Creative process unlocked

Lockdown unlocked creativity for many people, and Amanda Moore of Manly is one person who facilitated that process via Zoom.

Amanda is an art teacher, artist and wellness coach who says a stint volunteering at Estuary Arts Centre made her aware of the need to support creative people’s confidence.

“With creativity comes self-doubt,” she says. “But on the other hand, creativity is also good for mental health.”

During the first lockdown, she was grieving the loss of a family member and got back into painting as a way to process her emotions. She painted with an online group facilitated by Stewart Cubley and, in the second lockdown, began to pass on what she had learned, starting and facilitating a group that painted together on Zoom.

She says the important thing is to focus on the process of creating an artwork, not the end result.

“You need a willingness to play with paints, crayons or pastels and see what happens,” she says.

She says the art helped people process what is going on and how they feel about it.

A wide range of work was created, from an entire wall covered in A3-size paintings, to small detailed works.

The weekly online group started on August 17 with four and grew to around 12 participants who shared with each other as well as being facilitated by Amanda.

Not all had done visual art before – one is a local writer and some were from theatre – and they came from as far away as Kuala Lumpur and Turkey, but they all wanted to give it a go.

“It was a way for us to connect and explore ways to liberate creativity in response to lockdowns and social distancing,” Amanda says.

Amanda leads a six-week course about unlocking your creativity in person or via Zoom (depending on Alert Levels) at Estuary Arts Centre in Orewa starting October 17. Info: contact Estuary Arts Centre or estuaryarts.org/workshops.html