the healing art book
Post on 07-Mar-2016
225 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Heal and Paint is a healing art book of
digital images and poetry produced with the
support of the Millennium Award Scheme.
Edited by Sanna Crouch.
Published in 2003 by Joan Celestin.
Book design, illustration and words
Copyright © Joan Celestin 2003.
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored on a
retrieval system or transmitted, in any form
or by means, mechanical, by photocopying,
recording or otherwise without prior
permission in writing to the publisher.
Email: estine@btopenworld.com
Printed by Joan Celestin
Tel: 07951 366 748
ISBN 0-9544861-0-2
“HEAL AND PAINT” – My Coping Strategy
The idea developed through scribbling in Paintbrush,
after returning to work at as an Administrative
Officer at the Department of Health for a brief spell
after a medical accident in December 1992. I joined
the Department of Health in 1981 and had to leave on
medical grounds in 1997.
The whole concept in the creation of images is my
coping strategy - “paint and heal” which is my
personal insight into using art as a creative tool
for helping to realign my focus and energy, through
poetry, photography or digital art with the random
use of colour that allows me the freedom to explore
mood and emotion.
Sometimes it is an enlightening experience, in which
I allow myself the time and space where I can express
my emotions. My images in some instances are so
powerful that I am sometimes shocked, dismayed,
frightened, angry, irritable and tearful at the
outcome. It‟s as if my sub conscious needed to purge
itself of all the pain, anguish and the self-loss,
which I felt as a consequence of the medical
accident. It is only after I have finished an image
that I realise what it may reveal.
The theme of the poems is deeply driven by emotions
of fear, anger, sensitivity, and an inspirational
energy of how life lessons affect or influence our
life pathways and people whose life pathways connect
us.
Some phrases/verses may be repeated in different
poems to form a link or bond with an emotive idea or
theme. “Paint and Heal” or “Heal and Paint” is the
theme that my images are based on and in some way
compliment the poems.
In doing this project I was able to get a deeper
insight of my inner self, potential, motivation, and
sheer resolve in trying to accomplish this task, as I
go through the processes on my healing journey – and
ultimately to achieve to Millennium Awards objective.
There were times when it all seemed too much to cope
with, in one sense reliving the trauma of a medical
accident and also a time for letting go, through
being able to create images and write poems.
Although in effect the project took longer to
complete, my healing art journey begun long before I
became aware that, what I was actually doing was a
kind of therapy, my own way of alleviating
posttraumatic stress following the medical accident.
Effectively the project is several years‟ work of
creating digital images and going through the thought
processes and writing, perhaps, my own brand of
poetry.
As you read through my healing journey I hope that
you will have some understanding of how a medical
accident can affect an individual. Albeit, from
negative and traumatic experience, I am able to
discover new insights in being able to repair and
regrow, almost like a metamorphosis, in being able to
draw on a negative experience and turn it into a
positive way of exploring thoughts and emotions. I
hope this may be the trigger, which may encourage
someone to explore his or her own creative healing,
as I have done, through whatever processes are
appropriate to the individual.
I feel so strongly about the images I create and the
need to raise awareness in various art exhibitions to
showcase my “Heal and Paint” theme, in other words “A
Healing Art” project. The first exhibition was at
Gallery Fore, Edmonton in 2001, with three other
similar exhibitions at other venues. The most recent
at the Platform Gallery - March 2003, which was the
most poignant experience of all, in which, I truly
believe, that what I try to portray is meaningful,
based on public perception of my kind of art. Some of
my images are displayed at the North Middlesex
Hospital and form part of their Healing Art
Exhibition which opens in May 2003.
The response from viewers are so encouraging that it
has given me a positive energy that I would like to
continue to further develop the “Paint and Heal” or
“Heal and Paint” concept.
Joan Celestin
TTThhhaaannnkkksss tttooo MMMiiilllllleeennnnnniiiuuummm
AAAwwwaaarrrddd SSSccchhheeemmmeee aaannnddd
MMMiiiddddddllleeessseeexxx UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy
fffooorrr ttthhheee sssuuuppppppooorrrttt iiinnn
bbbeeeiiinnnggg aaabbbllleee tttooo ppprrroooddduuuccceee
ttthhhiiisss HHHeeeaaallliiinnnggg AAArrrttt
bbbooooookkk...
TTTooo ttthhheee ssstttaaaffffff,,,
EEErrriiimmm HHHaaassssssaaannn,,,
BBBrrriiigggiiitttttteee CCClllooowwwsssllleeeyyy
aaannnddd aaallllll ttthhhooossseee wwwhhhooo
hhheeelllpppeeeddd tttooo mmmaaakkkeee ttthhhiiisss
pppooossssssiiibbbllleee...
Erim Hassam - Millennium Staff
Photography by Joan Celestin
Acknowledgements
To my friend Ade for introducing me to The Healing
Arts Project at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
and the realisation that I had started my healing
journey. So pleased you‟ve realised your dream –
every success in your medical career.
Izzy for encouraging the art therapy processes
through counselling and the support throughout the
process.
Suzy for everything you‟ve done and words of
encouragement “never under-estimate yourself” -
“don‟t let the bastards get you down -”I tried,
believe me, I did. I could not have done it all
without your insurmountable support. Thank you so
much!
Andene for being a wonderful friend and inspiration
and for being part of your family now. I‟m honoured
to be Marley Rhys‟s godmother.
Bharati, you‟ll always have a friend in me – wishing
you every happiness. Sona and Jay every success.
Nicole, for all the encouragement and thank you for
“propping me up on the pillows that day you visited
me in hospital“. You‟re you very nice friend. Best
wishes.
Marie for your support, we‟ll get to Harrods soon,
now that I have completed my project. Ha, ha.
Jane, for your humour and your friendship. Best
wishes.
Danielle, “I‟ll be your second mummy any day. Thanks
for all the prayers, gifts and hand made cards. I
miss them now you‟ve grown up. Every success
Eileen Balgobin for your continued prayers and
support to my mother and myself.
Shirley (Cuban Red) for poetry recitals. I„ve learnt
so much from watching you perform.
