The answer is 42

Yes: the number of different types of art/craft I'm doing/got planned ideas for.

And YES: GREAT for brain = NO words, no thinking, just DO.

Had the BEST day yesterday: 2 hours of clay modelling (time flew), really liked it.

Then after a sleep (disturbed by noisy garages rented out below me) did about 5 or 6 hours art at home alone. Felt driven,my therapy: finally expressing how I feel = TRAPPED, prisoner in BAD home. (Yes, I know 'lucky' not to be homeless and have food to eat etc.).

But can't pay rent, bills, transport, phone etc. with art, can you?

People say 'soothe yourself' = this is it but it doesn't remove the stress except while doing it = blanking all the other stuff out then BAM, stop doing art and all the awful stuff floods back and get sick, anxious, stressed and cry.

And (think not a coincidence?) slept best in AGES last night. The meds don't work but the art does.

Others get art therapy why not EVERYONE with ABI = if they want? Others prefer sports. Why can't we CHOOSE our 'treatments'? Oh, meds are cheaper? Not a good enough reason!

And did potato-printing this eve, PLAY! Wish I could do this ALL the time!

[iforget]

Muddled I am pleased that you are enjoying your art and craft work... It can be so freeing to have a form of self expression ... it can be great therapy.

Maybe setting yourself some 'play' time every day will help balance out the non fun stuff?

I haven't done potato printing in years... maybe I should give it a go again soon.

[Hidden in reply to iforget]

thanks. yes. very tired so not writing much now.

[Hidden in reply to iforget]

iforget: yes, playtime every day = so long as NO awful paperwork or meetings coz then too tired.

Potato printing = fun but hard to cut well (bad light here) plus = STINK of raw potatoes coz since ABI sense of smell hyper-acute for some things. I don't ever remember smell of spuds before but DO remember that weird smell of school powder paint = all there was in them days!

[randomphantoms]

Great stuff.

I can't even think of 42 types of art.

My creative outlet at the moment is trying to crochet. I tried knitting and it was rubbish but seem to be coping better with crochet s it is more one handed.

It is really good when you can see the results of your efforts.

Best wishes

[Hidden in reply to randomphantoms]

thanks. yes, but I often do rubbish!

[Hidden in reply to randomphantoms]

random: well done you for that! I'd get in a real muddle with things like that,hats off to you.

[cat3]

Good for you Muddled. And although your art/craft mightn't pay the bills, if it makes you feel that good then it's obviously working as a therapy.

So nice to hear you had such a great day & hope there'll be many more !

Love Cat x

[Hidden in reply to cat3]

thanks cat, yes therapy = but hurts my neck, need find try different way to do.

[angelite]

Hi Muddled - I didn't know you were a Douglas Adams fan : )

It's great when we get caught up in our passion for a hobby . I'm so glad you are enjoying your art again : )

Angela x

[Hidden in reply to angelite]

thanks. yes hitch-hiker's guide read years ago, can't remember much though, liked it then.

[moo196]

I wish someone had suggested colouring for me when I was in first few weeks/months of my recovery ..... or painting by numbers etc - just to "do" and see results . I found cooking was my form of that . Just followed the recipe and had something decent to eat at the end of it.

[Hidden in reply to moo196]

colouring yes, as kid I loved Magic Painting books = black print, dip brush water & magic: colours come out of the black!

[OldThingy]

The answer is not forty two - it is tea for two or four for tea too . . . . .

[Hidden in reply to OldThingy]

clever & funny!!!

[artangel]

Hi Muddled have you tried art journaling? i am hooked and if i am not journaling i am looking at it on youtube you can just about put anything and everything in your jounal. Good Luck

[Hidden in reply to artangel]

art journaling? No. Thanks. I wrote diary (words) until broke ankle/foot then stopped - pain+. Too hard. SO bad & PAIN esp neck today: good for nothing, I'll look youtube.

[iforget in reply to Hidden]

Art journalling is a fantastic way for self expression...especially when words fail and you can express emotions/feelings through art and add as many words as you like... from none to as many as you can fit on a page...

In art journalling some people like to pour their words on to a page and then keep them private by covering them up with the art... or the words are hidden within the page in pockets or tags or under leaves or flaps.

Art journalling can be whatever you need it to be... It can be as simple as dabbing paint on a page with your fingers to full on mixed media and the beauty of it is that there are no rules.

Hope tomorrow will be a brighter day for you Muddled.

