I Close My Eyes to See

Dan Rhema is the co-author of a newly published ebook about the intertwining of art and life entitled, I Close My Eyes to See.

The ebook, designed for color tablets, is now available on Apple's ibookstore, Barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com.

I Close My Eyes to See Synopsis

Dan Rhema, an international development worker, arrived at the hospital with his brain on fire. The three strains of dengue fever, he contracted in Mexico, had morphed into the deadly combination of meningoencephalitis—both his brain and his spinal fluid were infected. That evening, as the doctors fought to save his life, Dan left his body and began an unexpected journey to the other side.

One week later, he was released from the hospital, just not as the Dan Rhema who had entered. The near-death experience and the damage to his brain left him with gaping holes in his memory and a loss of his identity.

Dan spent most of the next three years asleep. Otherworldly visual images flowed out of his dreams. During his waking hours, a creative compulsion took over his life. He began to sculpt and paint the visions he encountered in the night.

Dan had two choices: to continue hoping that, one day, he would regain his lost memories and his old life, or to embrace the newfound creativity and follow it wherever it would lead. He chose to begin anew and follow the healing journey of the dreams.

Praise for I Close My Eyes to See

Death's pathway led him to worlds beyond this one, opening up realities quite impossible to describe.

It's almost as if your heart can "taste" what he is saying.

-- P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D., author of Near-Death Experiences: The Rest of The Story, and The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences

Dan's narrative is his art, spanning earth fire to infinite stars, mothers and fathers to searchers and beasts, light awaiting, light beyond.

His art -- his story -- ought to be seen. Heard. Experienced.

-- Mark Shepherd, Santa Monica

Senior lecturer, University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television

... as classic as a cave painting and as hip as the found objects that he assembles into magnificent images.

-- Michael Blowen, former film critic for the Boston Globe

Words seem so inadequate when it comes to describing the emotions that are stirred in viewing these works...

Marybeth Orton, MA, ATR-BC, LPAT Licensed Professional Art Therapist

... a tale for our times as wondrous as it is utterly terrifying.

-- Joe Henry, singer-songwriter and Grammy winning music producer.

... in an attempt to explain — to himself and others — what had happened to him. It turned out art was his language as well as his healer.

-- Jo Anne Triplett, LEO Magazine

... through words and art, Dan’s struggle is felt deeply and is clearly a genuine self-exploration. One does not come across such authentic pieces of art often...

-- Liz Beck, Art Therapy Blog

Day of the Dead and "Art-as-Therapy"

By:

Patricia O'Laughlin MFT, ATR

(www.patriciaolaughlin.com)

edited by: Amanda Alders

In the traditions of Day of the Dead, art making intersects with community. People come together to celebrate their deceased loved ones and create art that beautifully represents their lives. This year, I have been asked to volunteer at University of New Mexico's healthcare clinic, where I will be teaching children about self expression through creating Day of the Dead art work.

In the Art Therapy theory,"art as therapy," the process of making art is itself the therapy, and the art is not combined with traditional "talk" therapy. “Art in therapy combines creating art with talk therapy. Healing occurs through the internal expression and physical movements that happen while someone is making art. Educators and Art Therapists such as Dr. Noah Hass-Cohen draw from clinical neuroscience to show how art therapy affects the mind-body connection and in doing so lifts illnesses like depression and anxiety.

“Art as therapy,” is deeply ingrained into Day of the Dead holiday, a long standing Mexican tradition that is celebrated from October thirty-first through November second. It's a day when people remember the lives of those who have passed, and honor them with art, flowers, music, and food.

While art therapy is a fairly recent addition to the therapeutic world, people who celebrate Day of the Dead have been practicing a form of "art as therapy" for decades. They create alters for their loved ones, that in themselves are pieces of art. Within these alters are smaller pieces: statues,boxes, ceramic/wooden food, and pictures.

