Author Archives: Kalyaani

Morocco: Meknes

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Meknes

After an afternoon in Rabat our group hopped on a 4 hour train ride to Meknes where we stayed the night. Our train journey was an interesting one, half of our group (including Jon & I) ended up in a bare carriage with no seats and eventually surrounded by locals. We all shared cake and enjoyed having conversations with the natives. Moroccans are a very friendly and curious bunch as I discovered when I ended up in conversation with a Maths teacher who wanted to share his music with me on his iphone!
One thing I learned whilst in Morocco is that in comparison to other cultures, it is considered rude to eat snacks on local transport like trains and not offer any to those around you, it is always polite to try and share what you have even if the locals decline. I think this is a lovely thing to do considering us Brits are rather greedy and like to keep things to ourselves, the British culture as a whole does not like sharing and that includes personal space, food, clothing and having conversations that involve having to share any form of emotion. So this small gesture of kindness in Morocco is rather refreshing as I am always open to sharing and giving. Whilst on the 4 hour train journey it was interesting to slowly watch the landscape change from flat and industrial to lush with rolling hills.

Our group arrived in Meknes in the early evening and it was raining with a slight chill in the air! (Yes. It does rain in Morocco) so once we were designated to our rooms in the hotel and had 15 minutes to freshen up we all ventured out for our evening meal. I will say from what I saw of the city, this could be another place Westerners could live, it reminded me a little of the Lake District in England because it is located near the Atlas Mountains, Meknes has a seasonal climate, shifting from cool in winter to hot days in the summer months of June–September.

Meknes was the capital of Morocco under the reign of Moulay Ismail (1672–1727), before it was relocated to Marrakech. Meknes is named after a Berber tribe which was known as Miknasa (native Berber name: Imeknasen) in the medieval North African sources.
train journey from Rabat to Meknes

atlas mountains

travel hot spots in Morocco

Moroccan culture

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Morocco: Rabat

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Our next destination was Rabat via a local train with our tour group consisting of 16 people plus 1 guide whom we had met on the last day of Casablanca. Our group only had an afternoon here before jumping on another train to Meknes. It really is an interesting mix of emotions involving the excitement of being in another culture & tackling my shyness around a large group of people who became a mini family over the course of the adventure.
This group of wonderful people were like a fruit salad full of different personalities & up-beat energies.

Rabat (Arabic: الرباط, ar-Ribaaṭ, literally “Fortified Place”) is the Political capital and fifth largest city of Morocco. This city is relatively modern in comparison to Casablanca and actually reminds me of Limassol in Cyprus (or London on a sunny day) with it’s glistening contemporary buildings & pretty, modern streets. Rabat has not quite established itself as a tourist destination, however visitors who do go find a gem of a city. The colonial architecture is stunning, the palm-lined boulevards are well kept and relatively free of traffic, and the atmosphere has a cosmopolitan flair, even a lot of the locals walk around with a graceful & confident air wearing designer clothing, trendy accessories & driving stylish cars. All in all, life here is pleasant and civilised. Although at times Rabat can be rather dull in comparison to other Moroccan destinations because there are very few areas within the city that has that charm most tourists search for. Yet the city is more laid-back, pleasant and more provincial than Casablanca or Marrakesh, and far less grimy and frantic. This would be a good place to possibly live if you were considering living in Morocco because it would be an easier place to adjust & adapt to the lifestyle as oppose to the hustle and bustle of other Moroccan cities.

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Morocco: Casablanca

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Casablanca architecture

We landed in Casablanca after a 3 hour flight (plus a full day of travelling from Plymouth to London Gatwick) on the 11th March. We were a day early & were to meet the rest of our group that evening. It was a warm dusk in this busy city and even in the taxi ride to our hotel we could see how vast this place is. Casablanca’s architecture is a fusion between contemporary glass sky scrapers & beautifully crumbling French buildings. Casablanca is Morocco’s chief port and industrial, economic and business centre, while the national political capital is Rabat.
One tip we learned from our Lonely Planet book, that I am going to tell you is: You will mostly likely be pestered by individual men claiming they are taxi drivers the moment you step out of the airport and they will try to usher you into their car if you look like a little lost tourist. Don’t follow them. Chances are it’s a con. You will usually see the majority of Taxi drivers waiting in a group & by their rusty, beige Mercedes (that looks like it’s driven out of a 1970’s film set, which I find quite charming) just across the road. With a Taxi ride from the Airport to your hotel discuss the charge before you get into the car and you usually pay about 250 Dirham (which is about 20 pounds), do not let the driver over charge. Tipping is also a must do in all of Morocco, so remember to tip!
After a 20 minute drive from the airport and through the streets of Casablanca (Including what looked like a rough area & we worried the driver had taken us to the wrong place), we finally arrived at the lovely Hotel Maamoura. Apart from one noisy neighbour who left his television on loud, the hotel was decent with Moroccan interior design through out, our room was simple & spacious, yet elegant with a balcony and we had a flushing toilet, oh the luxury! This hotel is great for the traveller who needs an over night pit stop or for those who perhaps want a couple of nights stay in Casablanca in order to see the main sights like the Mosque, ancient medina & market place.

