I get a lot of questions about what smashbooking is, why I choose to smashbook and why it's a form of what I call "process therapy". Here's my attempt at answering some of the FAQs about why I do what I do, and how I got to happen upon this form of art therapy. If you've attended a teleclass or smashthepark event, you're familiar with most parts of this. :)
In 2010, I was in counseling therapy for about a year. A lot of people have an idea of what counseling therapy is.. the fainting couches, the "spill your guts", the boxes of tissues, the big bills... it was mostly true. Okay.. maybe not the fainting couches, but most everything else. During a particular session with my therapist, she asked me, "What makes you happy?" I didn't have an answer. Seriously. I sat there for 15 minutes before I told her really quietly, "art... I think art makes me happy."
For me this was a revolution. I grew up HATING art. I've always been creative, but I literally cried in a third grade art class because I hated it so much. It was awful. So for me, admitting that art actually made me happy... and that it was literally the ONLY thing that I could think of... was insane.
She told me to pursue it. She told me that I needed to "document" my feelings by doing art. To be honest, I was seriously confused as to why she wanted me to do this.
This is where my story started.
The drive back to my house from my therapy session was interrupted by a trip to the grocery store. I bought a spiral notebook, like the ones you use in school. Nothing fancy. I went home and printed out a bunch of pictures, glued them to the cover and then taped over them with packaging tape. Then I took to the inside. I was feeling really pissed off that day. I can remember it like it was yesterday. I took a big red colored pencil and scribbled with reckless abandon in the front cover. I was pissed and I wanted to show it. What better way than angry red thrashing scribbles, right? Right!
A few days later, I found a tube of acrylic paint. I wondered if I "could" put this in my journal. Being the rulebreaker I am, I squirted a drop of paint into the journal, closed the journal on itself and then opened it again. And that's when I got addicted. I did it over and over and over with different colors of paint, marbling them together and making glorious mixes of colors, swirls and patterns. It was beautiful. Beautiful ART that I was proud of. What in the world?
I continued working until the paint was what I wanted it to be. I let it dry and then found sharpies. I wrote over the paint how it felt to experience art... something that I loved... without the rules, the teacher over your shoulder, the lines to color in. I was creating for me. I was doing it the way I wanted to do it. Colors, textures, shapes, swirls... everything was my choice.
I created art. I didn't "do" art.
Fast forward to 2011, and this blog was born. I started posting pictures of some of my journal pages/spreads online and people took notice. I thought I should share things on an internet space where people could see them if they wanted to... that way I wouldn't trigger anything for other people that were processing trauma. To this day I'm still cautious and don't post anything with potential trigger words-- that is on purpose.
Fast forward to 2013. The Smashbook (blog) is growing steadily. It is my hope that this internet space continues to grow and influence people to "create" and be, instead of "doing". It's my hope that this space on the internet will be a refuge for those of you who are struggling, whether or not you are sharing that with anyone. This is a space to find ideas to help you heal. Ideas to help you process.
I don't process your trauma. I don't process YOUR life events. If we work together via e-course, or teleclass or email/skype consult, I don't ever ask you what your trauma is. I don't record classes. I don't record teleclasses. I don't even ask to know names. I respect your space and your story. I am here to help you get ideas to celebrate your story and process through the yuck AND the awesome.
A lot of you have asked how I'm qualified. Truth be told, I don't have a degree in counseling, therapy or art. I don't have even two years of college under my belt. But you know what? I love people. And I love art.
My life has been full to the brim with crazy stuff-- marriage, divorce, suicide, miscarriages, loss, grief, abuse of many kinds... I have my fair share of YUCK, trust me. I know what it's like. My goal is to share my stories with you so that you know you're not alone... and to know that there is still an incredible amount of JOY to suck out of life's moments-- both big and small.
I do work closely with a group of counselors that I will refer you to if you ask me to. They are available for professional help if need be, so there is that option available to you.
I offer teleclasses for groups of people, whether that's two people or five hundred. I offer e-courses here on the blog from August through May. I also do private sessions via skype and telephone.
Most of all, I'm here to help you celebrate YOU.
The yuck and the awesome.
It's all you, and it is ALL worth celebrating.
xo, c
** e-courses will resume enrollment post-summer**
**teleclasses can be booked via email. click here to email me**
