N Street Village Artists at Fathom Creative

"Portrait of Hope"

“What do you think?” the woman asked me as I gazed at a dark, skull-like image surrounded by bright triangles of red, yellow, green and blue.  “I love it!” I exclaimed.  “I’m the artist.” the woman responded proudly.

The powerful painting reminded me of Haitian art and was part of an exhibit of artwork by N St. Village women at Fathom Creative (1333 14^th St.) in the District. The artist told me that she paints with the strength of the earth in mind, and likes to use bold, bright colors. She expressed amazement at the exhibit, saying that when she was making the art, she wasn’t thinking that others would even see it. Yet here it was, framed and looking like more than what she thought it could be.

Beth Marie Tutt at opening

The exhibit is only up for a short time, but the large crowd at the opening on April 20 was exuberant and enthusiastic.  Graduate Art Therapy intern Beth Marie Tutt curated the show.  She spent the year working with the women at N St. Village, helping them to express their struggles, put visual voice to their life stories and make some sense of where their lives can go.  Standing in the crowded room at the opening, it was clear that art is more than expression, more than communication; art brings people together, art builds community, and art helps us transcend our stressful lives to become more than we think we can be.       ~LR Garlock

N Street Village artwork

Mastering Supervision: Creating a Learning Environment for Both Supervisor and Supervisee

Monday, March 7, 2011

5-7 pm

Silver Spring, MD

or

Friday, March 11, 2011

4-6 pm

Alexandria Graduate Center

Providing an atmosphere in which the supervisee feels understood is one of the primary tasks of the supervisor, and if the supervisor can initiate and perpetuate this environment, learning will occur for both members of the dyad. However, both members of the dyad influence the success of this task. We will continue to talk about the reciprocity and mutual influence between patient and therapist and between supervisee and supervisor.

 

Art Therapy Graduate Art Exhibit

This gallery contains 5 photos.

Now showing! The Class of 2011 is currently exhibiting their artwork. The show will be up until May 26th–don’t miss it!

The Medicine Fan

Medicine Fan Presentation

Yvonne Bushyhead, JD from the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band Cherokee inspired us all with her healing words of survivorship last month.  This occasion marked her first presentation of her new book The Medicine Fan, due out in April of 2011 through the Mayo Cancer Clinic.

Abstract: THE MEDICINE FAN was written after the Bushyhead family experienced one family member who suffered and recovered from Stage 3B cancer. Our belief continues to be based on whole wellness supported with a foundation of spiritual and emotional health. These teachings along with ceremonies are credited with our survivors renewal and family renewal as well to health, and, with our continued search for growth, health, and wholeness. We soon became aware of numerous other relatives experiencing what we had. We want to present this book to our relatives who are on their journey searching for restoration to emotional and spiritual health and wellness.

Bringing in 2011

Art at the Center held their second annual Light the Night community art event, inviting the community to view the childrens artwork from the studio’s fall session, and to create light paintings – using only a camera, tripod, and flashlights.

Light Painting at Art at the Center

 

Kids experimented with shape, color, and movement as the group shared ideas for each picture.  Working together in indoor and outdoor spaces, groups used different techniques and movements to create their images.  A large monitor was connected to the camera so  the group could see their light paintings almost instantly after each shot was taken. Every finished light painting was always a surprise!  Check out examples of their light paintings.

Last year’s Light the Night event at Art at the Center was featured in the book: Paint the World with Light: a Student Creative Production which you can find on here, and a preview here.

by Anna Goist, Art at the Center Intern

Miriam’s Excellence Award goes to…

Kate Baasch, GW Art Therapy Program alumna!  According to Catherine Crum, the Deputy Director at Miriam’s Kitchen, the Miriam’s Excellence Award is given to a staff member who has gone “above and beyond” in his or her work.  The awardee is rewarded

Kate and Miriam's artist

for being a team player, a role model, an inspiration, and someone who goes to great lengths to help our guests and our programs.

Kate Baasch received a 2010 Miriam’s Kitchen Excellence award for her “huge contributions in making the Evening Program a success from the very beginning.  Though she is in a constant battle with the art cart, Kate has made the Miriam’s Art Therapy program soar to new heights and has encouraged art making as a non-intimidating friend for so many guests.  She also coordinated and co-coordinated the Passport to Health Program in a thoughtful and enthusiastic way, ultimately allowing our guests to lead healthier and happier lives. With her co-worker Hilary, Kate has coordinated a Life Skills program that joins the spa in being the star of our Wednesday Café, helping guests to acquire new skills and information to help better their lives.   Perhaps most of all, Kate is an incredible case manager, inviting our guests to experience hospitality and receive services in a caring, dignified atmosphere.  Kate is an amazing, caring, dependable, and enthusiastic co-worker.  She is ready with a celebration theme at the drop of a hat, she can whip up an original card in fewer than three minutes, and she always ALWAYS brings the party with her.  For these reasons and so many more, we crown Kate Baasch a winner of the Miriam’s Excellence award.”

