Catherine Mellinger Uses Collage to Ease Postpartum Depression
In Kolaj #18, Catherine Mellinger writes about her work using collage to help mothers. She writes, “My goal when I started the Postpartum Therapeutic Arts Group at the Kitchener Downtown Community Centre was clear and simple. I wanted to allow women to create their own visual narrative with other mothers who had similar postpartum experiences. ”
Catherine Mellinger is an analogue collage artist and mixed media artist whose works explore dichotomy by seeking to create works of beauty whose themes are not beautiful: trauma, loss and challenging relational dynamics that are familial, social, moral, political.
Catherine Mellinger’s article appears in Kolaj #18. To read the full story and other articles from the issue, SUBSCRIBE to Kolaj Magazine or Get a Copy of the Issue.
Collage allows mothers to take the stories they are presented with in the media and reshape and reimagine their narrative.
Mellinger is a Certified Expressive Art Therapist in private practice and a Level II Art Educator through the Royal Conservatory. She has, over the last decade, worked with adults with disabilities, adults in rehabilitation, youth in recovery for drug and alcohol addiction, people experiencing homelessness amongst many others. Mellinger lives in Waterloo, Ontario.
Catherine Mellinger’s article appears in Kolaj #18. To read the full story and other articles from the issue, SUBSCRIBE to Kolaj Magazine or Get a Copy of the Issue.
Image (top):
Octopus
by Catherine Mellinger
11″x8.5″
vintage magazine on sketchbook paper
2015