Indra for your inspirational conversations and your
impassioned plea for World peace. Good luck with your
Millennium Project”Children Voices Unite for Peace”.
Daddy - thank you for the DIY, if only we had spent
more time together, Love Joan.
Mama, thanks for your care – Stop worrying, be happy.
I‟m O.K. Lots of love.
Hammy for all the times you listened and for being
there. Love you.
My sisters Noreen and Pam, my brother Andre‟ and the
entire family I love you all. You give so much in
different ways.
Michelle. Thank you for my gift - she‟s my baby too.
Luv ya.
Adrian, you bring me so much joy and I love you!
My friends from Cope-Nap, Eileen, Georgina, Jean, Val
– good health.
Sanna, for the computer editing. Best wishes to you
and Paul.
Mike, my computer technical expert. I‟d be lost
without my computer. Thanks for all the upgrades.
To Caroline and David for exhibition space at Futures
Café Bar. Good Health and best wishes.
Aunty Carmen, Berlin, Math, Schol and Vern, Patsy,
Elgin and all that I did not mention, not because I
forgot, but far too many to include. Love you all.
Andrew Wilson Coordinator, Gallery Fore, (EAP)
Enfield Arts Partnership for the exposure of my first
public exhibition.
To the visitors who came to view my exhibitions – my
sincere thanks to each and everyone of you who
commented whether verbally or included your comments
in the Gallery‟s Visitors Book or sent cards or
emails, which I have noted – so touching!
Margaret for recommending me to AVMA.
(AVMA) Action for Victims of Medical Accidents.
Thanks for the continued advice, support and the
invaluable work of this Charity. It‟s reassuring to
know that the “Patient”/”Victim‟s” voice is being
heard and represented in the corridors of power and
that new policies are constantly being implemented to
change the culture of clinical negligence in
hospitals in the UK.
AVMA is a National Charity and the only organisation
working exclusively for victims of medical accidents.
To the medical team who saved my life – you‟re not
all tarred with the same brush
My GP
To my divine inspiration and supreme counsellor -
thank you. May I continue to be guided unfailingly.
TTTooo
AAAdddrrriiiaaannn VVViiirrrgggeeeeeettttttaaa JJJoooyyyeeeuuuxxx
YYYooouuu‟‟‟rrreee ttthhheee bbbaaabbbyyy
III nnneeevvveeerrr hhhaaaddd
lllooovvveee yyyooouuu
………bbbllleeessssssiiinnngggsss…
Joy
BBBooorrrnnn ooofff wwwooommmbbb
BBBooorrrnnn ooofff wwwooommmaaannn
YYYeeeaaarrrnnn tttooo yyyiiieeelllddd ttthhheee fffrrruuuiiittt ooofff ttthhhyyy wwwooommmbbb
NNNooo sssuuuccckkkllliiinnnggg aaattt ttthhhyyy bbbrrreeeaaasssttt
BBBuuuttt III rrreeemmmeeemmmbbbeeerrr
MMMyyy sssuuurrrrrrooogggaaattteee ooonnneee,,, mmmyyy jjjoooyyy
FFFooorrr yyyooouuu‟‟‟rrreee ttthhheee bbbaaabbbeee,,, III nnneeevvveeerrr bbbooorrreee
BBBuuuttt ttthhhooossseee ccchhheeerrriiissshhheeeddd mmmooommmeeennntttsss
YYYooouuu bbbrrrooouuuggghhhttt bbbllliiissssss ……… llliiimmmiiitttllleeessssss
III rrreeemmmeeemmmbbbeeerrr
AAAsss III wwweeeeeeppp aaannnddd sssmmmiiillleee
TTThhhooossseee ccchhheeerrriiissshhheeeddd mmmooommmeeennntttsss
GGGiiivvviiinnnggg cccooonnnttteeennntttmmmeeennnttt,,, tttooo nnnuuurrrtttuuurrreee aaannnddd lllooovvveee
TTThhheee jjjoooyyy yyyooouuu bbbrrrooouuuggghhhttt bbbllliiissssss ……… llliiimmmiiitttllleeessssss
FFFooorrr yyyooouuu bbbaaabbbeee,,, mmmyyy sssuuurrrrrrooogggaaattteee ooonnneee,,, mmmyyy jjjoooyyy
NNNooo ooonnneee cccaaannn fffiiillllll ttthhheee ssspppaaaccceeesss ooofff ttthhheee hhheeeaaarrrttt aaasss yyyooouuu dddooo
TTTiiimmmeee,,, nnnooorrr ssspppaaaccceee ooorrr dddiiissstttaaannnccceee cccaaannn eeerrraaassseee ooorrr ssseeepppaaarrraaattteee
III rrreeemmmeeemmmbbbeeerrr yyyooouuu bbbaaabbbeee ……… mmmyyy jjjoooyyy ……… mmmyyy sssuuurrrrrrooogggaaattteee ooonnneee
NNNooo ooonnneee cccaaannn fffiiillllll ttthhheee ssspppaaaccceeesss ooofff ttthhheee hhheeeaaarrrttt aaasss yyyooouuu dddooo
FFFooorrr III‟‟‟llllll aaalllwwwaaayyysss lllooovvveee yyyooouuu!!!