When creating these art pieces, the "mind-brain connection" may be activated. For some people, the materials and method they choose may cause the art making to become similar to meditation, aiding in relaxation and providing a sense of balance and stability. Others choose materials, colors, and processes that are stimulating and may help give them the passion they might not normally feel, passion that is necessary in combating sadness.

Constructing these alters also allows for the creator to think about their loved ones, life, and death. Within most cultures, the habit is to push these thoughts away, which ultimately causes anxiety and fear. But by having a time each year specificaly to celebrate the dead, people who celebrate Day of the Dead give themselves a major gift…the gift of contemplating the existential crisis of death head on.

Guest Blog: Fabric Meditation

I was honored to have a request from Allison Brooks to be a guest blogger here on "Adventures in Art Therapy." She describes herself as "very passionate about enlightening people about the benefits natural and integrative therapies can have on multiple diseases and illnesses." As a result, she wrote a very timely article on the benefits of art therapy - specifically fabric arts with quilting - with those who suffer from cancer. A little bit about Allie - she attended the University of Mississippi and earned her degree in Biomedical Anthropology. She is now studying in the field to finish an ethnography on the effects of biomedicalization on Bolivian Cultures. Please enjoy her contribution!

The Art of Therapy

How art and medicine are working together

From the dawn of man, art has been used as a way to release creativity, tell a story, decorate hallways, and maybe poke fun of an enemy. But no matter what, art is a visual or verbal way to express a person’s emotions, character, and insight; basically an extension of the artist. Even though it seems like a way to pass time, to make a gift, or continue a hobby, art is making its debut in hospitals all around the world as a way to manage stress and release feelings during cancer treatments.

Though cancer is a physical issue, it is very common for cancer patients to encounter severe emotional and psychological malaise. This is where art therapy comes into play. Dr. Josee Leclerc, who has a private practice for art therapy, states, “Art therapy really allows for an expression that words would not. The goal is to allow for emotions that are too difficult to put into works, or to use the image as a mirror or a witness of what the person is feeling, experiencing, or going through.”

The most notable of the cancer art therapies are the quilting projects. There have been multiple quilting programs in hospitals around the United States. Deborah Theriault has been facilitating quilting projects in the major cities of New Brunswick for years and stated, “This form of therapy gave them an avenue that changed their focus and spiritually took them away from their hospital beds and away from their sickness.” These quilts then go on to be a testament of their battle for survivors, and for the patients that did not survive, the quilts become a fond memory for the families.

Lin Swensson is another quilt therapist which travels to different hospitals to offer lessons. She encourages patients to either paint their stories on swatches of fabric or use pieces donated by local fabric stores. Patients find the quilting very therapeutic and often make quilts for one another. One lady, named Kate Graves, said that the quilts were “something tangible that could express far more than a get-well card.”

“Building Blocks” Kate Graves

Though this form of art therapy is not considered a form of cancer treatment, it is gaining a solid reputation as an alternative way to rehabilitate cancer patients. Many doctors recommend patients diagnosed with a low-survivability rate or aggressive cancer, such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma or pleural mesothelioma, to look into a form of art therapy. Even though every cancer is a serious cancer, the ones with the harsher treatments drain the person of morale quicker. Art therapy is not only an escape from the typical treatment routine, but it also improves self-esteem and gives the patient a sense of control when it seems out of reach.

Brain surgery triggers compulsive artmaking

I came across this program on TV about "Ingenious Minds," and this one particular program followed the case of a chiropractor who had to have brain surgery to unwrap blood vessels that were pinching a nerve near his ear. After some complications from the surgery, they had to remove part of his cerebellum to ease some swelling. As a result, he encountered some side effects, such as double vision, difficulty with balance, and....the compulsive need to create art. Neuroscientists are now studying his brain makeup to see how the structure of his brain is linked to creativity. Watch the episode below:

Jon Sarkin was a successful chiropractor until he suffered a brain aneurysm while golfing. While in surgery, Jon died on the table and doctors had to remove nearly half of his cerebellum to save his life. Jon couldn't walk or talk for a year and he started drawing and painting as a way to communicate.

