Everyone can benefit from wellness art

Catherine Shea’s journey as an artist started back when she was a teenager attending a boarding school in St. Catharines.

“I wasn’t a strong academic student and found the gift with art,” Shea said. “Being able to excel in that and really help cope with a lot of stresses and pressures that one has at that period in their life.”

Not only did Shea develop a skill set as an abstract painter, it helped her to process what was a difficult childhood.  After three decades of creating, she’s now using her gift to help others discover theirs.

“For me it’s about sharing it with as many people as I can, Shea said. “Kids who have ADHD, kids with anxieties, people suffering from phobias, and people who are stressed out.”

No experience is required for Wellness Art it’s all about connecting with your own unique creativity and following simple steps like using the process of repeating and laying colour which for some can have a calming effect.

“A lot of imagination goes into what you’re doing, concentration too, but it’s just basically fun” says Gwen Campbell, resident of Davenhill Senior Living.

Tanya Zdravkovski is the Program Coordinator at Davenhill Senior Living and says “Catherine’s workshops are well received by everybody here and they look forward to her classes.”