Art Therapy research to seek medical changes in the Brain

Yes, Virginia, There Is Some Art Therapy Research

There is more evidence on art therapy than you think. 

Check out this article by Cathy Malchiodi from Psychology Today

 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-healing-arts/201302/yes-virginia-there-is-some-art-therapy-research

Art Therapy Feature- Does the environment make a difference for kids? (WFMW)

So it’s about the environment that we create for our children that will make a huge difference in their creative lives. The physical environment starts off with media available to them, media appropriate for their age group, I might add (I will post about the media range in future weeks/months…come subscribe to the RSS feed now and check back often).

Modeling the behavior is also part of the physical environment…do you create? Do you give yourself time to get messy and play with crayons, markers, clay, paint, colored water, needle and thread? Children’s brains work in such a way that they are very tactile…they learn by touching, seeing, doing. Their developing brains need constant stimulation to grow pathways that will enable them to achieve new abilities now and later in life. In the Alzheimer’s world it’s called “Use it or loose it!” well, with art, creativity and kids you are encouraging them to develop it, so they can use it and hopefully keep using it. If you are one of the many wonderful artists from Etsy then you are half way there!

Now, to establish their mental environment: It’s important to establish space to create. Space and boundaries can be established with lines drawn on the driveway with sidewalk chalk or with painter’s tape on the kitchen table. Use of a placemat or tray is also helpful to establish boundaries. Paper itself is a boundary of sorts but clay or textile work may need more effort to set up and put away. Yes, these are also physical ways of manipulating their environments but what you are also doing is un-cluttering their visual space. Once they have space to focus to task they are more apt to benefit from the time spent doing the activity.

What if you have siblings and a toddler keeps touching older brother or sister’s image? A common response is, “oh, Suzy just wants to do what you are doing”. That will only lead to the older child feeling under valued. When a child wants to create make sure you set up space for both or all children in the home. Art is like a magnet and if one leads, others will follow. Applaud the leadership of the older child to initiate the activity and ask the older child from the beginning to help set up space for both/all.

Reinforce boundaries, “this is your paper and that is Johny’s”. Be careful not to add your artistic touch to an image or creation without asking first too. They may allow it but they may also feel like they have no other choice as most kids want to please the parent. Respect, on all levels of creativity, will yield a happy, creative, well developed sense of autonomy and encourage positive sibling interaction.

It is common to hear that the older child wants to work with markers but the younger child is unable to refrain from drawing on their body and mom or dad would prefer crayons be used. Know this going into the process, and brainstorm what artists use and maybe get some higher-end crayons for the children. The older child will love that they are “artist” quality media and the younger child will be using developmentally appropriate media. Also have a crayon sharpener available to the older child for a chiseled tip, this too is a tool that they will value as special to their age and will allow for more precise line placement.

The spiritual environment is the space you give to their fragile and ever developing sense of self and self worth. Different age groups have different needs with this, sometimes it’s strictly through peer interaction but often times it’s the refueling they get from mom and dad that helps foster their sense of wholeness verses feelings of inadequacy. When your child draws or creates…do you hear yourself saying, “Oh honey, it’s wonderful, what is it?” This simple statement can be so earth shatteringly painful to their egos. All of a sudden what was simple expression and play has turned into function and value and performance…trying to please mom or dad, they respond with “It’s you”…or some other idea that pops into their head.

The time a child creates…the seconds of creation is when you will find out what the image expresses…not minutes after it’s completed. Spend time with your child while they create. Foster a dialogue with them about their use of color and stroke, how they choose to fill up space or choose to leave areas empty. Encourage them to project thoughts into the scribble or image…”if your picture could talk what would it say to you? What is it thinking? What does the painting wish they could do? What is the yellow color feeling?” Rather than asking them “what is it” remark about the shapes and juxtaposition of objects, balance of the image or asymmetry. Yes, I do use those terms with my kids since they were about 2 or 3 and drawing up a storm…it expands their vocabulary and provides words of value to what they create, rather than judging and providing expectations of performance.

Embrace the image whether it is pretty or not to your eye, the moment of expression is beautiful and that is ART! Support their process of creating through support of the environment whether the end result is a cherished keepsake or not.


