This week on the Wisdom From Lived Experience podcast I am going to be sharing how my chronic illness carved a path back to my creative self when I discovered the healing power of dot painting.

I was taught to dot paint by Auntie Daphne (Kal-Ma-Kuta) and Uncle Digby Moran, two Aboriginal elders who found art later on in their lives as part of their own healing journey. The Aboriginal people know the power art has to heal our bodies. Many remote Aboriginal communities have art centres where they are encouraged to paint, throw clay, and screen print, as a way to express and transform their pain and suffering.

For me, the mesmerising and meditative placement of each dot settled me in a way that nothing else could. Even in my most anxious and fearful moments, the colour and movement helped me to find some calm.

The paintings I created connected me back to my ancestral homelands after losing my parents. It was a time of endless suffering and I found the painting brought glimmers of hope and joy back into my life.

This podcast precedes my interview with the artist, Hilary Herrmann, who will share her story next week.

If you would like to find out more about me you can head to my website at

www.jenniferwinfield.com or find me on instagram at @jennifer__winfield.