Celebrating What is Right

Clients celebration book

When I started my training to be an Art Therapist my supervisor, Llona O'Gorman, always told me to look for the light in my clients. In other words she taught me to celebrate or work with what was right with my clients.
This DVD, Celebrate What's Right With the World, shows what can happen when we stay open to possibilities, have a vision, and do what excites us.  National Geographic's Dewitt Jones amazing photography and words shows us how we can approach life with creative grace.

His principles are:
- Believe it and you'll see it.
- Recognize abundance.
- Look for possibilities.
-  Ride the changes.
- Take yourself to your edge.

Watch his DVD:


Celebrating What is Right

Inspiration, Ideas, Instruction

The new site CreateMixedMedia.com hosts new artists, offers tutorials for creating art, explores new exploring art techniques and lists great mixed-media books and supplies in one warm and inviting space.
CreateMixedMedia.com is owned by F+W Media, Inc., publishers of North Light Books. The site’s editor and contributors are employees and authors of North Light Books as well as other mixed media artists and enthusiasts.  Check out my blog Creative Insights where I talk about Art Therapy.

Therapeutic Thursday: Vodoo Dolls

Teenagers Voodoo Anger Doll

Teenagers Voodoo Anger Doll

Of all the different age groups that I work with, I think working with teenagers stretches my creative abilities the most. A boy that I was working with this week said that he wished he could just give his anger to someone who could turn it into something else. Then we remembered voodoo dolls. We made voodoo dolls and pinned to their chests what we wanted them to work with. It was a creative and  fun way to work with something that was frustrating and confusing for him. Creating art about our struggles helps us ponder things freshly. Detachment (giving anger to the voodoo doll) paradoxically makes us more present. This exercise lead to an interesting conversation of different ways he could react when angry. I love this job!

The Magic Cloth

The Magic Cloth

We went on a three hour picnic. She reminded her foster Mom for weeks ahead of time that we had a three hour picnic scheduled. She usually comes to see me for one hour, but this time it would be three. 

I bought a new cooler, all her favorite foods, packed my camera, and games for after dinner.

She so was excited, so was I. We had never been together outside of the therapy room.

We had our table set, food laid out, drinks, when a family arrived and sat down at the picnic table next to us.

I knew it was coming, it always did. “A cloth, you should have brought a cloth,” she said as the Mom spread out a clean white table cloth.

I tried to defend my lack of planning by pointing out how the wind kept blowing up the edges and they had to use rocks to keep it down. But no matter what I said I could not pull her or all the other children I work with that live in foster homes away from trying to figure out why they are not at the picnic table with the white cloth.

I wish it could be that simple. Bu is it really so different then what I as a therapist, researcher, writer does?  Aren’t we all looking for the magic cloth?

By: Karen Wallace 

 

The Secret Tree Festival of Art & Sustainability Feb. 17-20th

Arts for Change Workshop with Karen Wallace


Equanimity, “being in the middle” refers to balance, to remaining centered in the middle of whatever life change is happening. This balance comes from inner strength or stability. The strong presence of inner calm, well-being, confidence, vitality, or integrity can keep us upright, like a ballast keeps a ship upright in strong winds. We each move through change in a familiar and uniquely different way. Sometimes we initiate change and sometimes life throws change at us. This art experience will be working with finding internal and external balance for the changes that we are all experiencing personality, communally, and globally. Through collage, painting, and text we will work with how we can embrace, reframe, revision and inhabit change in healthy life confirming ways.

Registration details: here 

Also check out this excellent article on Nursing School blog here which lists 100 Art Therapy Exercises for your mind, body, and soul.