Surfboard Art and Self-Discovery with Leanne Tibiatowski

Turning trauma into art when the ocean closed. First released in December 2021 Leanne’s father took her snorkelling when she was young, and she fell in love with the ocean then. As a teenager that culture became something she pulled away from because of its associations with a traumatic experience, the details of which her brain blocked out to protect her. Even though she was drawn to the ocean, she didn’t go in, and didn’t understand why. Eventually Leanne decided to try surfing just once, while on a break in Mexico. She loved it, but when she got back to her home town of San Diego those associations returned. Luckily she stumbled across a surf therapy group, Groundswell Community Project, that gave her back the joy of surfing and helped her face, navigate and integrate everything she had experienced. So what happens when a pandemic hits and you are told you can’t go in the ocean? In Leanne’s case a form of artistic expression is released, which completely surprised her, and she has continued to embrace and develop. CreativityFound.co.uk Instagram: @creativityfoundpodcast Facebook: @creativityfoundpodcast and Creativity Found group YouTube @creativityfoundpodcast Researched, edited and produced by Claire Waite Brown Music: Day Trips by Ketsa Undercover / Ketsa Creative Commons License Free Music Archive - Ketsa - Day Trips Artworks: Emily Portnoi emilyportnoi.co.uk Photo: Ella Pallet Support the show Follow @CreativityFoundPodcast on Instagram Want to be a guest on Creativity Found? Send me a message on PodMatch, here Podcast recorded with Riverside and hosted by Buzzsprout