Zoe | Art to Heal; A Personal Branding Session
What are you inspired by? I asked Zoe as we were talking about her art and planning out her personal branding session together.
"I’m inspired by a lot of things, but lately I’ve been most inspired by anything that feels like it’s making a positive difference. Maybe it’s a new organization that’s environmentally conscious, maybe it’s a poet who is writing about their experiences with immigration, could be someone who just did a random act of kindness. I’m also very inspired by other artists. I love looking at how others create and what they’re producing and bravely putting into the world."
Zoe invited me into her home and showed me some of her old and new pieces of artwork, in a variety of mediums. As Fleetwood Mac radio played on the Alexa, we sat together quietly while I documented this talented artist on her kitchen floor. She looked up and laughed, noticing that her colors were slightly different this time around from when she originally started her piece earlier in the week, explaining to me that she loves how her art can take a different direction. No need for perfection here.
"I create a lot of different things. I’m a “bad” artist in that respect since I don’t stick to one specific theme or style. For example, I made a series of art about equality in love and relationships that I used as wedding favors because it was an important issue for me to include. I’ve made pieces about my emotional reactions to political or world events.”
Zoe works as an Art Therapist during the week and hears so many different traumatic stories, so creating art in her personal time (to help her process the impact that being a mental health professional can have on her) is crucial to her well-being. I don’t think I honestly considered just how big the big impact is until I met Zoe and it made me have an even greater appreciation for her and her work, both professionally and personally.
"I use the art process itself as a healing tool. This is a unique distinction we make in art therapy is art as therapy versus art is therapy; both valid, just different approaches. While I’ve used art to process something specific, I tend to use the act of art-making itself as a healing tool for myself, so the content of the work is less important than the act of the creating many times."
”Creating gives me a sense of calm and peace. It focuses my brain on what I’m doing and can take my thoughts away from my day. I won’t fixate on that trauma story I heard earlier because I’m too focused on what I’m doing in the art. It gives me a sense of accomplishment as well. Engaging in activities that elicit what we call a sense ‘mastery’ in the therapy world is necessary for strength in sense of self and self-confidence, which also helps promote calm and peace because it can combat depression and anxiety that may be connected to self-doubt, imposter syndrome, etc."
Zoe inspired me in so many ways, from reminding me to get back to creating just to chill out my brain at times, to reminding me to forget perfection, to finding a love for the bright colors and patterns she uses in her work. I felt so relaxed photographing her in her element.
Keep on scrollin’ and let yourself be inspired alongside me.
