Laurence de Groote, a registered and certified Arts Therapist, founded the Red Pencil with her husband Alain Vandenborre, after having witnessed the distress of children and their families who were victims of the tsunami in 2004. At that time, she worked at Raffles hospital, a private hospital in Singapore, and had a chance to support children who had been in the waves. She could witness how creative arts therapy could be rapidly life-changing, which became the seed of The Red Pencil.
“At The Red Pencil, we aim to instil hope and empowerment through creative arts therapy to vulnerable children, adults, families, and communities facing traumatic life circumstances towards CHANGE; to improve mental health and resilience in creating a better and happier future for oneself and for others.
My vision is for every individual to harness the creative process of the arts as a means to nurture their mental, physical, and emotional well-being, fostering recovering and self-empowerment. At The Red Pencil we aspire to extend the life-changing benefits of creative arts therapy worldwide, reaching individuals at any stage of life. Since our inception in 2011, we have witnessed individuals and communities, initially unfamiliar with art-making, undergo a revival through engaging in the process of creative arts therapy.
Before they can even speak and write, children use pencils and colors to express themselves, their feelings, thoughts and ideas. Later, when they can talk, words are sometimes inadequate for children to express what they are experiencing and if they are feeling sadness, fear or anger, drawing offers them another of channeling those emotions in a safe and socially acceptable way. As they become adults, there may be other reasons why people can’t put their emotions and thoughts into words, and where creative arts therapy fills a necessary gap. When older people reach the shore of their lives, some memories or relationships may need sensitive wrapping before they leave
