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?
August has been a month of “firsts”. I had the chance to work on 
When Michael Jordan decided to play baseball in 1993 a lot of people criticized the fact that he was not as good as baseball as he was at basketball. He is a professional basketball player after all and many will argue that he is the best player of all times. That didn’t come easy and he practiced a lot. It is very unfair to think that he would be as good in baseball in a very short period of time. Yesterday I had the opportunity to work on my first full body painting. It was an amazing experience and I had so much fun. It was a lot of work. Five hours painting left me exhausted, but it was worth it. The model was excellent and so patient. I kept repeating to the point of being annoying, “It was not too bad for the first one”.
I am aware that I can’t become an expert or even as good as professional body painters on my first try just because I sculpt and paint. It would be ridiculous to think otherwise. It is like expecting Jordan to be excellent as baseball because he played basketball. However, there is always criticism and I must confess that most of it comes from myself. Interestingly, a lot of people liked the result. I liked it too. I liked it a lot. On the other hand, and if you know me and my brain, you know I was taking every minute of it to learn and figure out the strategies I’m using in the next body paintings. It should be better next time. I can still dedicate more time in details by avoiding mistakes and things that didn’t work as expected this time around.
There will be more. I have a few already scheduled leading to demos in September and October. I need the practice. I believe it is possible to learn each time something new. It is with everything we do and try. There is so much to learn and to try. Experimentation is always fun because it leads to discovery. It is important to learn from others but we need to try to figure things on our own and find the techniques and methods that are better for us. That’s what learning is, making meaning of knowledge between our own cognition and outside information. I am looking forward to the next experience.
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?
Confronted Through Art
Sculpting and Painting Parties
Being exposed and engaged to art and the creative process is not only fun and educational in many instances but also challenging. When I say challenging I am not only referring to the refocus of motor skills, observation, patience, knowledge, and vision into the creation or understanding of an art piece. The greatest challenge comes when the art piece or the process of creating an art piece opens the doors connecting with our fears and deepest emotions. Mental, emotional, and spiritual issues emerge right in front of our eyes. It is interesting to me to observe how people react when confronted through art. It brings me back to what I said many times:
When we think about art as therapy we think about kids,
but is often the adult who grew up hurt who needs it the most.
During my painting and sculpting parties I try to engage people in conversations about life. I rely on humor to present subjects that are often uncomfortable to people to hear. The creative process allows for people to become vulnerable and often scared of what they find when confronted through art. As an educator it is my duty and responsibility to help people understand and make sense of their thoughts and to explain not only how that connection to themselves is possible through the creative process but also how it connects with life. I aim to help people see each situation from different perspectives, just as a sculpture can be looked at from different sides but it is still one piece.
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It is normal for many individuals to avoid confrontations with the self. Many activities we practice in order to escape our daily reality involve avoidance to our deep self. Silence of the mind is scary so we need to add noise. When the noise is directed towards those thoughts and emotions we are trying to avoid then we run towards complete silence or to revert the noise toward others. It is always easier to confront someone else; it is easier to just walk away or simply change the subject. However, avoidance of our thoughts, fears, doubts, or memories of traumatic experiences are not going to make them go away.
Justification and passing along “the blame” for one’s current emotional situation is something I observe when conversations “hit home”. I mentioned in previous posts about attribution theory. Attribution theory explains that when it comes to other people we tend to judge internal attributions as personality traits to explain their behavior. “It is because that person is…” Interestingly, when it comes to explain ourselves we “blame” the environment, or the other gender, or our parents, or whatever is not us and how we understand and cope with our situation.
Some people do allow the confrontation and, better yet, show the maturity to face themselves and give a step towards healing and improvement, towards forgiveness, towards understanding the antecedents without succumbing to them but as a stepping stone to a better life. That is also the beauty of art: not that art is going to solve our problems but that it helps us see them and open up. As I learn more about the connection between creativity, neuroscience, and resiliency, and how it connects with our souls and spirits, with our bodies and life, the more intrigue I get about how people cope with their situations when they are confronted through art. Even more, I get more intrigue about how I can I be part of people’s restoration and transformation.
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