Maybe you are just not crafty...or maybe no one encouraged your creativity when you were younger...look to kits to help guide you and your kids through exploration of new materials. Threadibilities Craft Kits(TM) are available at HappyHouseQuilts.com

I am a Master's Level Art Therapist. I will be writing articles about Art Therapy from time to time here at my blog. Find them quick by searching my blog for Art Therapy. Thanks for reading this lengthy post and come back soon.

For more works for me Wednesday ideas go to Rocks in my dryer
For more Works for me Wednesday ideas here at HHQ search WFMW

Playsilks for Children: Not just a simple piece of cloth.

Do you remember being a child and running free in a field with the wind all around you? Think about being on a swing and feeling the wind rush past your face as you pump to get as high as you can. The urge to run, skip, hop, and stand still in the breeze is inherent to a child. You might say it’s their job to be curious about the world and find joy in experiencing it. Our job’s as parents, educators, and care givers is to support that desire and to encourage it. It is our job to instill a sense of wonder so that further development can take place. Growth is then stimulated in terms of gross motor (physical), emotional, intellectual and spiritual development.

Playsilks are a simple piece of cloth to adults. Something that at first glance is pretty but not as flashy as a video game or other electronic device. I would encourage every family with pre-school and/or young school age children to own a playsilk for their toy box/dress-up area. Playsilks are colorful, soft to the touch and are light as air as you float and soar like a butterfly or eagle. Stimulating a child’s visual and tactile senses is a positive and beneficial thing to do as a parent. Playsilks also offer a world of creative opportunity. The cape, wings, veil, skirt, shawl, or other object the silk transforms into is the basic activity you want to happen. You want your child to take a simple object and project a world of fantasy onto it in order that they may rework situations that brought them conflict or anxiety. You want your child to grow those neuronal pathways in their brains and to develop the ability to problem solve as they interact with the outside world.

Yes, Playsilks might be only simple cloth…but to a child it’s a wonderful adventure to maturity. Bring home a playsilk for your child today!

Find Playsilks at Etsy here by Searching "Playsilk EtsyMom"

I am the founding member of the Street Team for mothers with small children at home called EtsyMom Search EtsyMom at Etsy whenever you can, Thank you.

I earned my Master of Science in Art Therapy at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfok, VA
I have worked with children, adolescents, adults and geriatrics in the field of Art Therapy. I am also a mother of 3 small children.

Find more posts about Art Therapy here.

Art Therapy: Special healing for kids facing cancer in a parent.

So for those of you that don't know, I'm an art therapist, I got my master's training at Eastern Virginia Medical School and although I'm not working as one right now, I am glad to have the training through my cancer journey as it has helped my kids cope.

Here are some ways that you can help children express themselves when faced with cancer in the family.

***Encourage them to talk, dedicate time to each child if there are multiple siblings...but we know some kids are too little to verbalize their feelings or sometimes older children are afraid to express negative emotions (like anger) for fear of disappointing a parent that has often told them to go to "time out" to pull it together. Creative expression is FREE of guilt, it's a POSITIVE way to sublimate all feelings and it's SAFE for the child and not so scary to put feelings on paper or manipulate clay. Try to look at the creative process as Active Mastery over an unknown...they can play and give words to characters...the characters can say and feel what they can not.

Body tracing was a successful project that we ended up bringing into a therapy session. The kids have seen a therapist for a few weeks now and I am relieved to have him work with them through this difficult time.

We took mural paper (but you could also tape paper together), I laid down on top of it, and each of them traced my body. Then they each had a life size version of "mommy" to work on and help heal. This project was done prior to my surgery as the therapist and I both thought that anxiety was building in them and a sense of lack of control. So this one (above) was done by my 8 year old...it's the "inside of mommy". She made sure to add the chemo/medicine (yellow) that is still fighting the cancer and my blood (red) that carries it throughout my body. And the Cancer (blue) that has yet to be removed in surgery. She made a key just in case we were confused. She was able to demonstrate in increase in control over her mural despite lack of control on a daily basis.
This next body tracing is by my middle daughter she is almost 7 and in first grade.

She wanted to focus on my "skeleton" and she showed my blood flowing by encapsulating the drawing in a thick outline of red. Interesting to note, she added an umbilical cord in my "tummy" and she made a point of referring to that part of my anatomy as where she came from. She even wanted to sit inside the "tummy" for this picture.

