Written by: Law Jia Ying
Edited by: Rhonda Toh
Photos by: Jing Wen
UnSeenPerspective is a joint collaboration between Social Service Projects (SSP) and Arts, Cultural & Social Affairs (two subcommittees of NTU-USP Club) to promote mental health awareness. The project has two segments: Human Library and Art Therapy. Art Therapy aims to allow NTU-USPians to relieve stress through activities such as window and bead art.
On Wednesday evening, NTU-USPians gathered in the Cultural Room of Crespion (the portmanteau of Crescent and Pioneer Halls of NTU). It was Day 2 of UnSeenPerspective – Art Therapy, where students got to try to make window and bead art. We were amazed to see many adorable window art templates and beads laid out for us as we entered the room.
As relaxing pop music filled the room, participants started to open the little paint bottles meant for window art. There was silence in the room as images of birds, flowers, or animals were being colored in. Everyone thought it would be a piece of cake, having done it as children. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find that there was actually more to it than just ‘coloring’: air bubbles that appeared while squeezing the paint out of the bottle had to be gently burst, and the paint also had to be applied evenly for it to look smooth when dried.
Bead art took up the second part of the session. Most of us had not tried it before and were unsure of how it would turn out. But we soon realised that our fears were unfounded.
Bead art turned out to be very simple. All we had to do was lay out the beads on the bead holder, place tracing paper over the art, and use an iron to go over them until the beads melted and stuck together. Putting the beads on the bead holder was the most challenging part, as dexterity with the tiny beads was important.
Time flew by in the blink of an eye and before we knew it, Art Therapy had ended. Participants exclaimed that the session was a welcome break because the deep focus that the art project required left no room for other thoughts about the stresses of school and commitments. I personally agree wholeheartedly. It had been a relief to forget about the endless assignments for that hour and a half, where I could just use my hands and concentrate on my art piece. As I walked back to my room with my newly completed flower window art and bead piece, I felt more ready to hit the books. I guess the Art Therapy did what it set out to do!
Art Therapy was indeed an interesting experience and promoted greater awareness of the need to take care of one’s mental health. It is incredibly important to take time out to manage stress amidst the daily grind. Sometimes, taking a short break from thinking yields better results than thinking too much.
