Ksenia fled a domestic violence situation with her spouse and has been on a journey of building herself up and finding herself and her voice again, as in her relationship she was very controlled. She is also doing work to find her place in the U.S. as she is from another country. This activity was an opportunity for her to open up about how she was feeling. She was also able to reflect on how much work she has done and appreciate herself being in a better space.
During the activity, she dropped her brush on her painting and had a positive outlook of saying that another flower would be made there. We also decided to have some fun and have some paint splatters on our creations. Feeling more comfortable with not being as precise and seeing her come to that decision and have fun with the art was a beautiful sight.
She shared, “I can’t be miserable and creative at the same time. Even if something goes wrong in the process (like I dropped a brush on my painting) I was able to turn it into another flower…. It’s like that in life too. Each experience is an opportunity to grow, blossom and turn it into something beautiful.”
Overall, it was a great activity for reflection and appreciation for herself and how far she has come. She has definitely come a long way, and she is very insightful and hopes to be that beacon of light and hope for others in similar situations.
After the workshop I provided her with the resilience handout. She really appreciated the information and being able to see that she had already been actively doing some of the things mentioned to build resiliency such as looking for opportunities for self-discovery and taking care of herself.
She reflected on her experience in the workshop saying, “For me part of the healing from the abusive relationship is bringing back the joy and colors into my life. I love the fact that my creativity is getting restored. It’s a huge sign of progress in healing for me.”
Her artwork is pictured on the right (red) and mine is on the left (blue). She titled hers Believe in Yourself.
