I believe all art has a therapeutic use.  Either in the viewing or creating.

The first thing I ever seriously wanted to be, age 11, was an Art Therapist.  It was virtually unheard of, and I could only send off for one leaflet on the subject.  To say I felt as though I'd hit a dead end was putting it mildly.  It seemed that the only use Art Therapy had in its early days was for getting information out of abused or troubled children.  I could not comprehend a career like that at the time, and so opted for Aromatherapy, which was just as obscure at the time.

As a child, I drew.  I drew things I could see, practised light and shade, texture and form.  I studied art at school (GSCE), college(A-Level and BTEC), and now have a Foundation Diploma in Fine Art and Design.  The art I created just for me, held more power than anything I had created for set projects.  The doodles, the endless lines and filling in, the angst and sadness I touched upon, meant more than qualifications.

Working with the Tarot, it's indulgent use of symbols and images, led me into a world of Art revealing Life.  As a witch I learned about correspondances, colours, chakras...

In my early twenties, I began to read into The Mandala.  It was just another area of interest at the time, but it took over me, and I began to draw them all the time.  My first mandala's were more like pictures in circles, but this was good.  With a mandala I always had a starting point, and boundaries, so those initial worries, of tapping pencil to empty page, were immediately gone.  Over the years I have become more interested in sacred geometry and numerology, and my mandala's have become symmetrical, precise and colourful.

Every mandala I draw holds a special place in my heart, unless, however, I have created it for someone else.  I then give over all the energy in the drawing to it's recipient.  It pleases me to draw them, and I am always overwhelmed at the end result.

I have read and researched into Art Therapy and Art as Healing, practising many of the techniques along the way.  In the future I am considering a Masters in Anthroposophical Art Therapy (based on the philosophy of Rudolph Steiner).

My experience at University led me to understand the commercial side of art, and I wasnt entirely happy with having to 'be clever' when all I wanted to do was express what's inside, make sense of the things I learned, and goddess forbid... just draw pretty pictures!  Establishments put all the glory in the finished piece, completely missing the changes that have occured inside the Artist.  The process of creating art is what heals, the freedom to draw, write or mold whatever you wish.  The paper, canvas or clay is a world waiting to be created, and you are the Creator.

Having children has made me focus on the things I really want to do.  My time is so precious, and my art so important to me, it seems silly not to indulge my creative urges, with no restrictions, time limits or pressure.

I am always amazed at my achievements.  Every finished picture is another step along the way.  Each one marking time, like an old photo.