We brought the murals into a therapy session and it was wonderful for mommy not to be the therapist but allow the kids to share with another adult their images. He encouraged them to add more to the images and they drew and cut colors (construction paper) and made shapes, glued and pasted. What warmed my heart most was when they traced their hands and then cut and glued them onto my chest...it was their way of laying hands on me and helping be heal.

In past posts I have shared images of the dolls we have made. Here is another picture of the medicine/angel and cancer/monster dolls...can you tell which is which? Emily had fun holding the cancer doll by the hair in a disrespectful way...again showing domination over the disease and letting it know who was in control. She is even showing in her expression that sense of control...such sass!!! It is great for her to give it to a doll instead of mommy...*grin*.

Ellie has made a story with a beginning, middle and end for the dolls to act out. We have actually tried to act it out on video too...but we agreed that we weren't loud enough and we needed a script to follow a little bit. The story starts by the character on the right singing at a microphone and the "monster" sneaking up behind her. The "angel" sees this and...
with all her power and faith (medicine/chemo) shrinks the "monster" so it isn't so destructive...After the "cancer" looses it's power it transforms into "color girl" and helps make rainbows for the world.

It's important to note that with school age children dealing with cancer in a parent can be quite traumatizing. Emily has asked me several times if I am going to die. Don't underestimate the thoughts that are going through their minds. We have chosen to share the diagnosis and treatment with the kids to a degree that they are able to understand it. Using art and creative activities has helped them sort out the huge emotions that come with a mom being sick. Children who are unable to express themselves can often exhibit difficulties in school and can have difficulty concentrating in class. Children who are younger can even demonstrate regression to earlier stages of development as a way of expressing their inner world of confusion as to why mommy is so distracted. My youngest was just starting to use the potty but she has slowed way down in using it on a daily basis. But she is able to scribble and draw and express herself each day.

Whether a child draws a story, writes a story, makes a doll (with clay or fabric) or manipulates a body tracing....artistic outlets help kids express their inner turmoil. Cancer is a big deal to anyone, but helping give a child tools to master it and feel like they have some say in what's happening is very empowering and will help them through a difficult time in their childhood. I have seen first hand how my kids have benefited from art therapy. I hope sharing this helps others somehow too.

Update on Echinacea Wall Hanging: the symbolic representation of 3

Just a quickie update on my Art Therapy wall hanging....it's still a work in progress

The picture doesn't do it justice but the leaves are all needle punched on cotton batting, painting the color on with wool and silk as I went along, then i stitched them down to the quilt top using needle turn applique and stuffed them like in the technique trupunto...there is such a 3-D effect! The flower centers will be stuffed too...and the center flower petals will be free flowing...attached at the cone's base...i do hope i can get most of it done prior to surgery...beading will have to wait for another year...but that is in my vision too.

The "ground" is made of silk fusion in green and purple and then hand painted (by me) scrim was used to over lay and add further depth and texture...the painted scrim actually weaves through the center leaf (center bottom)...which is only attached at particular points on the quilt top.

I'll leave most of the self analysis out of the post for your ease of reading...I get a little carried away...but I will share the the symbolic representation of how the number 3 plays it's part in the composition...as it represents my past, present and future as well as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, oh yea, and my 3 girls and how it has impacted their lives...they are so little...blooming away despite this disease.That is me (center flower above), standing tall, putting forth all my color to get through chemo...
my bloom will wither as surgery comes...this picture was taken the other day of my garden and what the flowers look like now.but only to await another bloom after dormancy...I WILL persevere just like the perenial Echinacea plant I chose for the project.
the flowers need to be stitched and the petals added again to the center flower...but those will be last as I will do the "quilting" prior to adding them...to ease the process of machine stitching.

See this other post back in July when i started this project...you can see how it's changed

And this link about how I dyed the silk and did "Silk Fusion" for the base and petals

Create from within everyone!

P.S.
The kids and I are also back on track for working on the Art Therapy project with the dolls (see this post for more info)...Ellie (she will be 7 in Nov) has drawn pictures to tell a story with a beginning, middle and end...and we just filmed a dress rehersal...we realized we need a script...Emily (who is 8 1/2) will work on that...and we will re-tape the dramatic story and I will need to figure out how to upload the movie to my computer...so stay tuned....but be patient.

