Why painting yourself as a tree can make you feel better

Art therapist Susan Bullough-Khare tells iTalk how to reveal emotions through painting and sketching

Susan Bullough-Khare realised the therapeutic value of art the day she first introduced it to her students. The class suddenly became livelier and animated, and Susan knew then that she had struck gold. Photographer, teacher and teacher-trainer, Bullough-Khare had worked for anti-racism and equality education in Ireland before she came to India. Over the years, her interest in the power of art grew with her love for the country. Now based in Pune, she conducts workshops using art as a healing tool and a method of teaching. After finishing an intensive 8-hour workshop at the Don Bosco School, Matunga, she speaks to us about the power of art.

What brings you to Don Bosco, Mumbai?
I am conducting a workshop for teachers from a few of Mumbai's schools as a part of Don Bosco's Prafulta Project. I am working with 21 participants over two days this week, after which I will work with teachers in their schools. They are training workshops for teachers and can deploy art as a medium of therapy in the classroom. I think it is important for a teacher to understand the range of emotions one can feel while expressing oneself through art. Only when they experience the workshop, can they adapt it to their classrooms.

How do you use art as a medium in your workshops?
I introduce art in a non-threatening way. We begin with basic techniques like drawing, sketching and painting and experiment with different materials paint, pencil, and charcoal, anything that puts the participant at ease. Slowly, we move to the next level of portraying emotions through colour. My methods vary from looking at pictures in magazines and books to understanding the emotion portrayed by an artist, or actually painting an object to express one's personality. For example, in today's workshop, the participants portrayed themselves as a tree. Each person's interpretation was different. Expressing your emotions through art makes you feel less vulnerable. It is also amazing how powerful group therapy can be.

Who do you work with?
I work with teachers, counsellors, NGO volunteers and staff as well as children with special needs. I choose to work with counsellors and development workers because they interact with a large number of women, destitute, children with physical, emotional and learning disabilities and substance addicts. It's not only the poor and disabled suffering from trauma who need this therapy people hailing from affluent homes and teenagers, also suffer. Art allows negative emotions to surface and reactions are not always pleasant. Negative emotions are important to the healing process.

Why did you make the switch from multi-cultural education in Ireland to art therapy in India?
I did not switch to this career; I grew into it gradually. I have been practising art as a healing process for eight years. When I came to India to work on an exchange project in 1988, I was gathering knowledge on India to take back with me to Ireland. India has become home now. I travel to Ireland for just two or three months in a year. Conducting these workshops is motivating for me too as I discover a lot from my interactions with interesting people, who constantly want to be challenged by this learning experience.