Y.K. “Definitely the right one!”

I started attending Arty-Folks not quite three years ago but I didn’t attend regularly probably for the first two years. At the time, I had dropped out of Uni as it was the wrong course for me and I was in a toxic relationship that drained my energies. I was looking for art therapy to help me through a very dark period and I stumbled upon Arty-Folks as the next best thing.

The very first session I broke down with a panic attack and I fell asleep exhausted at the table. The next few workshops were not much better either and I feel so sad now looking back how incredibly low and beaten I was. I cried a lot, I worried a lot, I felt overwhelmed and isolated all the time, abandoned, rejected, unloved, lost, and I didn’t have the energy to create something and I couldn’t connect to others in the group. I had no self-belief and I was completely dependent, and when the relationship came to an end I feel apart. It is still very painful to remember how I felt, and to be honest, some of that still lingers on, and perhaps it always will.

I attended maybe 2-3 weeks, then lost energy and motivation, and Arty-Folks would ring me and encourage me to try again, and again, and again. Eventually I began accepting that the relationship had ended and I started to explore new directions through volunteering, then part-time work, a new home, travelling abroad, as well as attending Arty-Folks more regularly and moving through the groups. None of it came to much for a long time but eventually, out of all that soul searching emerged a new passion to be useful to others and support people creatively.

I have met so many supportive people at Arty-Folks and I enjoyed our passionate discussions about important things in life like how to be a good person and value yourself as well as others, how to develop the courage to explore yourself through art and the confidence to communicate this to others openly and honestly, how to be vulnerable and still protect yourself, how to trust yourself, others, and life knowing that you will get hurt again, and how to remain calm and in the moment when a challenge is thrown at you.

I really enjoyed my journey with Arty-Folks; the support of the team has been invaluable to me and I have learnt so much about myself, about art and the creative process, and about life through our little community. I have now started a new University course and this is definitely the right one!