My History with Art Therapy

A few weeks ago, I published a post on IG and Facebook, sharing some of my history with art therapy. Since that was somewhat brief I thought I’d expand on it here both for sharing purposes and for the opportunity to look back on that history.

As a kid growing up in New York, and spending my first 10 years in Brooklyn, I was exposed to amazing museums, a wide array of music and opera, and spectacular libraries.

It was a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art that became the most memorable and impactful museum visit of my childhood. I so clearly remember that cold and gray day. I may have been around 9 years old. Although the Met is filled with beautiful open spaces and galleries, on that day we entered a smaller more secluded room filled with works on paper by Jackson Pollack. They weren’t the giant paintings that come to mind when you think of Jackson Pollack. They were smaller works, packed with imagery, and representing his creative process while undergoing psychotherapy. That exhibit has stayed with me ever since and it fueled a fascination with art as a therapeutic tool.

By the time I was in 9th grade, I became my own art therapist, using art for stress reduction, to express my feelings, to make decisions, and for greater personal understanding. For years, the foundation for many of my paintings were self discovery and processing inner work.

In college, when it came time to sign up for a student teaching assignment, I announced that I only wanted to be assigned to the Rosemary Kennedy Center, a nearby special education school. It was an ideal experience. I worked as the art teacher in the vision impaired program and spent one day a week with the school’s art therapist. I loved being there and ended up staying on after graduation. Around that time, I also spent a summer as the art teacher at a camp for physically handicapped children and adults.

My intention was to become an art therapist, and although I began a graduate program, my life path took me in a different direction. Over the years, I did get to hold workshops for adults, with the goal of giving participants an opportunity for self expression that might lead to their own inner discoveries.

Now, within the next few months, my goal is to begin sharing some of the art activities I designed for myself and those that showed up in my workshops over the years. I’m excited to step back into that focus and share it here and in the Shared Easel Newsletter.

Daily Journal: Images and Words

Image and Word Journal from magazine cutouts.

At the beginning of 2021, I began a page-a-day journal with one image and a word or phrase added at the end of each day. Gathering a pile of old magazines, along with scissors, glue, and a blank book, I was ready to go. I made a commitment to complete a page every day until the book was filled… which took about 5-1/2 months. At the end of each day, I chose a magazine image that stood out to me at the time. Often it was a reflection of a thought, a theme, or something about that day. Then I cut out a word or phrase to add to the image page.

Pages from the Image and Word Journal

I found comfort in this daily ritual and the process of flipping through the magazines in search of an image and word. Some of the themes revolved around feelings of peace, light, and space, of the appreciation for home, family, and community. Others focused on the magnificence and beauty of the natural world, an interest in history, or just the love of shapes and color.

Family Page of Image and Word Journal

This is a simple and enjoyable way for anyone to reflect on a day and keep a diary of a period of time. I could have chosen to begin another blank book but I felt complete when the last page was filled. Of course, after 5 months, I felt the loss of this nightly activity in the days following its completion.

The inspiration for this project came from a video of Shelley Klammer describing the process as a daily checkin on your feelings and emotions. Shelley is a Counseling Therapist and Expressive Arts Educator.

And here are three more pages from the journal… Shade, Inner Life, and Lightness of Being:

Promoting Creative Thinking Through Curiosity

The Inquisitive Mind - An Exercise

How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael Gelb

In “How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci,” Michael Gelb suggests generating a list of 100 questions on anything that comes to mind.

Although it seemed like a tedious task, I got comfortable with my journal and pen and wrote and wrote and wrote. I found that the process provided some wonderful surprises. As I continued to write, I became more wowed by the wonders of our natural environment, the workings of the human body and the way we interact with one another. The miracles of everyday life became magnified and a sense of awe grew.

Questions came to mind that I have not pondered since childhood. (like…How does a bird have the ability to fly?) And after the first 75 or so, I found that the questions seemed to have more depth and meaning.

At the end of this exercise I was very thankful for all that I have, for what I see, for who I am, and to be experiencing life in a world with so many wonders.

(This post was originally published on August 2014 in the Shared Easel Blog .)

Concertina Sketchbooks

For the past couple of months, and up until last week, I was unable to paint. I continued to feel a strong desire to create… but had absolutely no oomph to continue work on any of my paintings or projects. I found myself in an unfamiliar position… unable to pick up a paintbrush. That’s when I joined the Concertina Retreat, hosted by Suzie Chaney. It was one of the many artist challenges popping up on Instagram as the quarantine days took hold throughout the planet. So, I entered the world of concertina sketchbooks.

For those unfamiliar with a concertina sketchbook: all the pages are connected in one long strip that can fold up like an accordion into a book.

We received instructions on making the sketchbook and then one prompt a day for six days. (Some of the prompts were: botanical, the earth, all beings, and more.) Over the course of the week, I filled the pages with papers, printed text, and stitched threads. I was thankful for the new creative experience.

Front cover of Threads, a concertina book

When I began this project, I didn’t consider the idea of creating a visual connection from one page to the next. BUT, as soon as I began to construct page two, I found joy in the idea of a harmonious flow by using machine stitching and the same papers throughout. That’s when I got excited and engaged in the process.

I ended up adding a 7th page with it’s focus on Peace. Then the cover was completed on watercolor paper and sewn onto the front of the book. I love the way the threads look with all the pages hanging down when the book is closed.

