elizabeth.
Art Credit: Elizabeth Needham
“I made this expressive heart using “HAND MIXED” paint sticks—a brand made in Barcelona which come with swirled colours. They are smooth and luscious and make unexpected colour combinations. I like how this heart almost looks like it has its own aura.”
Heather.
Art Credit: Heather Johnston
“I just love wings. They are a sign of comfort, beauty and freeness to me. The heart is a sign of love. Maybe subconsciously the images combined could symbolize loved ones that have passed, but for me the wings and heart art are also very much related to the present”
Natalie.
Art Credit: Natalie Borchenski
“These heart images follow a story of heartbreak and the time that it takes to mend a broken heart.”
Art Credit: Natalie Borchenski
“It is strange how often a heart must be broken before the years can make it wise.”
Saba.
Art Credit. Saba Iqbal
“My art is inspired by a lot of things that I love. Firstly, the people around me constantly give me love and remind me of the support I have. The second thing that inspired this drawing is my love for my culture. I used truck art as an inspiration. I showed how much love and appreciation I have for the place that I was born in. Lastly my love for myself in February. I wrote balance on the sunglasses because its something that I am working on. It requires me to take care of my body and appreciate all the things that it continues to do. ”
Naomi.
Art Credit: Naomi Kates
“ I have been impressed with the scope and possibilities within the use of neurographic art” so I used the heart as the muse for it.”
Naomi shares the youtube video link to learn more about neurographic art: Neurographic Art Tutorial : Mindfulness In Art • Video by Bethany Thiele • 2020
Levi and Meghan.
Art Credit: Levi and Meghan
“A Warm Reminder ... I sat down with my toddler, Levi, one Saturday morning, determined to help him create valentines for his friends at daycare. It was the first year he could actively participate in this exchange and I was excited by the prospect. Soon into creating, Levi stated that he didn’t want to part with his creations. Instead, he would keep them at home. He painted energetically—the physical gesture decidedly affirming his statement. I watched as his pace then slowed and he began to carefully dab glue across the paper and adhere small cuttings of tissue paper and pom poms to it. He gently directed me to where I could stamp small red hearts made from our paper towel invention. My agenda dissolved and we both relaxed into a rhythm of creative exchange while the sun shined in from our kitchen window. Levi looked proudly at the resulting mosaic (a detail seen here), and I felt a warmth wash over my chest, happy to have supported his small but mighty request from the heart: a valentine to the self, for Levi.”
Taylor.
“I have been spending my time getting to know the language of flowers more intimately, and one flower that continues to stand out to me is the bleeding heart. In my youth I loved the bleeding heart for its appearance and how easily it fit with my “emo” aesthetic. Now, I love the bleeding heart for its myriad meanings; my favourite of which is compassion. ”
Maggie Kat.
Art Credit: Maggie Kat Anderson
“For the piece I was inspired by the idea of dark and light, and that everything beautiful has both sides. I also wanted my drawing to show that love exists through all kinds of angles and perspectives, and is still beautiful. Mainly, I wanted to convey the idea that opposites attract with the Queen of Lightning and King of Thorns, and although they both are quite different they are also a little the same in being unusual.”
Nafisa.
“Love breaks all barriers of religion, caste, creed and nations. Love is what connects the entire humanity.”
April.
Art Credit: April
“Sharing from the archives. Heart studies were created for reference in several of my ‘Passages’ paintings where images of love, resilience and connection were woven into the meaning and theme of these personal narratives of struggle and transformation..”
♡ Book: HEARTS ALL AROUND US. book by Sandra Madden.
“Hearts All Around Us is a collection of photographs and inspirational quotations, in conjunction with the story of the author’s experience living with brain injury and chronic pain. It is not just a book of photographs, the hearts that she has been photographing for several years have turned into a vehicle of healing, and a new way to help her cope with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and chronic painUs”
