Here at CALM, we’re always wanging on about what creativity can do for your head. And we’re not about to stop. In fact, we’ve been chatting to Tia O’Donnell, a multidisciplinary artist with exhibitions at the National Gallery under her belt. Not to mention a five figure Instagram following and collabs coming out of her ears. Tia’s art is eclectic, and a great expression of the weird times we’re living through.
We’re catching up as part of ITV2 and CALM’s How We Move series – a new show that’s all about finding new ways to look after your mental wellbeing. And while getting creative has been a solid way to express and channel feelings and emotions for millennia, this Instagram favourite’s work is definitely worth writing home about (or an article on the CALM website at least).
Tia’s style is bold and hopeful, but it’s also evocative of struggling and getting through tough times. And there’s a reason for that. She uses her art as a way to articulate the feelings she’s dealing with. A process that starts with a diary, and ends with some proper good pieces of art.
“For me art – sculpting, painting, performance – they help me physically remove the emotion I’m feeling out of my body and into a physical object. It’s like extracting it from myself and then putting it into the real world so that you can look at it from a different perspective.”