EEEmmmbbbrrraaaccceee ttthhheee wwwooorrrlllddd wwwiiittthhh yyyooouuurrr jjjoooyyy
FFFooorrr yyyooouuurrr nnnaaammmeee JJJoooyyyeeeuuuxxx iiisss JJJoooyyy
JJJoooyyy fffooorrreeevvveeerrr jjjoooyyy
HEAL AND PAINT
A personal insight into using art as therapy and the
power of self-healing to regenerate the human spirit
with paint and poetry
Aura
Digital Painting
Rebirth
Digital photograph
Enlightening
Digital painting
Healing the spirit
Digital photograph
Water Therapy
Digital Painting
Water Therapy – (A Patient to Nurse)* Quote
This day is mine for taking
This day is yours for making
This day is ours for sharing
“Half an hour is all it takes my dear”
This day is mine for giving
This day is yours for loving
This day is ours for sharing
“Half an hour is all it takes my dear”
Taking, making, sharing, loving and giving
“Half an hour is all it takes my dear”
Lucian sunset
Digital photographs
Mother sunset
Digital photograph
Rise
Digital photograph
Rise and liberate Digital painting
Liberate Me
Smile transfixed
Eyes shut, open wide
Crimson red glows
My face aglow
Streams of life, I see
Wind blown my spirit‟s free
Liberate me
For I rise again
Liberate
Digital painting
Rise
Liberate me
I rise
Direction alter
Ego curtail
Mind impair
Body maim
Liberate me
I rise
Free spirit inhibit
Goals impede
Courage and resilience imbue
A new vision; I see
A new dream; I dream
In the eyes of a new poet
I rise
Liberate me
I rise
Cause I‟m blessed
Art Therapy in the frame
Digital Painting
Art therapy in the frame
Digital painting
Art Therapy
Digital painting
Echo
Digital Painting
The Silence Within
The silence within
Speak volumes
No ears may hear
Silent whispers
The words refrain
and peace remain
Fragile moments explode
Shattering fragments
Bare walls splurge
Silent conflict
Outside relative forces create
Silent wars borne in solace
Resolved in solitude
The silence within
Creative thoughts invoke
The golden rule of peace
Space and pace
To find peace
A positive energy
The silence within
Echo the Abyss
Digital Painting
Pain
Pain it‟s hot, when it aches
Raging fever pitch; Sharp
Numbs the small of my back
Lingers deep within my being
Wrenches my soul
I can‟t take any more
Pain, I know what I feel, how it makes me feel
Hard to describe to the quack
The nature of the pain
It‟s gone as quick as it came
All‟s well now until the next flare up
Did I dream or make it up?
You need a shrink
You‟re a complex case
“It‟s no mind over matter”
“It‟s only too real,” I‟d say
My pain is too personal for you to comprehend
I can‟t scream “ah or ouch”!
It‟s not visible to you or me.
Pain, I know what I feel, how it makes me feel
Like music it reaches a crescendo
Peaks and lows
Haunting by nature, rhythmic, mostly spasmodic
Unlike music it downcasts, rather than uplift
Soon it passes and leaves me calm
Until it rages again within me like a storm
Pain, I know what I feel, how it makes me feel
Deep spasms within my being
I crouch, squat like a frog
I hold me breath and count to ten
Mask the pain and be in control
It‟s my body
How dare a foreign force pervade my being?
I don‟t want to be a martyr
Dog bone tired
Just succumb unconditionally
Sigh and flinch
As the spasms contract and contort my innards
Pain, I know what I feel, how it makes me feel
It intensifies
I stoop, twist, there‟s an urgency to squat
It eases the pain
Just maybe a placebo effect
Momentary relief
Emptiness, a void
I sigh; Oooh…hhh…ooo…
I am too tired to be angry
I am too tired to be angry.
“Pain”ted”
Digital painting
Alliance
Digital painting
Healing art
Digital painting
Blood Money
Digital Painting
HES
Figure crunching a known quantity
From episode to episode
Counting clusters
Formatting cells
Finished counting fiddly spells
Grossly inflated statistical political dogma
Aaah! Fatigue
Digital painting
Aaah!
Backward like a force within
Gravitating pool
Dragging and sucking into a whirlpool
Clenching, gripping
Drawing me inward
Should I allow myself to be sucked in and under?
Going nowhere
Rushing everywhere
Just late, late, late
Tired, tired, tired
Panting, sluggish, weighted down
Dogged boned tired
I heave
Forcefully I withdraw
I must heave from the whirlpool
Aaah, aah!
Scribbling Circles
Digital image
Monday abstract
Digital painting
Cc-ICD9
Digital painting
Tomy kid
Digital painting
ES
Digital painting
Etch and scalpel
Couch and recline
Can I draw your scars?
Body transparent
Extremities absent
Midriff exposed
Torso-style
Nameless, faceless
I‟m the anatomical dummy
Nameless … faceless
Body transparent
Torso evident
Midriff exposed
Drawn and probed
Fingered, and traced
Sutured and scared
Etched by scalpel
I‟m the anatomical dummy
Scars apparent
Body transparent
Midriff exposed
Bowel ruptured
Wired and bagged
Ureter severed
The plumbing‟s up the spout
I‟m the anatomical dummy
Invisible body
Scars apparent
Etch by scalpel
Keloid it ain‟t
Pigmented it is
Sutured and scarred
Nameless…faceless…
Draw me… I‟m the anatomical dummy
Heal and paint
Digital painting
B tissue
Digital painting
Heal and Paint Catalogue - Copyright
Joan M Celestin 29
“”“”“”
“““Trade stress for restTrade stress for restTrade stress for rest”””
“” “””””” “”“” “””””” “”“” “””””” “”
Trade Trade Trade
stress stress stress
for for for
restrestrest”””
” ” ”
“”””“”””“”””
“”“”“”“”“”“”
“”“”“”“”“”“”
““””““””““””
“”“”“”“”“”“”
“““Trade stress for restTrade stress for restTrade stress for rest”””
“““Trade stress for restTrade stress for restTrade stress for rest”””
Exchange Square Revisited
Immerse yourself
Trade stress for rest
in the exchange ravine
Immerse yourself
Breathe in slowly
A slow soft chant you vocalise
Hmmm mmm hmmm mmm
A ravine gushes in the square mile
Country sounds recreated
A country atmosphere revisited
in a busy city-scape
Mile for mile
Pound for pound
eCommerce and eBanking rife
The hum – drum of city living
Time out!
Trade stress for rest
Immerse yourself
Ravine deep
Immerse yourself
Breathe deep
Close your eyes
Let the heady rush
within … … Gush
To reverberate round the square mile
Immerse yourself
Trade stress for rest
in the exchange ravine
Breathe in slowly
A slow soft chant you vocalise
Hmmm mmm hmmm mmm
Soul and balance
Digital balance
Fusion
Digital painting
Sun Rapture
Serene
Eyes shut
Sun on my face
Warmth of your love
Makes me know that you are here
Sunrays, sun-drenched
Winter chill apparent
Sun on my face makes me know that you are there
Sun on my face
Warmth of you love
Makes me know that you are there
Sun warmth, sun love, sun-blest
Your face shines out your love
Makes me know that you are here
“Beautiful day, eh”!