WFMW - Stickers in Car for Baby or Road Trip Fun!!! Art Therapy activity

Works for me Wednesday -

Well I don't know about all of you but I just love that the kids get stickers at the bank and at the doctor's offices now...but with my first born I didn't know what to do with those wonderful, colorful, stimulating images. So being a creative soul and knowing a little bit about visual stimulation for babies, I started putting them on the inside roof of the car!!! Wow, what an amazing journey it has become over the years!

When DD#1 was a baby she would look up at the images and work on word recognition "Elmo" and color identification "Red" as well as discussing the stories about characters...Once upon a time...she would say and mommy would tell a story about the character in the sticker.

Then along came DD#2 and the collection grew and expanded which led us to playing alphabet games with our toddler and more color and word development with the new baby. Then the girls grew and demanded more chanllenging uses of the stickers. The game of I*SPY evolved, incorporating alphabet awareness, problem solving, understanding rules and managing frustration as well as more color identification in such creative ways.

We are able to recall wonderful memories of trips to parks and field trips with school as we also keep those stickers from being a chaperone or from admittance to zoos and museums.

So now my children have collected hundreds of stickers and enjoy them all whenever we are in the car for short trips to the store or long trips to grandma's house. They use the stickers to communicate to their new little sister (DD#3) and feel connected to her as they now choose stickers that *she* would like to look at and to make sure they all have similar colors and princesses. The bonding and comradere as well as sharing and learning that has occured over the years because we collect stickers has been overwhelming.

Feelings are not to be overlooked either. Sometimes we come across scarey or "not pretty" sticker which we struggled with ...do we give it back to the nice bank teller or are we gracious and say "thank you". They figured out how to use those stickers as well...they have fun putting the "boy" ones in Daddy's seat or we are able to talk about difficult feelings and how those are just as important as other happy, fun feelings. We also are able to look at the images and talk about what that character might be thinking or feeling...we work on compassion as we share that most folks that are angry are usually sad inside about something or haven't been shown much kindness in their life.

The car is not damaged either as opposed to placing stickers on the windows and the kids have a vehicle that they are so incredibly proud of...to play games in, carpool with friends and to just show off to their friends! Everyone wants to ride in our car!

This definitely Works For Me!!! I hope it works for you too!

Click here to find other WFMW posts that I have written about.

Interested in more Art Therapy features...click here!

WFMW is a feature that is linked to Rocks in my Dryer Blog Carnival.

Click here to find more wonderful

Works for Me Wednesday Posts from other members.

Why Learn About Children’s Art?

Art is important to children. It provides them with an outlet for creative expression that is uniquely their own. It helps them gain recognition and acceptance for their ideas and feelings. For the healthy child, art expression is a way to chart intellectual and emotional growth. For the learning-disabled child, who often feels inadequate, acceptance of the child’s artwork may be the first step in helping the child toward self-acceptance.

Excerpt from See What I’m Saying by Dr. Myra Levick.

I am a Master's Level Art Therapist, I will try to bring you more information about Art Therapy in the weeks and months to come! Enjoy!

Happy House Quilts featured at Crafts of Texture

Sara at Crafts of Texture is always looking for artists and crafters from all backgrounds, disciplines and skill levels to add guest writer articles to her blog ‘Crafts of Texture’. She wants to share with her readers all kinds of art and craft experiences, from tips and advice to markets, fairs and historical background. She is hoping that with all of our help we can extend our crafting community, by sharing our own love of what we do.
Article:
Art Therapy – Does the environment make a difference for kids? Written by guest writer Jodi of Happy House Quilts
Jodi is a Master's Level Art Therapist who studied at Eastern Virginia Medical School and has worked therapeutically with the entire developmental age spectrum.
http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com/200...nment-make.html http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com

WFMW Learn new things -Needle felting is my new love!!!

This weeks Works for me Wednesday post is all about me...I am working on balancing my spirit...so I do it with art...Needle felting is my new craft that I'm becoming passionate about...

Here is the story of my first landscape...

