Perpetually Infantilised by Rae Sabine There is an exhaustion that comes from having to prove what others are simply given: capability, credibility, the benefit of the doubt. I’ve spent years living beneath other people’s descriptions of me, translating myself into something easier to believe, softening my certainty so it wouldn’t sound like defiance, explaining my own mind as though it required proof. I’m tired of speaking a language I never chose to learn. I’m learning inst

“This represents the innocents (especially children affected by war. I took the fore print with an analogue camera and then blended it with a famous World War 2 propaganda pic.). I sketched and was playing with the first painting off of the famous Pink Floyd scream and the forefront being that of Muas. Pretty dark, but not all art is light. Helps to stop the darkness from consuming myself, so the release/art therapy helps for me to speak in words that I can’t always digress o

“I don’t always know what I’m looking at when I begin. A feeling. A memory. A sensation. A fragment of a story. Creative and experiential therapy helps me stay with the uncertainty long enough for something meaningful to emerge. Not all at once. Just enough for the next step.” This participant gave me consent to share #creativeandexperientialtherapies #creativetherapy #healingthroughart #arthealing #artheals

“Dance with the waves, move with the sea. Let the rhythm of the water set your soul free.” - Mary Oliver This participant gave me permission to share #creativeandexperientialtherapies #bilateraldrawing #artwillsetyoufree #healingthroughart #artheals

“Collaborative portrait of my cat’s spirit, co-created with Rae. Covered in my fingerprints from loving pats I couldn’t hold back. Later, at home, a beam of light found her… and I swear she purred. 🖤✨” This participant gave me permission to share #cocreation #petloss #petgrief #healingthroughart #artheals

“Emotion Box The stains of paint are like scars left by trauma. This box tells the story of survival. The black box represents my body. Hidden inside are my emotions—some heavy, some hopeful. My heart is broken and cries quietly beneath the surface. Words of sadness, pain, disability, injustice, control and suicide sit beside hope, love, light, truth and equality. They all exist together, just as they do within me. The angels remind me that I am never completely alone. My cat

“This piece is about connection and all the distractions and dilemmas we face within ourselves in relationships and the growth we gain in ourselves and awareness.” Shared with permission from @dubse_art #healingthroughart #creativeandexperientialtherapies #artthatspeaks #explorationthroughart #reflectiveart

“We never know what we project outside of ourselves. Maybe we understand ourselves through the vector of our own selves. We understand each other through that same self knowledge. Sometimes the bits of ourselves that have hurt us in the past come back out of us as a way of healing.” This participation gave me permission to share #insideoutsidebox #creativeandexperientialtherapies #healingthroughart #artthatheals #artheals

Voices from the Edge is returning on Sunday, 2 August! Voices from the Edge is a community event that aims to put marginalised artist’s voices and stories at the forefront through art, storytelling and connection. It’s an opportunity to experience diverse perspectives, creativity and lived experience in a welcoming community space. You can find more information about the event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1670404514069938/ #voicesfromtheedge #melbournevevents #lgbtqi

Repair by Rae Sabine I gave my words, clear and chosen, the ones that fit who I am today. For a moment I felt recognised. Then old language was laid over me again, as if I hadn’t already set it down. A boundary was agreed to, then not held. I held my line. A boundary, not a breach. Later came silence where repair should have been. #creativeandexperientialtherapist #arttherapistart #healingthroughart #artheals #arthelps

“Inspired by a happy bird, emotions ran high. Art therapy helped me shift, allowing me to hold space for myself. A walk in the park, the warm sun— the birds were silent in that moment, but I knew the happy bird was there, amongst the trees. As the day moved on, a touch of colour brought it together. The anger lifted, the emotions settled. Thank you, happy bird and Mother Nature.” This participant gave me consent to share #arttherapy #arttherapyheals #artheals #healingthrougha

Love Apart by Rae Sabine Two people shaped by love, trying to mirror each other, but life and misunderstanding bend the reflection so it never quite lands the same way. This piece reflects my relationship with my father, the red spiral, who passed away just over a month ago. Painting it helped me hold the beauty, the ache, and the gaps. Grief is rarely tidy. It lives in the messy spaces between connection and separation. May we all find ways to hold both love and what cannot

Reassembled Self by Rae Sabine This collage reconstructs a childhood image by replacing the original head and comfort object with my current self and Shōga (his expression makes me giggle). Keeping the same childhood body and pose supports continuity and integration, inviting connection between past and present versions of self. Surrounded by the colours of the non-binary flag, the work explores identity, self-recognition, and the reclaiming of personal narrative through imag

“The lines remain. Not erased - remembered. Beneath every layer of colour lies the life that shaped me and the strength that carries me forward.” This participant gave me permission to share #beneaththecolours #healingthroughart #resilientart #artheals #arthelps

“This mothership contains the mysterious of who you are. I don’t really know fully who I am but it’s all in there. The outside isn’t meant to look like anything in particular so that it abacuses what is inside, keeping the parts safe.“ This participant gave me permission to share #partsworktherapy #ifstherapy #healingthroughart #internalfamilysystemstherapy #artheals

“I made rainbow clay art 🌈 I first picked the colours, rolled them out, and flattened them with my hands.” This participant gave me permission to share #rainbowtherapy #rainbowsheal #artheals #healingthroughart #rainbowpride

“Hate does not produce love, and by hate one cannot remake the world.” - Errico Malatesta. Errico Malatesta spent time amongst a varied and busy life assisting those with cholera in Naples, some of his friends died for their efforts to provide dignity to the sick. I was thinking of their efforts as I made this gingko (a natural remedy) leaf cyanotype, as we face down a lingering pandemic.” This participant gave me consent to share #cyanotype #erricomalatesta #gingkoleaves #su

“It’s Just a Dream Colours hold the moments, moods shaped as energy, moving quietly through what we perceive. The flow feels like thought, patterns of the mind forming and dissolving - but is it all real? We are here for the experience, for the lessons of living, to feel, to learn, to witness. And when it softens, when the edges blur, we remember: it’s just a dream.” This participant gave me consent to share #itsjustadream #theraputicart #creativetherapy #expressivetherapy #h

“This artwork has no words. I called it Healing because there was too much internal emotions.” This participant gave me permission to share #healing #healingthroughart #healingart #arthealing #artheals #arttherapyheals

“Even when your world is upside down, the light and imperfections will shine through and eventually make you smile, as the pages turn to a new chapter.” This participant gave me permission to share #healingart #healingthroughart #arthealing #artheals #arthealsthesoul #arthelps #arthelpsartheals