This document provides a visual narrative in 7 parts of a woman's experience with a broken marriage over several years. It describes her emotions through symbolic imagery and references mythology. Each part corresponds to a "sorrow" like betrayal, abandonment, separation, and represents a stage in coming to terms with the end of the relationship and leaving her past behind by moving cities.

1. Images From the Tear Garden: A Tale of Seven Sorrows A Visual Narrative of a Broken Marriage Julia Sutherland 2007 Our imagery are the wounds and healings. Farelly

2. Philosophical Statement Research as a Contribution to Art Therapy If we are to continue in our commitment as a service profession to improving the quality of life for individuals and society at large, it makes sense that we do not attempt merely to duplicate what is widely available through other disciplines, but instead focus on we have to contribute to our speciality. Catherine Moon, 1998:23

3. Objective: To experiment with and demonstrate a theoretical and practical approach to a narrative art therapeutic intervention with application to therapy for women following a broken marriage.

4. In the Beginning : Finding a guiding image Creativity is not a solitary movement. That is its power. Whatever is touched by it , whoever sees it, senses it, knows it, is fed. That is why beholding someone else’s word, image, idea, fills us up , inspires us to our own creative work. Estes, Women Who Run With The Wolves . P 298

5. The Virgin of Seven Sorrows: Mater Delorosa from Boyer, The Cult of the Virgin P56

6. ‘ Neustra Senora de las Angustias of Seville’ (From Boyer )

7. Care of the Soul requires a different sort of language from that of therapy and academic psychology. Like alchemy it is an art and therefore can only be expressed in poetic images, mythology, the fine arts, which provide priceless imagery by which the soul’s mysteries are simultaneously revealed and contained. Moore . Care of the Soul

8. The Tear Garden: A Personal Narrative An exhibition of a series of images based on the Mater Delorosa, Mother of Seven Sorrows Arts therapy offers an opportunity to work in a serial form or steps, but also the creation of images which can be revisited or changed. It also offers the opportunity to look behind those images. Roose- Evans

9. I: Betrayal in the Garden: Easter 2002 He said that love fled suddenly in the golden glory of an Autumn day in Queenstown For no reason. But in truth his heart moved for another waiting in the wings of all our lives. Bare footed she called across hills, and valley of deepening shadow Columbine, Columbine Breath sweet with slumberous Lilac wine Smokey too with promise of the spirit of Dionysus and all his pomps and promises Goblets of dream. Different and silver paths suddenly laid bare Shocks of ice ruled my hair As the swift sword, hidden in wing hit home. Soul of tears revealed her countless petals Lotus Flower Raining Glassy tears In the garden

10. The First Sorrow: The Garden of Betrayal A sword shall pierce through thy own soul Simeon’s prediction

11. II: Flight from the Garden July2002 Early morning he fled with stealth. And left a note tinged with a hint of regret Footprints marked the crystal pathway The beginning of the end And the beginning Of the long valley of tears The child bride now face-lined with many sorrows And grandmother for the first time Gowned in white And wearing the lace cap on her head which once held a veil Protection from prying eyes torn asunder As the memory of the promise once made and about to be broken is framed in silver. But spirits now summoned gather As the shadow man Once Romeo and bridegroom flees Without turning once Not seeing the blue tree laid bare in the winter garden Where she once decked all their joys and sorrows Like brightly coloured baubles And where sunflower girls thrived in dappled light Her soul cries as the second sword plunges deep Stretching the golden band

12. The Second Sorrow: Abandonment in the Winter Garden On the coldest morning , in secret , in the very dead of winter, leaving only a note and footsteps in the frosty garden the grey man fled.

13. III: Separation War raged in the garden and the angels in the sky above screamed like skybirds as the whole world opened into chasm when he came with the proposal that would shatter all illusion. Stones rained down on the helmet holding fast From the catapult concealed behind his back Words spoken by others Sweet as honey wine dripped behind the secret smile But she could see the card And could read it Hidden up his sleeve Which slipped in one small movement And she became lupine thing And armed with new bible her army behind and around her She sent arrows laced with power too and held to half the roots as they snapped and when trees fell Her soul torn unsunder and fluttering, set free on hostile winds The black cat prowled The third sword cut and his heart took wings....

14. The Third Sorrow: Separation, War in the garden The centre torn apart

16. The Fourth Sorrow: Defeat in the Tear Garden “And who can say why your heart cries, When your love dies? Only time...” – Enya: Only Time .

17. V: The Serpent in the Garden Over those mountains he flew like an albatross home to Dunedin And with great haste with the message And with fury he knocked at the gate papers in hand which would dissolve everything and explain nothing. And she turned him away too bare and not yet prepared to assume the garments of divorce which the fates already had sewn which she would wear in shame and forever. With no defence he took her by stealth and stabbed her in the dark pathway in the darkened garden And sent his envoy the serpent to stand in waiting With a great threat hanging over her and to dog her every step until she would submit and mark the dotted line with her treasured name that would end in a death of a marriage She fell into strong arms and then was wrapped in care and communion with loving spirits There were no screams left to inflame or give delight when she asked him into her own new garden And signed to the sound of a soft and strange lament, from a heavenly choir And he sighed and mumbled words sprinkled with shame but no regret And stabbed the sharp sword in her side, Once again

18. Panel 5

19. VI: Leaving the Garden I look down on the garden of my childhood, my womanhood and motherhood In the pink and early light of a February morning, as we leave Dunedin without fanfare. I am navigator l In search for new shores and new things to care about The vigilant soul and adventurer by my side We slip as ships in the dark from moorings now not solid. On ward a long, long journey North Dunedin is grey and blue and soft She sees old homes and stone buildings and rolling hills,the brooding harbour the beach of childhood, The graves holding bones of most dearly loved left behind, left unattended The cityscape draped in mist Are now memories captured in images in a painting Angels carry stories on the wind of a person now gone and spirits flutter as white butterflies in old gardens where the tear flower still grows And while my soul now sings from time to time as tender tendrils from the buried sorrow grow toward light my heart cries and holds six burdens.

20. Panel 6

22. Panel 7