Note: Miriam’s Kitchen is a community-based organization working with men and women who are currently homeless.  Breakfast and dinner programs, transitional housing and expressive arts are some of the many services provided to people in the City of DC.  Miriam’s Kitchen has been an internship site for the GW Art Therapy Program since 2003, and Kate was the Art Therapy intern before she became a full-time staff member.  Congratulations, Kate!

Supervision Endings to Beginnings

We are now at the end of the first semester and, as always, it went extremely fast!  Thank you all for the great work you’ve done this semester.  Students have learned so much, and the Art Therapy Program appreciates all that you do to enable students to learn and grow.  As we approach the end of the year, we hope you all have an inspiring, bright and loving holiday season.  We will see you all next year for more memorable times!

Spin-a-Whirl

"The Way We Heal" by Peter Boome

Spin-a-whirl!  What a great word for an ancient and useful object.  In the Northwest Coast Salish community, a spin-a-whirl is a carved disc used to help with spinning wool.  Peter Boome, a contemporary Salish artist from the Skagit tribe, explained that the shedded wool of mountain goats was collected, spun into yarn and woven into hats and sweaters.  Much of indigenous artwork was destroyed by early missionaries, so for a time it seemed that the art traditions were lost.  However, in the 1970s a Salish artist re-created a visual representation of a spin-a-whirl which began a revival of southern Northwest Coast art, created with respect to traditional stories and the integral relationships with the environment.   According to Peter’s artist statement,  “… art influences and guides cultures in many directions and ways.  If you accept that art and culture are intrinsically connected you realize that art, like culture is malleable, while based on a historic foundation both continue to evolve and expand.”  It was an honor to have Peter presenting about his art and culture here, and if you missed it, you can see more of his art at his website.

Northwest Coast Art

Peter Boome, Salish artist, presented at the GW Art Therapy Program, Friday, December 3.  Story to follow.

Research

Autism: Unraveling the Disorder’s Complexity

As reported in the inaugural issue of GW Arts & Sciences Magazine Fall/Winter 2010

With the spectrum of autism symptoms ranging from awkwardness to severe disability, early behavioral and educational intervention is critical to enabling full and productive lives for those who are diagnosed. In addition to the work of Grinker, Rothblat, and Subiaul, other Columbian College faculty members are making significant inroads in understanding autism.

Donna Betts, assistant professor of art therapy, studies the clinical utility of art therapy in addressing treatment goals of individuals with autism…Read more

Healing Pathways: Art Therapy for American Indian Cancer Survivors

PI: Elizabeth Warson, PhD, ATR-BC, LPC, NCC

This 2010-2011 efficacy study is an expansion of the 2007 Healing Pathways pilot study, funded by a Young Investigator’s Award (American Cancer Society) through the George Washington University’s Cancer Institute. The aim of this ethnographic study is explore the effects of culturally-relevant art therapy interventions as a form of stress reduction, addressing quality of life factors for Native cancer survivors from the Coharie, Waccamaw Siouan, Lumbee, and Haliwa Sapony tribes.  A total of 14 art therapy workshops are planned for these communities.  At the time of this posting, eight workshops have been conducted with 114 participants.  The three-hour pre workshop incorporates a “healing circle” or guided visualization drawing focused on decreasing perceptions of stress.  The follow-up workshop employs visual journaling and clay therapy.  Data analysis is being conducted using NVivo8 on both the workshop discussion and artwork.

Healing Circle

Essential Resource
Donna Betts, PhD, ATR-BC, has spent the past year planning and implementing a new resource for the art therapy community: The International Art Therapy Research Database (IATRD).  As originally conceived by Linda Gantt, PhD, ATR-BC in 1992, the IATRD is an internet-accessible repository of artworks made by members of different social, national and/or diagnostic groups, with comments from the artists and art therapists, supplemented with pertinent demographic and diagnostic data.  You can check out the IATRD in its preliminary phase and learn more about it at:  www.arttherapyresearch.com As the IARTD Director, Donna will continue to build and develop this resource, which should be ready to launch officially in 2011, with the support of IATRD Technical Director John Lorance, MS, ATR, and a student assistant.