Art Therapy

Art Therapy Helps Alzheimer’s Patients Improve Memory

There was a recent news story about a Woodland Hills physician, Dr. Arnold Bresky, who calls himself a “preventive gerontologist.” He’s been utilizing art therapy for patients that have Alzheimer’s and dementia.

He claims he has achieved a 70% success rate with in improving his patient’s memories. Continue reading »

Reader Uses Art to Help Women and Children Dealing With Violence and Abuse

The following is a story submitted by a reader that I think is a wonderful story to share. Santilla helps out at a healing and empowerment center in New Orleans, Louisiana, where they offer safety and healing to women and children. It’s a testament to art, but also to how we can all do something to help others. Here is what she sent to me: Continue reading »

Reader Story: Art Therapy, Painting, Osteoarthritis, Anemia, & Collages!

Angela Harrison originally left these comments on the site, but I thought they deserved to be shared and thusly their own post. There’s a few comments, but I thought they were very moving. Enjoy, and thank you Angela for sharing your story with us. Continue reading »

Art Therapy On Twitter!

Apologies for the recent hiatus. I’ve been quite busy the last couple months and am sad that I haven’t had a chance to post as much lately.

One bit of exciting news that I wanted to share is that I’ve been experimenting with Twitter as a way to communicate and promote stories and news about art therapy. I think it’s a handy tool to share interesting news about art therapy.

In case you haven’t heard of twitter, check it out at www.twitter.com. It’s not for everybody, and it admittedly took me some time to even get the point of it…though, I’m still not sure I understand what all the hype is about.

If you decide to sign up and are interested in receiving “tweets” about art therapy, you can follow us: art therapy on twitter (aka @arttherapy).

I haven’t quite decided yet, but I may highlight the best stories and links here on the site as well. Is this something y’all would be interested in?

A few other things worth mentioning…I’m working on adding a schools and education section as well as a featured artist section. I have a couple artists lined up, one of which has been mentioned on Oprah and will include a book giveaway. I haven’t quite figured out the details, but I think I’ll be giving away one book through the site and one through twitter. Stay tuned over the next couple months…

Also, thanks everyone for your generous comments and support. Hope you’re having a good start to your summer!

Art Therapy Helps Breast Cancer Patients

A recent report reveals that women with breast cancer receiving radiation treatment experienced improved mental health, physical health, and an overall higher quality of life after 5 sessions of art therapy.

The findings were a result of testing art therapy intervention among 41 women receiving radiation treatment for breast cancer. The women were randomly selected as part of one of two groups. The first group received five individual art therapy sessions for one hour per week, while the control group did not participate in any art therapy sessions. Continue reading »

Valentine’s Day Art Therapy Ideas, Activities

Valentine's Day Art Therapy Ideas & Activities

(Remember, you can do this any time of the year!)

Valentine’s Day is meant to be a time of year when you do something special for someone special you love. Even though the holiday is grossly over-commercialized in my opinion (a separate topic altogether!), there are still concepts from the holiday you can’t deny and that we should apply to our everyday lives. Continue reading »

Valentine’s Day Art Event in New York

Creative Pier is having another holiday-themed art event. Details are below:

Romance With Art

Celebrate Valentine’s Day by sharing a special afternoon of art, play and creativity with your loved one. Choose an art project from our special “Art Menu” and discover new passions!

· pick a color and take turns spinning out shapes and lines in watercolor conversation
· discover the sensuousness of clay
· create your own dream house
· or just be spontaneous and let the playful creativity flow between you.

Whatever art form you choose - you will create a memorable moment for the two of you.
$65/couple, 2PM-5PM Saturday, February 14th
Complimentary wine and chocolates are offered throughout the afternoon!

Space is limited, please call 212-674-7437 or register online in advance at www.creativepier.com.

Video: Art Therapy Helps Former Terrorists Rehabilitate

PBS and reporter Nancy Durham take a look inside Saudi Arabia’s innovative reform program for former militant extremists. The rehabilitation program uses a combination of psychological counseling, religious re-education, and art therapy to help reform these former militant jihadists. This video discusses art therapy and how it’s used for rehab. Continue reading »

Pierre Bonnard Quote - Art Therapy Quote

 
Pierre Bonnard - Model in Backlight

Here’s a great art quote by Pierre Bonnard that speaks to the therapeutic nature of art.

“Painting has to get back to its original goal, examining the inner lives of human beings.”

Painting, and art in general, is often a reflection of the lives of people. Sometimes the reflection represents the lives of the people in the artwork and sometimes it represents the life of the artist. Examining art and what it represents is nothing new. Art therapy expands on this concept to examine the life of the artist.

About Pierre Bonnard

Pierre Bonnard was a French painter and printmaker, born on October 3, 1867. He was the son of a prominent official of the French Ministry of War. Bonnard studied law but attended art classes on the side.

In his 20’s Bonnard joined a group of young artists that were committed to creating symbolic and spiritual artwork. He is known for his intense use of colors, especially with small brushmarks and close values. His art is often narrative and autobiographical containing sunlit interiors with friends and family.

You can read more about Pierre Bonnard and see more of his work here:
Art Institute of Chicago - Images of his work.
Wikipedia - More information about Pierre Bonnard and some of his work.
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco - Images of Pierre Bonnard’s work.

Last Minute Holiday Art Therapy Ideas

The holidays can be a stressful time of year for a lot of people. Although many people are on vacation and have some time off during the holidays, it’s not always the most relaxing time of year. Stress during the holidays can stem from family, friends, finding gifts, holiday traffic, long lines, money…you get the idea.

With all the stress of the holidays, there’s a lot of creativity that can go into (or come out of) the holidays as well. Here are some last minute holiday/Christmas art therapy ideas you can expand on to release some of the stress and anxiety:

• make your own wrapping paper…use old newspapers, magazines, cloth, etc.
• make ornaments from various crafts around the house
• decorate holiday foods such as cookies, pies, etc.
• make a picture or photo frame
• cut out parts of old holiday cards to create a new holiday card or holiday collage

These are just a few ideas to get you started. Feel free to expand on these ideas and your own creative touch. And if you’d like to share them in the comments, even better!

The Art Therapy Blog wishes you and your loved ones a Happy Holidays and a joyous new year!