First page of the 2nd concertina book, with a focus on Peace and Simplicity.

I was hooked on concertinas and began constructing a second. The last page of the first book became the jumping off point for the second book. Peace and Simplicity was the new theme, which seemed perfect for the times we are living in… and I decided to keep the color palette monochrome.

Our lives are so pared down now with a focus on the basics. It reminds me of camping. When we camp we have whatever we’ve brought with us and our needs and expectations are simple.

Simplicity in a single leaf. A page in the concertina Peace book.

I am grateful to have found joy and creative solace in the paper collage pages of these books. I’ve been collecting (and using) papers since high school with a large stash to choose from. So, they were readily available for this project.

During recent weeks, I could have focused on the uncomfortable feeling of being disconnected from my usual painting flow…. but instead, I found another method of creating, a new format to love, and each day in the studio became a new adventure.

To view all the pages of these books, along with videos, and to follow the progress of daily creative projects, visit my Instagram Page.

A tiny third concertina sketchbook.

Inspiration: To Spark Creativity

We come into the world with the desire and ability to create. It’s apparent in our imaginations, daydreams, ability to problem solve, and in our sense of play. Creativity is an innate force. Just watch the way children become immersed in their personal fantasies, dragging every nearby friend and inanimate object into their story. The foundation for this has been set before we take shape in a body. It’s natural for us to crave a connection with our creative spirit.

Mixed media painting in process.

Creativity can be expressed in every aspect of our lives not just in an artistic endeavor. As individuals, we choose whether to cultivate that creativity and how we do so.

However you choose to exercise your creativity, you can use the list below to spark ideas for a personal creative adventure. Dance or move, paint, draw, or collage, vocalize or compose music, garden or landscape, cook or bake, sculpt or build, sew or embroider.

Inspiration can be found everywhere, at any time, and in any form. You don’t know when or where inspiration will present itself. All that’s needed is to be open to the gifts that present themselves...in any moment. Anything can spark a creative idea. Anything can inspire creative exploration… a word, a single leaf, the flight of a bird, the colors of the trees against a clear blue sky, the light of a full moon shining on the landscape.

I hope the list below will help generate ideas as prompts for your creativity:

1. I’ll start with the simplest of all… Day Dream. Let your imagination run wild. See where it leads you.

Shadows are a great source of creative inspiration.

2. Notice the shadows, lines, shapes and colors right outside your front door or wherever you look.

3. Patterns found in nature. If you can’t find this outside your home then search for images online.

4. As you walk down the street, notice the way the angles of the buildings show up against the sky, may trigger an idea.

5. An interesting sentence or phrase, in a song or conversation, could stand out and inspire an entire short story, novel, or painting.

6. Idioms are wonderful creative triggers. Choose one that strikes your fancy and let it inspire you. Here are just a few to get you started: Water under the Bridge, The Ball is in Your Court, It’s a Small World, Keep an Eye on Him, Go Out on a Limb. The link above has a long list of idioms in alphabetical order.

7. Song titles can be very descriptive and offer a spark of inspiration. You could search for song lists on a specific subject, or top 100 songs in any given year. In writing this post I stumbled upon a list of songs with ridiculous titles. (They are actual songs!!)

8. Whenever you would like a creative boost, read a poem you resonate with… either from a book of poetry you have at home or from an online search. You might consider reading one poem each day for inspiration. With poetry, you enter the mind of the poet and see the world through their eyes.

9. Do people listen to radios anymore? This used to be one of my favorite ways to collect bits and pieces that might fit together in an interesting way. By turning the dial on your radio, you hear brief moments of broadcasting on each station. One or more of those snippets of music, lyrics, and conversation may become puzzle pieces to inspire a creative project. Now-a-days, it’s more likely that changing the TV channels would be more effective.

Creative inspiration can be found wherever you are. This was an exterior wall to an old weathered building. Looks like abstract art.

10. Search online for visual or written creative triggers by typing any word, phrase, or sentence into the search field. You never know what you might find. Don’t just rely on the first browser page that comes up. Check out what’s on the third page.

11. Visit a site like CreativityPortal.com which posts daily images with text, as prompts to inspire writing, art, and creative projects. You may choose to visit their site every day for a new prompt — 365 days a year. And they have an Imagination Prompt Generator with a line of text as a story starter or creative spark. Don’t like the prompt that shows up? Then refresh the page and a new one pops up.

12. Pinterest is a wealth of images on any subject. But be warned, it’s easy to lose track of time when you’re exploring that site. And while you are there, check out my WendyArtsStudio at Pinterest account.

13. Children’s picture books can be a great way to spark your creative flow. Check out my blog post - Inspiration: Children’s Books.

14. And keep a notebook or journal to record the abundance of creative sparks you come across during the day. Record the words, thoughts, quotes, poems, phrases, images, and more that zing you and are likely to motivate you to create.

JUST Create!!! Keep tools and materials easily accessible so you can play and explore. No need to hold back. This experience is for you. Create anything at any time for the pure joy of creating. Have fun!!

Note: This list was written with the understanding that the majority of people are currently sheltered at home. So I have left out a number of creative resources like the library which is one of my favorite places for developing new ideas. Once we are out and about I will plan to add another post.