Crow takes flight
Ishara JAYAWARDANE
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Art teacher
Jayanthi Dandeniya overlooking her student’s work |
“When the seas and mountains fall
And we come to end of days
In the dark I hear a call
Calling me there
I will go there
And back again……”
- Lord of The Rings, in dreams
There are things in this world that are older than the rocks and the
roots. Deep teachings, older than earliest religions. Teachings that can
cure illnesses and calm the soul. Bring peace to the mind. Strengthen
the spirit. For there are tortured souls in this world. Souls so
disturbed that they have to be locked up in an asylum. Souls that have
been forsaken and forgotten. Alone they are in despair. Alone they have
let their fears taken them prisoner. However their shackles can be
broken. And this is exactly what CRIPpLED CROW- Centre for Contemplative
Art and Narration aims at doing.
Therapeutic art
And they came. They came to the American Centre. They came to show us
this wonderful form of therapy. Therapy through Art. Indeed seeing is
believing. And all of us gathered there saw this form of meditative
therapy. Teacher, Jayanthi Dandeniya knelt down on a rug and her student
knelt down before her. There was an air of stillness. A calm that passed
through our minds. Something like a collective consciousness.
“Part of the reason this is very interesting is not just because the
colors are beautiful or the designs are fascinating but the whole
process is really one of the most interesting things about this. It did
start with a painter who was from Canada who kind of originated this
school of painting but now we see it on the other side of the world,
really anybody can use these skills and develop these techniques.
CRIPpLED CROWis doing some extraordinary work with art therapy in
prisons and in schools and helping people overcome some of the trauma
and difficulties they have had in their lives and doing it through art,
doing something positive and something creative,” said Director, Press,
Cultural and Educational Affairs, Christopher Teal.
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Paintings
by members of CRIPpLED CROW |
Right through the demonstration Jayanthi held her poise and gently
tapped her bell and her student started to draw. Like a serpent coiling
around in loops, she, the student, traced lines on the paper. And in the
end there was something like a mosaic of lines.
Ordinarily different
“This is not the ordinary drawings which we did when we were small.
This is something different, but very easy and I am extremely thankful
to the American centre for this opportunity. We lead a hectic life, and
because we lead a hectic life we tend to forget the love and humanity
and the feelings we have for each other. No matter if we are young or
old whether we are Sri Lankans or foreigners, each one of us goes though
feelings of stress. Whatever you do, do your best with right mindfulness
” said Dandeniya
One thing that was made apparent is that this form of therapy brings
out different sorts of emotions. For prisoners the drawings are more
vengeful but for a trauma victim it is a need for love. Dandeniya
specially recommends this form of art for school children. Because it
helps the concentration. And that helps them a lot with time management.
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