I am grateful for the time that I create, fundamentally the paintings illustrate a period of time where I have responded to deeply felt pain and connection. Then, through this messy, energetic process I find my own way back to a state of belonging, which is so often represented through a dream like landscape.
I first engaged with painting when I started my Art Psychotherapy training at Roehampton University. We were asked to creatively respond to our clinical work, I found the act of abstract painting very therapeutic. For me, the creative process has become a meditative time where I can translate my emotions into colour and pattern. I have specialised working in bereavement for five years and I currently work at a children’s bereavement service. My art making continues to run parallel to my work in bereavement. Similar to grief, the act of creating is a time to surrender to the unknown and an experience of total immersion. It is a safe place for me release the tensions of my own experience working in bereavement and to reflect on the clinical work. Often when I have created an abstract form, I take time away from the piece. I notice this is similar to being in grief; we need time to emotionally connect to grief and equally we need to be in the land of living. Nature and being outdoors has always supported me in grounding myself in this clinical setting. Witnessing nature is a time where I can come home to myself. This is expressed through my art works, because often when I return to the painting, I see landscapes within the composition. Often these landscapes aren’t places I have necessarily visited, they are an amalgamation of memories and emotions. Similar to bereavement, they are a place with no clearly marked paths; an exploration of new territory. “Whatever pain you can’t get rid of, make it your creative offering.” ― Susan Cain, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole |
Recognitions & Awards
Awarded 'Compassionate and Empowering Award' as part of the Bereavement (Adult and Children) and Spiritual Care Team at St Christopher's Hospice in 2022
Awarded the Beepurple Santander Start-Up Grant in 2020 and the Santander LaunchPad Business Start-Up Grant in 2021 Santander Community and Engagement Award, ’recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of volunteering and community engagement undertaken by current University of Brighton students during the academic year 2015-16’ Photographer of the Year at Oxford Brookes University Interviewed by Alison Gibb, a talented interiors feature writer and stylist: www.greatscottishindoors.com/interiors/lilly-meikle-art/ Showcasing Riverstone’s approach to wellbeing and health: www.riverstoneliving.com/updates/in-conversation/197-updates/666-showcasing-riverstone-s-approach-to-well-being-and-health Riverstone Living: 5 minute Coffee Break with Artist, Lilly Meikle https://www.riverstoneliving.com/updates/in-conversation/197-updates/701-5-minute-coffee-break-with-artist-lilly-mai |