taxi in Casablanca

taxi car vintage 70's car in Casablanca

hotel maamoura

the city casablanca

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Don’t forget your Sasquatch

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Well I am back from a lovely mini break in Bristol with my close friend. I feel so much more refreshed & in tune with myself. For those few days we ventured around quirky boutiques, Art Galleries & Museums, bohemian cafes, played with my Tarot Cards, made loads of tea and brought our Sasquatches along with us for the fun of it.
Nic & I hadn’t seen each other properly for almost 2 years because now I am based in Plymouth, Devon and she lives & works all over the UK, as busy artists it is hard to find time to see each other. It seemed logical to meet half way in Bristol which is full of art & culture. Nic encourages me to be playful all the time, she really taps into my inner child even out in public. On Sunday evening we literally just chilled in our room over tea, had a catch up and ventured out for Pizza at a gorgeous Italian restaurant named Sergios. On Monday we visited the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, had a peak inside some quirky boutiques and in the evening we were invited to a wonderful one-woman-performance at the Wardrobe Theatre by Joanne Tremarco who is a professional Fool alongside many other amazing talents. Tuesday involved going to a Mad Dog casting agency in the morning for Nic to sign up for and soon after we ventured into the city centre, exploring the market place, canals, a lovely bohemian cafe called cafe revival and viewed an exhibition at the Arnalfini Contemporary Arts Centre. Wednesday morning we marvelled at some of Bristol’s beautiful architecture and enjoyed a hot chocolate with a Bree & Vegetable toasty before boarding onto our coaches to travel back home.
It was a short but sweet adventure and I can not wait for the next one.

This is where we stayed, it’s cheap & cheerful: Home Stay Bristol
This is where our Sasquatches came from: SukiSuki
This is Bristol’s Museum & Art Gallery: The Bristol Museum
This is where we saw Joanne Tremarco’s Performance: The Wardrobe Theatre
This is the lovely Cafe we discovered: Cafe Revival
These are my Tarot Cards, you can buy them here: The Wild Unknown
This is the Contemporary Arts Centre: The Arnalfini
And if you like my Fox bag that Jon gave me for Christmas, you can get a similar one here: Vintage Fox Side Bag
Our Dinosaur, Swan and Alien Finger Puppets came from: The Puppet Company

Now I am looking forward to a holiday abroad with Jon for 2 weeks in March, where shall we go I wonder? Stay Tuned!

Art Journalling

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collage making

therapy collage

art journal therapy

art psycho-therapy, Dan Eldon Kathy Eldon

art journal workshops

mixed media artist katie ness, england, UK

Mixed media art work, collage art

mind maps

keeping an art journal

creative diary

spontaneous art

expressive art

art that heals the soul

release inner demons through art

wild messy art process

healing mind, body and spirit through art and art journals

sunflowerteeth lifestyle blog

art and design

collage installation

getting creative with collage

therapeutic workshops with art journals

expressive art therapy

I discovered Art Journalling when I learned about Dan Eldon & his Art Journals.
In the past I have included my Journal pages in mixed media illustrations, publications & performance art pieces but they are also an excellent therapeutic activity especially for those who feel like they can not draw or paint and the idea of creating a piece of art is a bit scary for them. Collage making & Art Journalling is a form of Spontaneous art where the individual can literally just go wild and make a beautiful mess that represents how they feel that day or perhaps document their daily activities without needing the so-called artistic skills.

Art Journalling & Collage making have been creative activities I have used to run mini group workshops at arts centres & I have inspired 3 friends to take up Art Journalling as a hobby. I hope to continue facilitating workshops that revolving around mixed media, collage & ‘How to start up your own Art Journal’ in the near future as it is an activity that people of all ages can enjoy & it is a great form of cathartic release.

One day I would love to make huge room installations in an exhibition space with video projections & collages surrounding the viewers, almost like they are walking into a labyrinth of textured imagery, or perhaps a collage waterfall cascading out of a wall? it would be a multi-sensory experience into my mind-scape.

© 2013 sunflowerteeth. all rights reserved. you may not take images or content from this site without written permission.

