Self-reflecting art to heal the soul
KAAPSEHOOP - With easels at the ready and a bit of instruction given, six students tried their hand at eternalising themselves at the Bohemian Groove Café.
The art session was presented by Deanne Kim. Her participants were instructed to take a selfie on their cellphones and then encouraged to draw and paint a Picassoesque version of themselves. Kim continually stated there was no wrong way of drawing, as people often insist they cannot draw.
She herself had been practising art for more than 23 years. She had an art school in Johannesburg before moving to Kaapsehoop.
“We are not doing it as copy art; the idea is to use it as an unspoken language to get in touch with your own emotions. “You look at Picasso as an abstract understanding of what can be done to your face. You are not trying to perfect yourself; you are fragmenting yourself into whatever angles or whatever you wish. It is how you see yourself through abstract.
“The minute you go realistic, you get fear and you think, ‘Oh my goodness, that does not look like me!’”
Through the various techniques Kim teaches people, they learn how they can break through the whole fear of wrong and right. “That is a huge thing in life. People are too scared to do something in case they fail.”
Though she does not have a formal art therapy degree, as that cannot be obtained in South Africa, Kim studied art for 12 years.
“I did graphics, then I did fine art, and then I did contemporary visual art; it has been a long process.
“I do the therapy through using the qualifications I do have, and with 25 years of experience I am quite capable of doing it.”
Kim has also written 72 educational textbooks for grades R to 12, focusing mainly on life orientation, arts and culture, visual arts, business studies and English.