Craftfulness - craft healing
“Craftfulness” - crafty healing
“Craftfulness” is a term created by Rosemary Davidson and Arzu Tahsin (2018) that pairs mindfulness alongside craft-making to ‘achieve moments of calm’ and ‘mend yourself by making things’. Davidson and Tahsin in their book explore mindfulness, positive psychology, and creativity research in the act of making something through craft and how that impacts the mental well-being of an individual.
‘Making things makes us happy because pleasure and purpose meet in meaningful, rewarding creative work with our hands.’ (Davidson & Tahsin. 2018). This meaningful and creative work is what art therapy is all about and these artworks or items we create can effectively generate moments of relaxation and calm for our mental well-being.
During our art therapy sessions, we use a variety of art materials, including all different kinds of craft materials. This can range from pegs to create models of people, knitting/crocheting, sewing, weaving, scrapbooking, etc. Craft materials can provide an easy entry into art-making for children who are not confident with using more ‘fine art’ materials such as paints or watercolours. These materials are frequently used in daycare or school activities and this familiarity can provide a sense of safety during the session.
-Alex
If your child or young person would benefit from engaging in Art Therapy, contact us to arrange a session with our Registered Art Therapist, Alex.
Photo source: popsugar.com.au