For Jon, making art isn't an option: it's his life and his curse. Jon's condition is a rare one known as "acquired savant syndrome." Some of the world's most esteemed neurologists want to study his brain to understand his sudden compulsion to create art.

The researchers discover that Jon's brain re-wired itself after the trauma. Functions that the cerebellum usually controls (motor control, attention span) have been re-routed to the frontal lobe, which usually handles high-level functions like abstract thinking, decision-making and creativity.

Free Lecture on the Importance of Positive Emotions

Positive Psychology and Art Therapy: The Importance of Positive Emotions @ GWU, Alexandria, VA

When: Saturday, Dec 3, 2011

Where: George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program, 413 John Carlyle Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 (map)

Positive Psychology and Art Therapy: The Importance of Positive Emotions Free Lecture 

Gioia Chilton, MA, ATR-BC Rebecca Wilkinson, MA-ATR-BC 

Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 11:00 Am – 12:15 Pm 

Sponsored by Creative Wellbeing Workshops, LLC, the Potomac Art Therapy Association, and the George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program (1.25 CEC’s available, free for PATA members, $10 administrative fee for non-members*) 

 

This workshop with include a brief overview of the field of Positive Psychology, the science of happiness. We will focus most in depth on the contributions of Barbara Fredrickson in her work on Positive Emotions and their ability to broaden perception and build resilience. The evolutionary function of negative and positive emotions will be explored. We will examine art therapy’s role in promoting positive emotions. Art Therapy interventions for increasing positive emotions will be explored. 

 

Objective 1) Attendees will be able to list two characteristics of Positive Psychology. 

Objective 2) Attendees will be able to describe Barbara Fredrickson’s broaden and build theory of positive emotions. 

Objective 3) Attendees will be able to list three ways that art therapy promotes positive emotions in our clients. 

 

Held at the George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program, 413 John Carlyle Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. To register call 202 352 5225. Facilities are handicap accessible. Creative Wellbeing Workshops is co-sponsor of this event with the Potomac Art Therapy Association (NBCC provider #6500) and the George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program. The Potomac Art Therapy Association may award NBCC approved clock hours for events or programs that meet NBCC requirements. Creative Wellbeing Workshops and the Potomac Art Therapy Association and the George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program maintain responsibility for the content of this event.

A New Tack on Modern Art!

Art Gallery Cleaner Unknowingly Scrubs Artwork

In the world of art in general...

Art Gallery Cleaner Destroys Artwork worth $1,118,000

There's a lot to be said for keeping a space clean and tidy. But when that space happens to be an art gallery, you have to be careful what you're sanitizing. An overzealous cleaner at a German gallery found that out the hard way when she ruined a sculpture valued at €800,000 (CAD$1,118,650) because she thought it was dirty.

The artwork, which was created by German artist Martin Kippenberger who died in 1997, was called 'When It Starts Dripping From the Ceiling'. It featured a rubber trough placed under a wooden tower, with paint inside the trough meant to represent dried rainwater. The cleaner obviously thought it was just dirt, and managed to remove it all with a scouring brush.

This isn't the first time a work of art has been mistaken for something that needs to be cleaned up. In 2001, an installation by British artist Damien Hirst was swept up and thrown away by a cleaner at the Eyestorm gallery. Of course in that case, the "art" in question was a room full of ashtrays, half-filled coffee cups, empty beer bottles and newspapers, so the cleaner could be forgiven. The artist himself found the whole thing "fantastic. Very funny."

Other artworks have been lost or damaged this way, including a so-called "grease stain" by Joseph Beuys which was apparently valued at about $557,000, and a work by artist Gustav Metzger at the Tate gallery in Britain that included - you guessed it - a bag of trash. Apparently the old saying/cliché is true: one man's trash really is another man's treasure.