Mask make-over: Adapting a class assignment from 2D-Design
ETC Level: Cognitive - Perceptive
MDV Level: Fluid - Simple - Structured
Materials: 2 pieces of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock acrylic paintspaint brusheswaterpaper towels
Procedures: 1. On one piece of paper, create a symmetrical mask using complementary colors and neutralized variations of those colors. 2. On the other piece of paper, create an asymmetrical image by using a different organization of the same shapes and colors. 3. Processing: Compare and contrast the two paintings. Identify the same shapes in both pictures. Decide which picture most successfully utilizes the shapes. Discuss the balance contributing to the composition of each picture.
Rationale: This exercise was meant to raise the students' consciousness of several elements of composition: color, organization, symmetry/asymmetry, and balance.
Adaptations: This exercise could be a useful art therapy intervention by altering the procedure and processing questions. For example:1. Create a mask on one piece of paper. (It would not be necessary or beneficial to request the use of only certain colors and their complements.)2. By reorganizing the shapes, create another image on the second piece of paper. 3. Process each picture in a gestalt context, i.e. "I am..." Do the shapes develop different meanings in their different environments? "Do you act the same in different environments?" may be a useful question if individual is having adjustment issues. (Considering symmetry/asymmetry and may be interesting, but not necessarily crucial to activity.)
Inspirational Artwork: Candra Boggs
Candra Boggs: Check her stuff out on etsy.com. I saw her work at the Rising Sun Festival of the Arts and it is incredible from a distance and up close! Cool textures and materials creating bright and whimsical mosiacs. Lovely!
Grieving Children
Cathy Malchiodi: "Using Creative Activities as Intervention for Grieving Children"
http://www.tlcinst.org/creative.html
This article discusses children's expression of loss, their understanding of death and loss according to Piaget's stages of cognitive development, and several ideas for creative inteventions, and guidelines for helping children cope with traumatic loss.
Intervention ideas include:
http://www.tlcinst.org/creative.html
This article discusses children's expression of loss, their understanding of death and loss according to Piaget's stages of cognitive development, and several ideas for creative inteventions, and guidelines for helping children cope with traumatic loss.
Intervention ideas include:
- What's your worry?: Illustrate your worry in line, shape, and color.
- Tranform your worry: What lines, shapes, and colors would make your worry feel better?
- Magic book: Imagine you have a magic book that knows all the answers.
- Safe box: Create a safe box for storing items, toys, photos, etc. that make you feel safe.
- Memory box: Create a memory box for storing items, clay figures, photos, etc. that evoke positive memories.
What is Art Therapy?
According to the American Art Therapy Association website (http://www.arttherapy.org):
"Art Therapy is a mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight.
Art therapy integrates the fields of human development, visual art (drawing, painting, sculpture, and other art forms), and the creative process with models of counseling and psychotherapy. Art therapy is used with children, adolescents, adults, older adults, groups, and families to assess and treat the following: anxiety, depression, and other mental and emotional problems and disorders; substance abuse and other addictions; family and relationship issues; abuse and domestic violence; social and emotional difficulties related to disability and illness; trauma and loss; physical, cognitive, and neurological problems; and psychosocial difficulties related to medical illness. Art therapy programs are found in a number of settings including hospitals, clinics, public and community agencies, wellness centers, educational institutions, businesses, and private practices.
Art therapists are masters level professionals who hold a degree in art therapy or a related field. Educational requirements include: theories of art therapy, counseling, and psychotherapy; ethics and standards of practice; assessment and evaluation; individual, group, and family techniques; human and creative development; multicultural issues; research methods; and practicum experiences in clinical, community, and/or other settings. Art therapists are skilled in the application of a variety of art modalities (drawing, painting, sculpture, and other media) for assessment and treatment."
"Art Therapy is a mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight.
Art therapy integrates the fields of human development, visual art (drawing, painting, sculpture, and other art forms), and the creative process with models of counseling and psychotherapy. Art therapy is used with children, adolescents, adults, older adults, groups, and families to assess and treat the following: anxiety, depression, and other mental and emotional problems and disorders; substance abuse and other addictions; family and relationship issues; abuse and domestic violence; social and emotional difficulties related to disability and illness; trauma and loss; physical, cognitive, and neurological problems; and psychosocial difficulties related to medical illness. Art therapy programs are found in a number of settings including hospitals, clinics, public and community agencies, wellness centers, educational institutions, businesses, and private practices.
Art therapists are masters level professionals who hold a degree in art therapy or a related field. Educational requirements include: theories of art therapy, counseling, and psychotherapy; ethics and standards of practice; assessment and evaluation; individual, group, and family techniques; human and creative development; multicultural issues; research methods; and practicum experiences in clinical, community, and/or other settings. Art therapists are skilled in the application of a variety of art modalities (drawing, painting, sculpture, and other media) for assessment and treatment."
Statement of Purpose
I am currently a second year graduate student pursuing a Master's degree in Counseling and Art therapy...a mere pup in the field- but I have already learned so much! I keep thinking, "I really need a place to record this stuff," and thus, a blog is born. My intention is to create some kind of catalog for ideas, interventions, and AHA moments. My secondary motivation is to hold myself accountable for continuing to learn, explore, and grow personally and professionally.
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