Timmins artist using AI technology to create and teach art therapy to others

A Northern Ontario artist is using artificial intelligence to help teach art therapy to others through a series of online videos.

Candyce Rowlandson, from Timmins, Ont., has been painting and creating artwork since her childhood. As time went on, she turned to digital graphic design and eventually branched out into artificial intelligence, using AI and digital tools like Photoshop to create her artwork.

Rowlandson, who goes by the artist name "Charoa", has even had her work displayed in international galleries, including in the Oculus at One World Trade Centre in New York City. 

Rowlandson owns Mindsoul Meditations, an online studio displaying her work. Starting in January, 2025, she will be doing a 30-day challenge-style online workshop called 'Art Therapy with Mindsoul Mediations' to teach participants how using art can enhance their mental health and well-being.

"Every day, there's a different theme for mental wellness and we build art using AI tools, which is accessible to everybody," explained Rowlandson. 

"And you don't have to be like this amazing artist to be able to use AI tools. So I teach people how to use those tools with sort of a path to wellness being the goal."

The videos will be streamed on YouTube from January 16 to February 14. Rowlandson said there will also be some sort of gallery to showcase all the artwork created once the workshop has finished.

The idea for the workshop came from a similar activity Rowlandson participated in one year ago when she took part in a workshop involving 30-days of journaling, but used artwork instead of words.

"So I did 30 days of art for myself and I really found it healing and insightful," said Rowlandson. 

"And when I had a chance to sort of share that with family and everything else, it was sort of opening conversations and it was just a really great experience that I just wanted to share with others." 

She says art therapy can help people get their emotions out in a safe, creative way and leave some feelings behind, before sharing them with others in the art community.

"It creates a very healing bubble that I think has a lot of value. And it's great for sort of like taking steps into bettering yourself."

Rowlandson says using AI can help enhance art and foster further creative imagination, and artists or others working in environments such as the film or voice-over industries should see the tool as a resource instead of a threat.

"I think that all elements of AI are going to play an important role going forward," she said.

"It opens up so many possibilities for people who didn't think they'd ever be able to do this."