Art Therapy Books to read

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Shamanism & Spirituality in Therapeutic Practise is an interesting concept. I have recently been researching animal symbolism/spirits, nature therapy and utilizing Shamanistic ideas into my dance performances. “The underlying concepts and world-views of indigenous and contemporary shamanism are compared, contrasted and tied in with current developments in psychology, physics and neuro-science. After clarifying altered states of perception, concepts of integrative wholeness of mind, body, soul and spirit and transformative shamanic healing approaches, the book discloses how indigenous traditions can be adjusted for contemporary practice. It offers practitioners a highly effective repertoire of insights, psycho-spiritual approaches and step-by-step therapeutic tools and techniques, illustrated with examples and case studies throughout.” Christa Mackinnon has been a Therapist for over 25 years & has spent time as an apprentice to Shamans in South American.

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The Healing Forest in Post-Crisis Work with Children “is an innovative approach based on the direct and creative dialogues humans have with nature. For the first time in the English language, this book presents the theory behind the approach along with detailed guidelines for using it with children who have experienced stress or trauma. The authors explain how nature-based activities ranging from tree planting to making feeding stations for birds can be used therapeutically in conjunction with storytelling and other expressive arts therapies with children who have experienced large-scale crises such as wars, terrorism and natural or man-made disasters, as well as more common causes of stress such as the divorce of parents, moving home, the illness of a loved one and bullying.” This is a lovely book that also includes a high gloss/colour story about a forest. Both therapeutic practitioners & teachers can use this book in a school setting or therapy room.

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All Therapeutic practitioners & Psychology students should read Memories, dreams, reflections by Jung. This book is actually on my reading list I need to read before I go on to do my masters in Art Therapy one day. I wanted to read it now and take notes so that I can keep on flipping through it over the years and be thoroughly prepared for when the day comes.
In 1957, four years before his death, Carl Gustav Jung began writing his life story. But what began as an exercise in autobiography soon morphed into an altogether more profound undertaking. The result is an absorbing piece of self-analysis: a frank statement of faith, philosophy and principles from one of the great explorers of the human mind.
Covering everything from Sigmund Freud, analytical psychology and Jungian dream interpretation to a forthright discussion of Christianity and the existence of God, these final reflections on an extraordinary life are a fitting coda to the work of Carl Gustav Jung.

By the end of my Art: It’s Place in Therapy Foundation Diploma I will have read 12 books about Art-psychotherapy plus numerous Art Therapy Articles & Essays. I think by the time I go on to do my Masters I will have a pretty awesome Bibliography!
If you fancy Art Therapy as a career path I hope you find these book reviews helpful?

Draw yourself Picking an Apple from a Tree Test

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art therapy

apple tree drawing

apple tree test

Aanisah picking an apple tree

Esther picking an apple from a tree

art therapy drawing tests

psychology drawing tests

art as therapy foundation diploma

drawing assessments

All of these samples were drawn for me by friends acting as case studies for my Art Therapy Foundation Diploma, all of these drawings are beautiful & sweet. They have all given me permission to showcase them on this blog.
I am nearly finished with my 3rd module and due to start the 4th. I am really interested in drawing tests, the symbolism of objects and placement of things in dreams & drawings and of cultural archetypal imagery.

I would love to continue my collection of “Draw yourself Picking an Apple from a Tree Test.” So if you would like to have a go please submit your drawing to: Katie(at)sunflowerteeth.com.
I love that something so simple can become so varied, you’d assume that most people would draw pretty much in the same way or using the same shapes and angles but they don’t, each drawing is different and each drawing can tap into basic personality traits, thoughts and feelings. I aim to do mini interpretations of these drawings as practise for my course and for fun considering I am not a qualified art therapist, I am merely developing my knowledge at this point in my life.

Curious about how you make decisions? I know I am! That’s where the Person Picking an Apple from a Tree (PPAT) drawing assessment comes in handy. The artist is asked to draw a person picking an apple from a tree in anyway they want using shape, line and colour (the artist is provided with a drawing medium like markers, pastels or coloured pencils). The drawing can then be assessed for prominence of colour and colour choice, developmental level, energy, line-quality, realism, logic, detail, and problem-solving. Someone with depression might have low prominence of color, detail and may show some difficulty with problem-solving to pick the apple.
* Materials in this case were lacking for some of my friends and only had a Biro pen and a bit of paper to use.

How would you draw someone picking an apple from a tree?

Stage of the Mind: Jee Young Lee

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Korean Artist Transforms Her Small Studio Into Dreamlike Worlds Without Photoshop

Source: opiomgallery.com

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This young woman is absolutely incredible, her talent & art installations are so magical, I am in awe of what she has created. My personal favourite image is the garden with Lee sat in a Lotus flower, I guess because it resonates with how I feel about myself right now “Like a lotus flower that grows out of the mud and blossoms above the muddy water surface, we can rise above our defilements and sufferings of life”-Buddhism. The Lotus Flower portrait Lee created has an element of sadness to it (based on my own interpretation), it reminds me of my own battle to fully blossom, to truly find myself as an artist and rise up against negativity. Even my Indian name “Kusuma” means “Little bud” or “Pretty flower not fully bloomed”. The Lotus Flower portrait to me is the most powerful & symbolic, I would love a print of it to frame in my home.