The sound in my voice
Wind in the trees
In my hair
Whispering wind words in my ear
Lets me know you are there
Sun on my face
Warmth of your love
with the wind in my hair
Lets me know you are there
Whispering wind-words softly for me
Blows all my troubles away
Springtime flowers blossoming
Permeating their fragrant perfume
“Lovely day”, hmmm…hmmm
Glory
Digital painting
Changing landscapes
Tree Tops
Branch barren
Winter stripped bare
A robin red breast on the washing line
perches precariously
A picture window, my kitchen presents
A view of the changing seasons of time
Spring the evergreen
Shooting Leaves, pregnant buds
Soon in bloom
Twittering birds
A song of joyful spring
Frees the troubled mind
A painter‟s easel
A poet‟s rhyme
The ever-changing landscape
The seasons bring
Summer skies, moonlit nights
Summer rain
A rainbow up yonder
A naturists paradise
A Caribbean dream in a London home
Mmm! Mmm; contentment
All‟s well in the window of my world
My kitchen
At peace in the window of my world
Reflect constant, ever changing landscape
A painter‟s canvas
The photographer‟s portrait
An author‟s script
A poet‟s rhyme
All‟s well in the picture window of my world
Autumnal colours
The treetops I behold
The rustle of wind swept leaves
Rustic brown, burnt orange, gold, green and red
Storm clouds threatening, rain a „thundering
The ever-changing landscapes
Space to breathe
Green space, reflecting peace
Reflect on the changing seasons of time
In the kitchen window of my world
Obscuring the visions of my picture world
A building
A political glitch
A photographic memory imprint
An image of nature lost, in the picture in window of
my world
Soon to be obliterated into oblivion
A blur on the landscape of my vision
The ever-changing landscape the seasons bring
Green space, reflecting peace
Lost in thought
Amongst the soap suds in sink
I bare my soul to the scene
Each leaf whispers a kind refrain
Hmmm … contemplating
The ever-changing landscape in the picture window of
my world
Soon to vanish
Soon to be history
Active
Digital image
This image was used in (AVMA)
Action for Victims of Medical Accident 20th
Anniversary Conference Brochure 2002
Salmons Brook
A gentle pace
The water flows
A steady stream
The water surge
Ripples round the rubble
It rumbles too
A spray of bubbles
The wind to guide
Gently down stream it glides
Ripples at the waters‟ edge
Trickles a gentle flow
An air of music fills my ears
Placidly
Trickling, a‟ rippling and a‟ rumbling
Water comes gushing
Mind, body and soul
Water refreshes and cleanse
Daylight sunshade
A cool refreshing haven for my soul
Fully clothed, but cleansed
My spirit‟s free to wander
Me and nature one within
Skinny-dipping midnight water
Silvery moon shimmers
Glory flows free
My spirit‟s free
2000
Millennium old, Millennium new
Millennium come, millenniums go
Millennium Dome a landmark of the century
Millennium Big Wheel, hoist alas over the South bank
Millennium bug 2000
Are you compliant?
Cyber net, Internet, surf the World Wide Web
Super highway, broadband, electronic mail
Soon no more Royal Mail, that‟s Insignia for you
Software, hardware, log online, surf the net, shop
online
Communicate on line
No more commuting to office work
Work form home
Video link, email, voicemail, mobile phone
Black and white, colour, analogue,
On digital TV, are you still unplugged?
Tis the new millennium
The millennium bug
The age of Hi Tech IT
Have you texted yet?
Children‟s promise, Band Aid, Net Aid
Children in Need
Wipe out third world debt
Hunger, war and pain
”A millennium pledge celebrate the culture of peace”
Cheri Boo Blair
Motherhood in the new millennium
New baby, millennium baby boom
Tis the new millennium
Go old Millennium, Come new Millennium,
We are compliant!
A millennium pledge - how can we begin to celebrate
the culture of peace?
Homelessness
Homelessness
A big issue
Knows no class or race
Defines no gender
Homelessness
A big issue
Crack it
Smack it
Booze it
Fix it
Homelessness
A big issue
Political
Contentious
Civil
Comic relief
Homelessness
A big issue
Religion
Humanitarian
Global
Homelessness
A big issue
Condone
Fight
Film it
Homelessness
A big issue
Buy it
Support
The big issue
Homelessness
A bigger issue
Hindian
Digital painting
Face
Digital Painting
Turban Genius
Beneath his turbaned crown
The mysteries of life he ponders
Philosopher, friend, uncle, brother
Profound thoughts he unravels
Human elements
The essence of his wisdom
An old master in him reborn
Too modern
Too shallow our world
for his philosophies
His turbaned crown,
Wrapped legends of history
Art and poetry
Human consciousness he transcends
Us; Mere mortals,
His presence enhances
Beneath his turbaned crown
Creative expressions abound
An old master in him reborn
Poet, painter, philosopher
Our turbaned crown genius
True recognition … eludes him
People in our world
Wonderful people fill our world
If you we dare to …
Listen
Pause for a moment longer,
Linger for a little while longer
Smile when our hearts connect
Praise when our emotions are compassionate
Give thanks when the warmth of the spiritual
energy overflows
Be still when the spiritual energy vibrates
within us
Silently
Gradually
Energy surges
Overwhelms
Overflows
You‟ve touch someone
… Today …
For it is the love that you give to others
That is reflected within us
Giving
What gift can I give the world?
A gift of love and understanding
A gift of peace
A gift of friendship
What gift can I give the world?
A gift of forgiveness
A gift of compromise
A token of gratitude
A hand in friendship
A smile to radiate
Peace and understanding
What gift can I give the world?
A gift of myself to show
I care
I can forgive
I may forget
I will remember
Your kind words in
friendship
Peace in my heart
Joy in my heart
Love in my
soul
What gift can I give the world?
