Tiffany Chinapen is a mixed-media artist and poet whose work explores love, identity and life. Rooted in her own experiences, Tiffany creates art that conveys the emotions tied to those moments. While deeply personal, her creations resonate with universal themes and shared human experiences. When not creating, Tiffany is practicing as an Art Psychotherapist with her own business Rosewater Art Psychotherapy. She is currently based in Toronto, Canada, where she continues to expand her practice and inspire others through art.
can we recreate that date
we have it good don’t we
i’ll always be melancholic
love is just an experience, stop make it a truth
it’s cold out today, according to my window
money and sex
An Open Letter to Edinburgh
Dear Edinburgh,
I fall in love with places just as much as I do people all the time, but I really fancy you. When I’m with you, I am able to feel alone, but never lonely. Your energy and eclectic mix of land and buildings entertain me. Although you are a small, big city, walking on Princes street always feels like forever. I enjoy the way my heels click on your streets. Your grey skies have character, and I love them. The lit candles that show through the windows at Hotel du Vin keep me cosy, even though your coldness rattles my soul. When the sun kisses your greyness though, you come alive! Under the sun, hanging out on the hill in the Grassmarket, by the castle was my most favourite Saturday activity that you gave me. Unless I went to El Barrio. Oooh, El Barrio. I’m impressed by the perfectly packaged aesthetic of everything you have in M&S and find it absolutely ridiculous that you get ready for Christmas before I can even blink. The make-up of the company you keep is more colourful than anything on the palette I paint with or the face of a party-goer on a night out. I feel close to St. Mary’s Street because it’s a place that held me in my most vulnerable moments, but Clerk Street is the best street in town. Walking down the Cowgate during the Fringe is good for my ego because the idea that so many people want my company is hilarious. I will forever be lost around Potter-row, but the Meadows will always be my favourite place to go. Edinburgh, I’m going to miss your magic. You are an endless discovery; I found a home and so much of myself in you.
Tea Time
Tea Time
Connect
Cakes on display
But not desired
Just eaten
I Ain’t No Mistress/Ueno
I was in Tokyo and I thought about what I want
While everyone thinks about what they can get
To me, it’s all about the things I’ve never met
How many times can you sleep in a different bed,
learning the ins and outs of a city like a
needle and thread
They say keep doing it because then you get to use your head
However I feel this medication may be losing its strength
In Tokyo there are many advertisements telling me things I don’t know;
I went to a park wondering where and when I’d find a seat at a table
Amongst all that, Tokyo is peaceful and poise,
It’s me; I wish I could silence the noise
How to help a friend?
First off, listen up,
They may just want to vent
They may feel stuck, lost or overwhelmed,
But you are there to remind them that they can bend
Your intent to help need not become a therapy session
Because your friend probably does not want their problems to become your obsession.
If it’s advice that they’re asking for
Then don’t be afraid to share
Your friend will forgive you even though it’s something they may not want to hear
In the end, keep things fair
Reflect things back to your friend so they can see, feel and hear
JULY 15th
Today’s the day I always leave,
Or is it the day I come home?
Why is it always a question of where I’ll remain
How do I deal with leaving it to the unknown?
I’m that girl in the grey,
that’s living astray,
always being asked why I’m in a land far away
But it’s just as much of a struggle to accept that what will come may,
and that all I can live for is here, today.
Maybe I’m afraid of the consumption or what will happen when the roots start to function,
Where my feet and land come together at a junction
Or when I finally decide to choose said location.
I’m around so many people, and go in and out of feeling alone,
But the truth is that one day,
I’d really like to make this place my home
So, I hang out by the sand and sea,
When I’m not feeling free from uncertainty,
But what I’m really trying to do is find some sense of stability
I don’t know where I’m going,
I don’t know where I’ll be,
but for now, I’ll just focus on the present moment,
July 15th
trigger warning
emotional regulation doesn’t always happen in those moments of urgency
i count to 4
i still couldn’t breathe
emotional homes were not safe so I had to leave
finally made a move finally found relief
“Stream of Consciousness/The Leftover Transference”
Who am I?
You are not your name.
In what context does my ‘self’ take form?
Neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, religion?
We are apart of nature. We take the form of elements and energy. If so, what is the shape of water?
How do I feel?
Do you want the long answer or short answer?
Why can’t you just ask me?
I want to ask you a question, but the question is more about me than it is about you – so I don’t know how to ask it.
What about you? I’m only asking to deflect your attention on me… but I also want deeply to relate.
Who am I with others?
If the people that I surround myself with are a reflection of what I see, what if I don’t like what’s in the mirror?
Can I still keep my individuality?
Ambivalence.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. What does being good at art mean anyways?
Let’s just be mutually present.
Are there consequences to being only in the moment? Are my daydreams wrong?
What version of myself am I today? How does this end?
Does it end?
Yoga is a privilege that everyone can do
You know those days when you get onto your mat. Ashtanga Yoga. You know what’s involved, there are no surprises (so you think). You’re dreading it because you feel like it’s going to be a shitty class. Your hips and hamstring are tight, your neck and shoulders are stiff, you feel somewhat sick and hungry, yet you still crave the mental high. You look at the time on your phone a million times while you’re on the bus thinking ‘ah, if the bus is late, I have an excuse for not making it.’ You also think about the alternative class that you know you love that’s a little later in the evening. You love both equally. There is not one that is better than the other, however the emotion you gain for each one in comparison is vastly different. In your head you know you’ll come out more satisfied with the later class. Maybe. Your friend told you to not get attached to the outcome. But you are so attached all you want is non-attachment. That’s why don’t give up on yourself for trying to make it to Ashtanga.
You like the discipline. There is freedom in discipline. Black and white. No in-between. The grey skies remind you of the love and hate relationship you have with Ashtanga, and the nature of it. You know exactly what’s involved but in reality, you really never know the potential things that can happen when you’re on your mat. All you know is you’re going to have to work. Work. It’s all fucking work. Each breath, each adjustment, each efficient movement (if you’re lucky that you did it efficiently haha) etc. But you like to work. No, you love to work! It’s possibly about mastering your craft… Or it’s about using all the chaotic energy around you in your life to experience the physicalness of your body and the absence of your mind. You’re finally off the bus. There is no ending to this story, because you surrender your attachment to the outcome as it is not the central focus.
Rosewater Art Psychotherapy 