Rebuilding through art

Chief Petty Officer Pete Morrison, originally from the United States, has been in the military for the majority of his adult life. He recently served as a joint communications watch officer at HMAS Harman.

It was an exhausting role, with 12-hour shifts and the unrelenting responsibility of responding to communication issues across all three branches of the military.

“Anytime the phone rang, it wasn’t someone ringing to say ‘hi’, it was someone with a problem,” Chief Petty Officer Morrison said.

During his 22-year career in the Navy, Chief Petty Officer Morrison has served in numerous intense missions, including Operation Resolute, Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), border patrols and Persian Gulf deployments. These missions left him with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and had a devastating effect on his family.

“The work was so exhausting that when I’d come home from the patrol boats to my wife and three sons, I’d just shut down and withdraw because I had nothing left to give, which was one of the reasons for the marriage ending,” he said.

To manage the stress, Chief Petty Officer Morrison began regularly seeing a psychologist, and a friend encouraged him to join the Arts for Recovery, Resilience, Teamwork and Skills (ARRTS) program.

'It’s definitely a program I’d recommend to anyone seeking to gain new perspectives or rebuild themselves creatively.'

The ARRTS program is a four-week live-in course that runs twice a year at the University of Canberra. It involves experienced mentors teaching music, creative writing and visual art techniques to help participants discover new creative outlets and enhance their wellbeing.

“At first I was reluctant to join because I was in a place where I didn’t like being around a lot of people, not even at the grocery store, and preferred to live my life alone at home with a few glasses of red wine,” Chief Petty Officer Morrison said.

“But I then thought that maybe the program would help me unlock the part of my brain that could see the world in a more creative light, and that has certainly happened.”

With an interest in pencil and ink art dating back to his teenage years, Chief Petty Officer Morrison chose the visual arts stream.

His key piece was an ink and pastel piece that consisted of his own cut-out drawings of a wine bottle, a wine glass and an ashtray, with a picture of himself pressed up against the wine bottle from the inside.

“I called it I Drown because it shows how I was drowning in my own vices of wine and cigarettes,” Chief Petty Officer Morrison said.

A group activity that drew on his poetry skills involved everybody writing a short poem about themselves, titled I am.

“It was a highly emotional experience as we read our poems out to each other, and when a few of us read out loud, I think we had half of the people in tears, and I was almost crying myself,” he said.

During the program, Chief Petty Officer Morrison formed strong connections with several other participants and was glad to stay in the shared accommodation with them, rather than returning home at the end of each day.

“There are so many people in the program that you just bond with – those with similar personalities and diagnoses. I've made quite a few friends out of this and we'll keep in touch,” he said.

“We’re already on Instagram with each other and have exchanged phone numbers.”

The profound effect of the residential program on the chief petty officer is clear, with his creative journey continuing through new eyes.

“When I now look at a tree, a bird, or even just a shadow against a wall, I’m seeing something that I’d be keen to draw with a piece of charcoal,” he said.

“It’s definitely a program I’d recommend to anyone seeking to gain new perspectives or rebuild themselves creatively.”

The next ARRTS program will be held in Canberra from October 26 to November 21, 2025. The applications close September 22.

For more information, visit the website, email adf.arrts@defence.gov.au or call (02) 6127 6505 during business hours.

I am

By Pete Morrison

I am bitter and sweet.

I wonder if there really is a God, or are we a coincidence?

I hear everything.

I see sadness and pain.

I want to feel happy and free.

I am bitter and sweet.

I pretend I am OK most of the time.

I feel broken and shameful for it.

I touch nothing if it isn’t mine.

I worry too much about mostly everything.

I cry for people less fortunate than me.

I am bitter and sweet.

I understand I am not alone.

I say as little as I need to.

I dream of being home with those I love.

I try to be a better version of who I was before.

I hope to bring light and peace back into my life.

I am bitter and sweet.