To the orphan child; the warmth of my love
To the lonely and cold; a warm embrace
To the rowing couple; a compromising truce
To the elderly; a helping hand
To the sick and the dying;
My prayer for peace
What gift can I give the world?
friendship
peace
forgiveness
hope
love
What can I give the world?
To each and everyone in the world.
A gift of healing
Laughter
A joke shared
Laughter soars
Pain heals
Happiness surges
The soul rhymes
With the rhythms of the heart
In perfect harmony
Endorphins spill
Joy fulfils
Laughter rings
The soul sings
When perfect moments are shared
in jest with a friend in ease
Trust
Can trust mend
The delicate threads
That bind
To make amends
For past mistakes
New layered delicate weaves
Connect
Frayed edges
Interwoven bleed
A hand held out
Can trust bind
To make amends
for past mistakes
Can it?
Hmmm mmm hmmm mmm
Glory Dawn
Digital Photograph
Fathering the Sunset Children
Digital photograph
Sunset smile
O‟er heath
Lazy clouds drift
Sunset beckons
Up yonder a hue
Sunset glow
Golden sunrays iridescent
Web of the heart
Dance to a cadence
O‟er heath
Drifting hue
Sun clouds smile; then ebb
Radiant sunbeams fade
Sunset clouds wane
Smile clouds may weep
Hmm!
But not tonight!
Sunset on the Heath
An Arial mast
Vertical, central
The sunset sky divides
Like a Mondrian‟s painting
Sunset gold; orange glow
Right angles it divides
Trees‟ scalloped edge
Mask the cloudless sky
A sunset cloud
Paints gold scribbling
Across the evening sky
Ends a perfect day‟
Drawing in evenings dusk
Sunburst clouds, sunset ray
Etches a scene of dusky sky
Painting and scribbling
A golden, rosy hue
A golden promise of tomorrow
What will our tomorrows bring?
Shadows
Digital painting
Indecision
Shadows of doubt casting fears in my mind
To do or not to do
To heed my questing thoughts
To follow my hearts desire
Social interventions quashing my free spirit
Forlorn and isolated in confusion
Indecision quelling visions of hope, of dreams
of wants
Worthwhile exploits where dreams achieve goals
Indecision often thwarts challenge
Fear, chaos and that kind
To overcome that shadows of doubt
Casting shadows in my mind
Indecision
Digital Painting
Reflections
Panes of glass
Gleam and glare
Mirror upon mirror
Reflect and Create
Abstract images
Bizarre obscure abstract art
Distortions of ugliness
Panes of glass
Gleam and glare
Squares upon squares
Replicating rectangles
glass mirroring images
Archetypes of mirrored walls
Mirroring landscape
of time in motion
of moving images
of day and night
of light and dark
of the world around
What images are mirrored back within?
Are we mirrors of our soul?
Mere reflections
Tainted reflections
Digital Image
Cover image for Action for Victims of Medical
Accident (AVMA) - 20th Anniversary Conference
Brochure 2002
Dreams
A night full of dreams
A subconscious mental flight
A nonsensical script
A tragic play I rehearse in my sleep
Is it just an illusion?
Dreams!
Illusion
A dream unreachable
A vision elusive
Ripples of ideas
Deflated wishes
Mythical hollows
Like blowing magical bubbles
Reach for reflections
Fishing for moons and chasing fireballs
Only camouflages
Chasing
Grasping
Clutching nothing
Empty
A fantasia of emotions
A translucent Rainbow
Disappearing dreams
Re-emerging differently
in unobtrusive places
Unreachable
Untouchable
Elusive dreams that thought provoke
Want … Want
You can
You must
I want
You have
Do it now
What do they want from me?
My time
My know how
My tolerance
My wisdom
What can I give to satisfy?
The demands on my time
My efforts for the things
They require of me
For they do not listen
Nor ask about my needs
Can it be me being different or difficult?
For solace is peace
Green space is peace
Blessed with bliss
The noise they make
With their demands on my time, on me
You must do it now
I want to know now
You got to do mine first
Wait or listen are not words they understand
For their patience is nil
Mine is exhaustive
Perhaps it‟s my fault I do what they want
When they ask of me
What do they want from me?
Tribute to JW
For the last time
You cupped my face in both hands
Kissed me warmly on both cheeks
Looking deeply into eyes
Beckoning me in
Where your gracious lady sits
Regal on her armchair of red velour
A star-like quality she emanates
Graceful in old age
Elegant in her youth
A tabby cat lay napping
Snoring near the fire
A warm inviting cosy scene
of blissfully happy old folk
Alas peaceful in your sleep
You depart on boom and a bang
On Guy Fawkes Day, my birthday
Your favourite song
“On a bed of roses”
The lyrics your epitaph
Instead white lilies adorned
I think of you as my granddad
For my granddad died
When I was but a child
Ageless Charm
Beautiful once youthful
Youthful and graceful
like a ballerina in swan lake
A ballroom dancer you were once
Beautiful once youthful
Age has withered
Death of a spouse
The anger you feel
Radiant in beauty
Your presence enhances
A psychic quality you bestow
A conventional wisdom you hold
Youthful and graceful
Age has withered
An elegant persona
A crippled poise
Shuffles in an arthritic gait
Rainbows on Cloud Nine
Rainbows translucent
Vivid they appear
on a bright sky
or a rainy cloud
A painted hue
An artist palette
If only I could reach the sky
I would paint a picture for Picasso
Rainbows translucent
Fading, disappearing
A dream unfulfilled
If only I could touch the sky
My canvas on a cloud
Painting, scribbling across the sky
Painted abstracts for Kandinsky
If only I could paint on high
I would paint a rainbow a day
I would paint, peace messages across the sky
If only … I could touch the sky
I would be on cloud nine
Topsy-Turvy
Vex
My mind in turmoil
Topsy turvy my world
Blinking blinding rage
An urge to pen
My thoughts on paper
A brown bread roll
Charcoal it burns
To cinders it disintegrates
Whilst my rage
It dissipates
Topsy turvy my world
Vex!
Vexed
My mind in turmoil
Topsy-turvy my world
Just vexed!
