Body Painting Therapy
I do not have scientific proof for the benefits of body painting therapy. I do know that body painting can be therapeutic in many ways. The process of transformation is a long and tiresome process but despite this it is very relaxing and soothing for the person becoming art. It allows for a time of disconnect. The real world starts fading away as a new reality emerges in which the model is the main character. This also brings an effect of amusement to those who are observing the process. Believe me, looking at the product of the body painting doesn’t compare to witnessing the process.
Body painting allows a person to see something about them that is often hidden deep inside. I try to design and paint on a person something that I see in their personality or character. “More than meets the eye” is often said but how often we allow to dig deeper inside ourselves to see what others see in us? It is easy to look inside someone else and see what we don’t see. By painting on someone, I aim to allow them to see what I see about them so they can see it too. It is art even when I paint a generic design on someone, but it becomes therapy when the vision of the artist is linked to the person being painted.
As you may know by now, I don’t just do things for the sake of art or entertainment. I am looking for something else of deep value in everything I do. I am looking for some way to impact the lives of those who encounter my art in some way. The Art of Iván Tirado LLC is much more than just traditional painting and sculpting. Paintings and sculptures are dead if they have no connection to people. The value of speaking and teaching about these things abides in what people can use to make even a slight difference in their lives. It is no different with body painting.
What if I could see in a person what he or she stopped seeing about himself or herself? What if that vision serves a purpose of healing? What if transforming a person in what is not seen with the naked eye allows to grow and boost self-confidence and a new appreciation of the self? What if body painting is used to help people as a form of therapy?
This past weekend I participated in the United States Society for Education Through the Arts (USSEA) and the International Society for Education Through Art (InSEA) conference which turned out to be a fantastic experience. Tim Rollins said during his key note, “You answered the call”. My mind began celebrating the choices I made when it comes to art and education and how the academic preparation along with the experiences in the last 20 years are shaping together a calling I can’t refuse. What if by answering the call to use the tools, skills, and gifts God had given me I make a difference in someone’s life?
Now that May is over and June is here the excitement of a new adventure grows. As I get ready for training for my new job as part-time faculty at Quinnipiac University, I’ve been going over the textbook for the Inquiry Based Learning course I’ll be teaching A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger. It is a very interesting book which explores the habit of questioning. It presents three questions shaping the process of change and applicable to many areas of life. The three questions are:
Acquiescence
Life Incomplete
“I am not satisfied yet.” “I am not done.” “I am still working on this.” “In progress.” When I am working on a sculpture or a painting I post pictures on social media of the progress and process. Sometimes I take short videos to give viewers a feel of it. Interestingly, some people acquire the pieces before they are complete because of the connection that grows on them seeing the process. It is like they are participating in the creation process. I find it an honor for people to trust me with the finished piece.
On the other hand, I find some people who are not interested in acquiring a piece but are very fast to make comments on them. I appreciate the comments as well. The comments that I find more interesting are those on unfinished pieces saying “Leave it like that”, or “I like it as it is”. Why are those comments interesting to me? If a piece is in progress it means that I am not done yet, therefore I am not going to leave it like that. It is not finished. There is only one person who can tell when an art piece is finished and that is the artist himself. Incomplete is not better than complete.
Those comments make me think of acquiescence. Acquiescence is one of those words that I can hardly pronounce correctly. I found it by looking at the dictionary searching for other expressions for a phrase I heard recently: “passive resignation”. How many times do we apply acquiescence in our lives? How many times do we accept things “as is” without questioning? We often “go with the flow” without asking or questioning if there is something else for us. We often prefer to live unfinished. There is no reason, no need, and no rush to accept less of what our lives could be. Even when we might feel or think we already reached completeness, whatever the process we are in right now, only The Artist can tell when we are complete.