So it started out with yellow roving from WhimzyPinzy's shop at Etsy...then I layered the roving in opposing directions and needle felted it...

Added some colored roving on top and molded shapes and lines...

More Color, shapes...more shapes, outlined shapes in darker shades of same color...auditioned fibers...some worked others didn't...tried to imagine beading...will hold off for now though...

then started to stitch...and used chenille and pearl cotton...3 colors of green for the blades of grass and stems...

Simple stitching really...lazy daisy and straight stitching...it's so meditative!!! I sat outside in the cool summer day and pushed the kids on the swing while i kept stitching...visited with a friend and let the kids play...

So now what do I do with it??? I will probably mount it onto black wool felt...and maybe use it to adorn a book...journal, sketchbook or Bible cover...but that would involve more sewing and my sewing machine needs to go into the shop...boo hoo...

Well the final product is so pretty...I am really pleased with my first needle felted landscape...I have been very emotional this week...many stresses to be dealt with ...most of all woke up to a flat tire Monday morning after traveling 2 and a half hours to visit family...thank goodness the tire didn't blow out on the highway with all 3 kids, the dog and hubby sleeping in the car...times like that help me know Jesus is there looking out for me and all of us! This could represent my homage to Him...the almighty...the creator...

Life is Good...I am Blessed...I will find shelter in the storm.

To see other posts about wool or wool felting...click on this or search wool.

to see other WFMW posts search WFMW or click here.

To see other Art Therapy posts click here.

Chemo not so bad so far...sneak peek to hair cut too.

Day one of chemo...right before it started...as you can see..i'm smiling! But even after it was done I was just a little bit tired...not too bad. I'm on anti nausea and steroids that are keeping my energy level up and I had a NuLasta shot today to help stimulate my bone marrow to make more white blood cells for days 7-12 when i will see a dip in white blood cell counts and will be highly immuno-suppressed...it's going to get hard with 3 germy kids running around....but the bright side is that it's summer and not winter in NH with cold and flu season. :)Shirley and Jill were the "comfort cart" volunteers this week. They visit with a cart once a week to the infusion unit. What a nice thing to do...I also got to experience Reiki which is a healing energy art form led by 2 other volunteers...i'll have to update this again with their names...I've misplaced them. The ice cream was a nice start to my chemo regime...too bad I can't get it more often.

To donate to the Breast Cancer program at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center...follow this link.
I'm not sure if you can directly go to the breast care center but this was all done at the infusion chemo room...so many Norris Cotton Cancer patients will benefit :) Thanks in advance!

So here is the new hair do...I haven't had my hair this short since fifth grade when my mom cut my hair to look like Dorothy Hamill...oh back in the day it was all the rage. My oncologist saw my hair cut and said it was still too long and that it might be shocking when it falls out in clumps but...at least it was a good first step....I guess you will all get to see me get the head shave too...I'll keep you posted if I'm not to modest to share them.



about 10 inches went to locks of love...not bad!


Here we were the other day (that's Becky with the medicine/angel/fairy doll) sewing up some new fleece hair...the burlad didn't cut it...and that's Karen with the monster doll with my 6 year old picking out eyes and sewing up the hole in her side.


Find more info about our Art Therapy Project with kids and Beating Breast Cancer, click here!

Metaphore for my life...Sandtrap!

what good friends i have here in cyberspace...WhimzyPinzy a fellow EtsyMom has posted a comment at my flickr site about this picture. She has shared some wisdom about this picture and insight into my situation and I am grateful.

Hey Whimz...I see the green and I am only a few shots away! Then I'll come into the 19th hole and have a mudslide and a turkey reuben with the awesome fries that Loudon Country Club is famous for!

Now to return the favor...for those of you looking to knit or crochet some hats for cancer patients (hee hee...I'm sure your local hospital will take donated handmade chemo caps!)...or some socks or some afghans... Whimzy has awesome yarns all hand spun and hand dyed...check her out at Etsy.com and on her own website: WhimzyPinzyCreations.com.
Wow and as an adendum...she added a blog post about me...and a socks for cancer pattern...check it out...but don't forget to come on back to visit me again?!

Find most posts about my Breast Cancer Journey here.
Find more posts about my Breast Cancer Journey and Art Therapy with the kids.