Roses for Wednesday blues
Digital Painting
Weep don’t bleed
Battered and bruised
Emotionally charged
Empty and neglected
Emotionally scarred
Physically mutilated by a clinical blunder
The hard-core shell
Beneath thin surface
Shallow rain pours
Keeps the flood at bay
The barriers that shield the soul
Bathed in murky rivers
The debris
A trail of crimson tide
Clear waters mingle
Moss on a slippery slope
The rocks beneath smooth
Jaggered edge now
Pierces the core
Weep … don‟t bleed
A reminder of the ghost of the past
Move on
Spirits live on in ravage minds
Battered souls
Broken bodies
A legacy of past mistakes
Glossed over in time
By technology and virtual reality
Empty promises of cracked vessels
Calices of the soul
Weep … don‟t bleed
For they don‟t understand
My broken spirit
They see not
The brave front
I show the world
Hides the vulnerability
The pain
The sufferings of the ghost of the past
A cloud looms
A golden ray it obscures
World Peace
Unite a world divide
Make a plea for peace we pledge
To unite our world divide
Lets make a difference
That‟s our millennium promise
Our vision for the future
Celebrate the culture of peace
Children of the world
You can make a difference
Sing a song for peace
Dance to bring joy
Say a poem to reflect and inspire
Lets embrace each other to show humanity
You count; we care
Smile to touch the hearts of others
Outreach our hands from nation to nation
To link a chain of peace
To show humanity that together
We can make a difference
To achieve peace, love and understanding
Where there‟s hope; we will find peace
and unite the world divide
Scribbling in the Sunset
Digital Photograph
Hungry earth
A warring Nation
Cast by tribes
A disaster strikes
A nation impoverished
Famish and emaciated
Languishing underfed
Cuddling offspring‟s
Suckling non lactating breasts
Bare like shrivelled prune
To weak to wean
To weak to wean
An infant dies
A mother wasted
No grain or seed
A barren land - desert dry
Starved of seedlings
Shooting leaves
Sprouting grain
A nation
Hungry for a bag of grain
Who can I give?
My pound to guarantee
a bag of grain
Grain to seed
To sow the land
To feed…
The hungry earth
To stop another infant
… Dying
Whilst the terror… ist
The threat of war looms…large
Fear and dread
Human miseries recreate
Oppressed and deceived
A nation impoverished
A mother wasted
An infant dies
Grub and guns
Cheek by jowl
And yet…still…
Another infant‟s…
Dying…needlessly
Sunday
Digital Painting
The Healing Drum
Can‟t beat drum
Feel the rhythm
Drum beat
Heartbeat
Feet thump
To the rhythm
Of the drum beat
Can‟t beat drum
Bought it just the same
Drumming in my bones
Drumming in my head
See the rhythm of the drum
Beat to the rhythm
Of the heat in my bones
Feel!
The rhythm in my body
Hear!
The sound in my head
See!
A‟ laughing to the rhythm
Rocking to the sound … of the beating drum
Can‟t beat drum
No rhythm in my fingers
Feel! … the drum
Beat! … the drum
Drumming to the rhythm
To the rhythm of the sound;
of the drum beneath my fingers
Strumming, tapping, banging, stamping
in a frenzy to the drum beat
Can‟t play drum
Drumming is healing
The feeling of the rhythm… is healing
Filling my bones
Feeling the healing
of the drum… beating
Hearing in my head
Seeing my body… move
To the rhythm
a‟ rocking, a‟ laughing
To the sound… beat
of the beating drum
Can‟t beat drum
… Just … feel the rhythm…
… Bought the drum! … Anyway
Rhythm
Digital image
Pathways
Digital photograph
Peace
Digital Painting
Image - logo for The Children‟s Theatre Workshop at the
“Children‟s Voices Unite for Peace Concert April 2003”.
Mystical blending
Digital Painting
Masquerade
Digital Painting
Colour of history
Black and white
A mixed specimen
Our history a chequered past
The slave trade
Tinged with spice
Laden with sweat
Traded and bided by the triangle
From Africa to foreign lands
Our history a chequered past
A melange‟ of colour
Spiced, dyed, tinged
A little less darker
A wee bit fairer
A new shade of tan
Colour my history
A little bit farther
More British and little less French
French, British
British, French
French, British
British, French
French, British
British French
French, British
Fourteen times they fought
The battle was lost and won
Our history a chequered past
Of wars, occupation and domination
By colonial warriors
Colour of history
“Black History”
Aren‟t we but the rainbow people?
A melange‟ of colour
Spiced, dyed, tinged
A little less darker
A little fairer,
A new shade of tan
A new blend for the future
Black history
Black comedy
Black humour
Black art
Black sheep
Black race
Black history
What ethnic origin?
A melange‟ of colour
Of culture, class, wit
Spiced, dyed, tinged
A little less darker
A wee bit fairer
A new shade of tan
What colour is this?
“Whose history”?
What‟s “Black
History”?
History of a
people – “Whose
people”?
Politically
manipulated
Guns and grub;
cheek by jowl
Famine and
depravation
Displaced origin
and culture Gene
Digital painting
Rich fertile crown jewelled lands
Dust and mud raw gold fingered
What is fair trade?
Traded and out bided
Lost to more competitive markets
Living is history, moments in the past
Rewriting in different forms
Our history a chequered past
Politically termed
“Black History”
Colour our history
Rename Black history
“Global cultural Happenings”
A new optimism for cultural togetherness
A new awakening for a global community
Colour our history
Etta Clarke
Digital photograph
The Power of a Woman
Why let men frustrate you
Why let men make you angry
The whole woman speaks
The power of the woman
Strong, secure, dominant, versatile
The power of a woman
Why be the other half
When you‟re a whole woman
The power of the woman
Strong, supportive, protective
Her natural instinct to protect
The power of a woman
The strength of a woman
The power of a woman…strong
Rise women of the world; rise woman
The power of a woman
Strong, versatile
Stand up woman
The power of a woman
Rise…rise women of the world
Rise…the power of the woman
Whatever your race, tribe; colour - or creed
The power of a woman
Speaks the voice
Rise woman … rise
The whole woman speaks, protects
Nurtures and loves and fulfils
The power of the woman
Speak women; speak woman
The power of a woman
An impassioned plea for all women
UNIVERSAL MOTHER
Voices of a country shout
Refugees! Refugees!