[Hidden in reply to iforget]

Thanks iforget, can't stop crying today. Got to the point I don't understand ANYTHING pretty much.

Told that therefore I've lost capacity. But coz I can't DO this stuff = doesn't mean I've lost capacity.

They're meant to HELP you do things, understand things. They DON'T.

I feel very very bad today and body/brain/eyes/all awful, dithery, cack-handed, hurts.

VERY hard to go on hoping/trying. Think NOBODY knows how much. Too much expected of me: people deluded about what I can/can't do.

Told postlady & local police today that somebody had opened windows my car & left them open. If it had rained car would be FULL of water coz thing it's under has HUGE holes that are like taps when rained & it thunders onto car, BIG noise too. RUBBISH rented place: hate it SO much.

Everyone says 'do it yourself' = I CAN'T and feel total failure.

Ta. But all this is TOO much, NOT strong or clever enough.

[iforget in reply to Hidden]

Sorry you are having such a crappy time at the moment. Hope tomorrow will be a better day and you will get some rest to recharge your batteries.

[Hidden in reply to iforget]

iforget: THANKYOU for telling me about art journaling, that PLUS it led me to 'altered books' = WONDERFUL!

At boarding school I a hollow square inside a book (cut same square out f lots of pages, same place) so I could hide things from nosy staff when (no choice) they entered and poked around for our weekly room inspections!

Saw someone had written that they (we all) were taught not to write in (except pencil) or destroy books = they were SO valuable and history. And (other than as above) I generally obeyed.

Now I bought a BIG encyclopaedia (haven't studied it yet) = question is SHOULD I destroy that? Was planning to when I bought it but friend said no: history/culture etc. Irreplaceable. And I agree, sort of.

So: keep it as a weight (useful), door stop, step,plinth? And just copy stuff from? Yes, maybe so. But one day will there be NO books coz they (almost all) get wrecked, wet, shredded and lost?

No idea if the ones I bought today are old (or fake), valuable or important: should I 'alter' them - or not? Will think...

Anyone else got vies on this (not ABI related = but actually IS: rehab and occupational therapy!)? As are Matt's pix = for those of us who have some problems recognising faces!

Oh and better day today thanks. Shocking and frightening how VERY low I get & panics, awful. New to me.

[iforget in reply to Hidden]

I do a lot of papercraft (actually it is a large part of what I do these days) and I love altered art too...it allows us to make something beautiful and/or practical out of something that is perhaps past its purpose and might be thrown away.

Altered books are wonderful...I love books and it was hard to do anything to them at first but I have my own sort of 'rules' and that way I can live with the process.

1. I steer clear of anything old and possibly valuable but a well read mass produced book or anything disposed of by the library (they sell off or give away old stock periodically) is fair game.

2. If I am going to remove pages (to form a hollow for storage or as part of theatre or scene style project) I try to use as many of the offcuts as possible in other mixed media projects

3. No part of the book goes into the recycle bin until I am sure I have no use for it

If cutting into books doesn't feel right you may like to try paper-folding the books instead - that can be relaxing and some of the results can be stunning . I can't quite get my brain around some of the more complex designs but hedgehogs are a great starter project (two simple repeat folds) and look great.

Anything creative is good therapy in my world

[Hidden in reply to iforget]

WOW iforget: sounds ike you do amazing things, thanks for info!

And yes: your rules sound really good advice. But no idea how to tell what's old/possibly valuable.

And these days can't understand words like value coz things like old books, paintings, diamonds, houses/land = almost anything (all?) = only valued at what somebody will pay for it - as you know!

Cause a shortage (or good bit of marketing, provenance = who 'owned' before etc!) and VROO0oom = up jumps the price.

So many words now I don't really know what they mean or if they mean anything. As in silly counsellors' (psych) test: 'unhappy' = means WHAT?

And all these words mean different things to different people and at different times and often mean lots different things. Mumbo jumbo BABEL!

Borrowed LOVELY kids book from library (better at dates for those = WITH warnings on calendar before, and returning,NOT lose forget now!) = story without words = SO beautiful and clever!

[Hidden in reply to iforget]

iforget: just put new post (under Headway) about BAD PAIN after clay modelling = lost lovely thing only just discovered and LOVED doing. Any thoughts?

[Hidden]

42 is also the meaning of life according to " The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy " lol!!!

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

yes, dillim. I had meant to put that book name but forgot, sorry. Was referring (but derr forgot) to meaning of life for me! Try relearn doing art = was lost.