Seema Gill: Why make art?

An artist mixes colours together on a palette

Seema Gill is an artist, poet and novelist whose work hangs in the Saachi gallery. Along with a resident, Seema will be delivering an art and a poetry workshop for residents to participate in. Here she tells us why art is important to her.

Seema delivering a community art session in a room painted in a mural style. Sh — Seema delivering a community art session

"I met a student who had arrived in the UK a few months ago. She was looking for a job and better accommodation and has been very stressed about getting both. To cope with the situation, she started to draw circles, lines and dots. The more she drew, the more she concentrated to get the right shapes. This gave her a purpose. She wanted to improve. She poured her energy onto the pieces of paper. When she made shapes, triangles and even sketches of people, she started to concentrate. This made her happy, relaxed. When she drew, she felt connected to her soul and mind, easing the stress.

“I’m not an artist, but I love drawing now. I find it very soothing.”

We don’t have to go to an art college to learn art. Some of the well known artists draw like five year old children and their art is greatly admired and sold dearly. So why art?

What is art? If we care to look, art is everywhere. Patterns on a butterfly's wings, a design made by nature in the middle of a sunflower. Light flickering through the net curtains on your window creating dramatic shapes. Drawing and painting is one form of art. The more we practice, the more we learn and become skilled. But even becoming skilled is not important. Just let go of your constraints and draw without any rules, forms or structure. Pour paint on a canvas or a wall and see how fascinating shapes will develop from it. Brewing coffee or tea to taste good for yourself and others is also an art. Knitting, cooking, dressing up, dancing, cycling. Stars and planets in the universe. The way we hold our friendship, the way we communicate with other humans and with children. We can communicate through art."

Would you like to join an art or poetry session run by Seema? Find out more about joining one of our events.