No more refugees
Yet her jalbab flutters
A gentle Somali breeze
An African rainbow aglow
The English morning sunlight exudes
A cultural presence to inspire
Tall, she walks, though a stumble
Yet a gentle Somali breeze
Her jalbab, flutters
A gentle face, now wears a frown
No doubt aged before time
Bear the miseries of native civil quarrels
Of a displaced identity
Of yearnings for
The simple rural living
That once was
Of communes binding ancestry and heritage
Speaking in mother tongues
Her jalbab, flutters
A gentle Somali breeze
An exchanged greeting
Acknowledged no doubt
with a nod
Somali queen
not here by choice
but through circumstance
African queen
Mother of the universe
Shalom!
Welcome!
Embrace our mother
Yours and mine
Universal mother
The English morning sunlight exudes
A cultural presence to inspire
PS Jalbab is the headdress or Scarf
Somali women wear over their heads
Queen mother
She‟s queen among mothers
Mother powerful
Ever endearing
Dependable
Mother of the world
She sinks to sit
Stern and stout
A grimace
Her face she shields
An inward groan
Mask the pain she feels
She‟s queen among mothers‟
Her brood she mothers
even if they‟re grown up kids
A second generation she mothers ... still
and when life‟s toil is done
She strife‟s their burdens until dawn
She shops for the lot
Her brood round her feet they gather
Gifts she gives
Her arthritic hand
can barely hold
“This for you, does it fit”?
Oh! Don‟t I get all; her son retorts
“That‟s for Lester”
“Blue and grey for you”
“White for Len”
Christmas in August; I thought
When the deed is done
My childhood days she rekindles
Memories of my mother dear
Bearing gifts from a day trip in town
A cocoanut cake; a treat!
Enquiring eyes
All at once they stare and glare
“For me”! “For you”!
“To share; I mean”; she would reply
Butter bread for supper
She‟s queen among mothers
Her screaming grand son she soothes
A scolding from Mum he‟s had
“You mustn‟t be so naughty”
She rocks him gently
Pacifying his sobs
as he hiccups too
Mother powerful
Ever endearing
Dependable
Mother of the world
She‟s queen among mothers
A second generation
She mothers…still…
Children of the Moonlight
Dance in the moonlight
To the rhythm of the night
The children of the night
Danced in white
in the moon-shone light
Rhythmically clapping, a‟ tapping and a‟ rocking
A‟ rocking and a‟ jiving to a frenzy
To the rhythm of the moon-lit night
Rhythmically circling the moon
Dancing to the rhythm of the moon-beat tune
Clapping and a‟ rocking in the moonlit night
Soaked in the light
By the rhythm of the moonbeam
Rhythmically clapping, a‟ laughing, a‟ dancing in the
light
They disappeared
A circle round the moon
In the rhythm of the light
In moonbeam shine
In the moonshine sky
Aaajjj – Confronting the ancestors
Digital Painting
“Planets 1 & 2” Digital paintings
Bright
The night sky
A dancing cloud
The night light shields
Oh full moonshine your gaze
Secrets you engulf
Moon beams, star light trail
Shadows of our selves
Our heavenly bodies entwined in earthly souls
Can thou be one?
Untitled
Digital image
Digital Paintings
Healing wounds
The beast awakes
Creeps and startles
Peeps and Pounces
Paralytic fear
Twists invisible fangs
Scarred wounds … now healed
New bleed … hurts … touches the core
Peeps and pounces
in a dentist chair
on a holiday respite
Comatose in sleep… so vulnerable
Shockingly painful
Bright lights
The sterile white coat
Once the healer
Now only conjure nightmares
Injury and debris
Ravages the human spirit
Broken …yes …dead …no!
New resilience
Must remove the shackles
of fear, anger and pain
… Can I?
Marbles to Crystals
Digital photograph
h
Colouring the spirit
Digital photograph
Worth
Digital image
Life’s a juggle
Digital image
Just Good Friends
The warmth of friendship
Touches the web of the heart
In moments of need
Friends' cluster round for an evening‟s hot brew
To soothe the chill of ills
Kindness rekindles
Friendship grows and blossoms
Love reflects and sustains
Quiet moments to share
Friendship soothes
Like the hearth of a coal fire that glows
It ignites when it unites
Perfect moments, complete joy
The joy of being
Someone‟s friend – your friend
Poignant moments we share
The warmth of friendship
Tender moments to console
Overfill cups of hot brew spilling
Laughing...uplifting … crying … missing you…
Time‟s everlasting
Another place ever-changing
As I bid you farewell
True friendship will ease our parting
Precious moments to remember; do maintain the
momentum
Keeping in touch,
We‟ll tell of each other‟s news
New home, new friends, but;
A special friend fulfil a different need within each
one
Like seasonal flowers friendship blossoms and fades
So the seasons bring new bloom, fresh buds, new
leaves
Akin to the dandelions when trampled upon
It will not wither, but proudly rejuvenates
Friendship is the same when it nurtures
Love and kindness reflects within
Friendship prevails
Beyond the parting embrace
Nurtures and rekindles
The warmth of friendship
Touches the web of the heart
For Jeanette from Dorothy – moving to a New Nursing home
Just Seventeen
Baggy jeans
Crutch down to the knees
Long, lean and listless
Hooded and capped
Just walking the ‟states
Ain‟t bad nor mad
Smoked cannabis and it ain‟t that bad
Just make you tired; then you eat a lot
Sleep to keep out of crime
It really ain‟t that bad
Says someone whose just seventeen!
Gang warfare
Gang on gang
“Too much crew”
Vs.