“For weeks , sometimes months, she creates the fabric of a universe born from her mind within the confines of her 3 x 6 m studio. She does so with infinite minutiae and extraordinary patience, in order to exclude any ulterior photographic alteration. Thus materialised, these worlds turn real and concretise : imagination reverts to the tangible and the photo imagery of such fiction testify as to their reality. In the midst of each of these sets stands the artist : those self-portraits however are never frontal, since it is never her visual aspect she shows, but rather her quest for an identity, her desires and her frame of mind.”-Opiom Gallery.

Jee Young Lee’s highly beautiful photographs are a mixture of spectacular self portraits & theatrical performances/room installation pieces that conjure up aspects of the artist’s mind, heart, soul, her dreams and her memory. It is so amazing to know she created these spaces herself with absolutely no help from Photoshop. This young woman is so inspiring, I would love to visit an exhibition of hers and I would love to meet her one day and chat for hours about Art, Life & Dreams whilst sipping Matcha Tea.

For my own degree exhibition in Fine Art I also concentrated on room installation, performance art, dreams, magical realism and the mind. I came up with an alter-ego who lives in a desert like space within my psyche and I used projectors, screens, veils, sand, cushions, music and rose petals to bring this character within me to life. I created a sensual & sensory space for the viewers to interact with her and unlike Jee Young Lee’s images, you could see my face but you couldn’t hear my voice, akin to dreams where something is so close but so far away, my character danced in front of viewers but you couldn’t hear what she wanted to say to you, she had no voice. You can check out a short clip of my installation here. I kind of miss creating fantastical room installations and performances peices, Jee Young Lee has inspired me to perhaps plan a future project.

These images belong to Jee Young Lee. I am merely wanting to show how much her work inspires me.

Gaia

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Wonderland – ‘Gaia, The Birth Of An End’ – Kirsty Mitchell Photography from FX Films on Vimeo.

This video show cases the beautiful Fine Art Photography by Kirstie Mitchell. I truly love artists like this who encourage a deeper meaning to their work and build their own sets, props and costuming. Kirstie does just that, not only is she a photographer but she created the massive headdress and ethnic necklace herself. She is currently Inspired by tribal cultures, specifically the Tibetan culture.

This behind the scenes video depicts how a model is transformed into Gaia, the Greek equivalent to ‘Mother Earth’. I was so moved by the clip that is 3 minutes into the video because it showed that it was more than just a ‘making of’ process, Kirstie brought a Goddess to life enveloped in a magnitude of emotions. This entire project is so inspiring to me as an Artist and Tribal Dancer and I am just so lost for words. All I can say is….Breath taking.

To view more of Kirstie’s work & read her blog click here.

North Wales: Snowdonia

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Snowdonia (North Wales)

Magic horses

This is definitely a place where mythological creatures could live. From the awe-inspiring mountains to the majestic lakes, this is a magical place and I can see why the Welsh are so proud of their land. Absolutely Breath-taking. Jon and I will visit again and perhaps stay a bit longer next time. We also plan to trek up Mount Snowdon!
That week of mini adventures up to North West England & North Wales was a fruitful one. We discovered so many beautiful places nature has to offer. Before we spent a few days in Snowdonia we did stay in Blackpool with my relatives & enjoyed some wondrous day trips to Ingelton falls, White Scar Caves, The Yorkshire Dales as well a visiting Blackpool Zoo & enjoyed an evening watching “The Last Waltz” at the Winter Gardens, (you can check out the blog post to these places here). Snowdonia was the last place on our list of places towards the end of the week, we stayed for 2 days and we stopped over at Conway/Conway Castle, Betws-y-Coed, Swallow Falls, Llanberis Pass, Beddgelert, Caernarfon/Castle, Portmeirion, Ffestiniog & Bala.
map of Snowdonia, North Wales
As a couple Jon & I enjoy making most of a holiday, you will never find us wasting a day lounging about the hotel or pool. We usually get up early and already have the day planned with a small list of places we’d like to visit within the area. To save on money we make packed lunches (because we all know that beautiful holiday hot spots tend to have tourist areas that are over priced.) We try to find places out of reach from tourists, preferring to seek out wild terrains & soak up the culture by visiting where the locals live.
Seriously if you fancy a mini retreat please do visit the rolling wilderness of North Wales, the locals are lovely, the landscape is out of this world & you’ll feel so refreshed from all the stillness & quiet.

snowdonia north wales, tourist information

holidays in the uk

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