“Lover More Crew”
Young culture
Just seventeen
Youth culture
Just seventeen
Ain‟t bad nor mad
More simply bored
Just need a mentor
Too much crew
Don‟t know which career to choose
Job seekers
Careers officer
Youth worker
Don‟t know which way to go
Want to be an electrician
Or an engineer
Join the army or the navy
Serve Queen and country
Too much too choose
Don‟t know which one to lose
Just too much crew
Only just seventeen
Lived life to the full like one whose seventy-one
Ain‟t bad nor mad
Just need a mentor
To be my hero
‘States’ is the colloquial term used to describe a
council estate
The Storm Ballet
Digital photograph
Untitled
Digital Photograph
Sunburst
Digital Painting
Re-discovering
Digital photograph
Time
Time immortal
Changing morality
Time everlasting
SPACE
Vision
Space: Cosmic Healing
Digital paintings
Wall Flower
Digital photograph
Wysiwyg
Stressed out
web site designing
“Jpeg”
“Psd”
“Gif”
Head aches the lot
My guess that its‟ worth, the buzzing in my head
For my web site‟s … well almost complete
“Wysiwg”…ing - What you see is what you get
Ears wigging
My brain's interlacing
My legs a‟ wobbling
The voice in my ear whispering
All night wysiwging
I guess I thought it‟s spelt
"wizzy-wigging"
wysiwyging
Clicking here
Linking here
Roller balling there
mousing all over the mat
Scrolling up and down
Creating, saving, filing
Refreshing, dream weaving
Internet exploring
My web site‟s complete
wysiwging
"What you see is what you get"
Internet exploring
Web designing
Dream-weavering
My head a quivering
Trying to do web designing
I guess "What you see is what you get"
When you been quizzing-wigging
Oops! “Q” is next to “W” on the key-board
Mind boggling, blurry-eyed
"Wizzying-wigging"
Wysiwging
“Err aaahhhh!”
“WYSIWYG”…ING!
“Psd” do a button!
Who gives a “Gif”?
WHAT THE VIEWERS SAY …
“Interesting paintings. I think these pictures are
very good” – Rebecca O.
“Very interesting and a very new style of art to me.
Lovely colour use.” – G. Stapleton
“Mmm” – Mr. Richardson
“Would like to have more explanation about the
healing art and if possible to learn. Nice and
interesting.”
– Mr. Simo
“More… good”
“Calming… Good colours… Good” – H. Duport
“Colour and light essential in creating mood, which
has been captured in the use of photography.”
– Cartoonist Emmanuel Anolue
“I like the roses and the pylon pictures. I thought
they were nice.” – Dominic aged 5
“Wow! Stop me at the door if my coat looks bulky!
I‟ve got at least three favourites.” – Karen
“Excellent paintings which have new ideas. It has
proved healing.” – B. Trivedi
“Mystical fantasy… has meaning.”
“Very different!”
“Nice colours, good show.”
“Supernatural – Wild imagination (Paintings). Poetry
outstanding.” – J. Lewis
“Lovely colours and very deep words. Beautiful
combinations.” – M. Jones
“Thanks for having the perseverance to continue, to
inspire and to heal. You – go – girl!” – Cuban Red
“Poem – Ageless charm. Very spirited. Very deep
strikes a chord.” – C. Billingham
“Well done. I am really proud of you. I believe
your gift, as a healing artist will take you further
than you can imagine. Please remember me when you
become famous.” – Ade Babalola
“Very interesting all the pictures and especially the
poem world peace.” – R. Ahmed
“Very interesting – Love „St. Lucian Sunset‟ image
and poem „Reflections‟” – S. Bakie
“Very enjoyable art with a new meaning.” – M. Bond
“Very colourful – liked „The Silence Within‟.” – K.
Bakie
“Very good work Joan. Well done. Good luck.” – M.
Bakie
“Very impressed in general, looks to me like a lot of
work has gone into them. Didn‟t understand most of
the abstract images. I really liked the sunset
scenes and the three flowers.” – Margherita
“Some really good stuff. Enjoyed my visit. Thanks!”
– A. Shone
“Very inspirational – Thank you for sharing.” – V.
Barber
“A beautiful sense of colour and form. Deep feelings
too. I liked the combination of art and poetry.”
– J. Elder
“Very creative and beautiful mixture of colours.”
– O. McLeary
“Very expressive and explosive, reflecting a whole
different side of art, different aspects.” – M. Davis
“Very impressive – I liked „Salmon‟s brook‟ and the
„Roses for Wednesday Blues‟ particularly, but overall
found all the exhibits delightful and wouldn‟t mind a
few dotting the walls of my home!” – M. Williams
“Very inspirational and expressive. The exhibition
has excelled anything I could have imagined. I am
proud of you.” – A. Rodney
“I really enjoyed the way that Joan has married her
creative writing with her artistic use of colours and
images. Very innovative and inspiring. Absolutely
beautiful w,ork.” – Kelly
“There is a great unity of feeling about the whole
thing”
“Each and every image is rather expressive and
unique. The images have a hidden meaning, which
allows the viewer to explore different depths. Aunty
Joan all the images are wonderful and creative.” –
love Danielle
“Again as I stated to you Joan I like the image of
„aaajjj‟ that reminded me of Egyptian images that are
on Pyramid walls. This is the first thought that I
came up with as I looked at the images.” – M. Weekes
“The image that caught my eyes looked like a smoky
mystical blending. I also liked the image of the
peach flowers. It is very calming and refreshing.” –
Debra
“Chris and I were bowled over. Your work is
beautiful and inspiring”. – Chris and Jo Angel
“Thank you for the uplifting experience. All the
colours cheered me up. Brilliant of you to turn
adversity into something good like this – good for
you. I hope you have lots of success. Best wishes”.
- Mr and Mrs Spencer.
Thanks
Start scribbling today – that’s how I began Draw some lines –anything about how you feel or a situation It may be the start of your healing journey. Go on… no one is watching – only you!
Hugging the Stranger
Digital photograph
The Platform Gallery: 17-29 March 2003
Joan Celestin‟s Healing Art Exhibition
Joan Celestin was born
in Curacao, Northern
Antilles and was
brought up in St Lucia,
in the Caribbean and
presently lives in
London. She was
employed by the
Department of Health
from 1981-1997.
She creates digital art
which she calls her
“Heal and Paint”
therapy - a combination
of abstract images,
photography and poetry.
She exhibits her work
at Galleries in the
North London.
top related