Symbolic Projections

Lets just get right down to it, you've either tried it and loved it or you're currently wondering what I'm talking about. Gelatin prints that's what. A few years ago a student introduced me to the wonders of using homemade gelatin as a printing plate (sugar free kind). As it turns out it is a very versatile work surface that brings an element of intrigue and play into the work space. When my clients first hear I'll be bringing in gelatin, they seek out napkins and forks and eagerly away the obviously tasty snack. The sound of dreams shattering as I pull-out the gelatin plates is audible (if only short lived). Soon everyone is poking and wiggling the gelatin and wondering what we'll be doing with it. Play is an important aspect of what I do. So is creativity and genuine interest. These things are however harder to come-by in adults than their younger counterparts (who jump-into explorer mode instinctively).  Sometimes I have to coerce these attr...

It's been a summer of experiments.  Playing with paint blobs, ink dribbles, and glue squirts.  Although results may on first glance look similar you'll see results of 2-3 varied processes. They all worked well for mindful exploration of media. I find the process to help connect my clients to their senses and to an abstract representation of behavior/action.  Here are some highlights in a photo-essay sort of way (mind you it's my first, so bare with me). Playing around with 'clean' mono printing. I called these "sac" prints because I used garbage bags "sacs" to sandwich the paints. Using this method leaves hands clean and lets the artist feel the paint squishing under their fingertips. You aught to try it! Print taken at the crease of the "sac" and the table gives a mirror effect. Reminiscent of ink blots! Also experimented with laser compatible transparency sheets and glue+india ink+watercolors. The effects were stunn...

Summer seems to be the time for tie dye and outdoor activities -- in Florida that also means spontaneous monsoon-like thunderstorms and zillions (yes, zillions) of mosquitoes. So, if you’re stuck indoors with weeks old (or older) tie dye, this post is for you! As seen in previous posts I love re-purposing and up-cycling, however believe me when I say that I do not go looking for these opportunities. I just go with it when the muse calls and sometimes it works out and others it does not. This was one of those creative opportunities that paid off. 1 First, I happen to find some tie dye left by my students (maybe as far back as April or early May). It had been mixed ages ago (months) and packaging instructions say to discard after a few hours...umm. OK so I couldn't bring myself to pouring it down the drain. 2 Finding some pieces of light color or white absorbent cloth (mine were about 4”x4” bed sheet cloth) I set to purposefully experiment. I folded & wrapped e...

Some days I toil over the idea of what "mindfulness" entails. Today seems to be one of those days. Bringing back down to basics: 1 thing at a time. Doing something on purpose. Simply. It's an echo of something I heard Kabat-Zinn say this video from a several years back. With recent changes in group participants I decided it was time to return to basics - breath+body. Paying attention to and noticing how 'breath' affects our bodies in a very real way. Re-visiting a directive I first used in 2014 for an acute admissions dorm, Mindfulness with a Sponge . Engaging in rhythmic movement that is in pace with the breath. In time paint is introduced and manipulated using a moist sponge. Over the span of a few brief minutes and a series of overlapping horizontal strokes an abstract 'breath-scape' emerges. a serene body of water or a soothing cloud streaked sky... These are visual traces of breath. Likely the first time these clients have literally ...

It's been a while. My last post was ages ago and since much has transpired. Let me bring you up to speed. At the end of 2016 I blogged THIS and was feeling pretty enthused about my new mindfulness infused art therapy group for forensic mental health clients. The group came together in a series of serendipitous events. After a great few months the membership trickled out as the participants became competent and returned to court. In the moment I was cautiously happy for each of them. Don't get me wrong, in large part what I do in my "mindfulness" groups is to help with emotional competency . I want those who need to face the trials and tribulations of our judicial system to survive it. I want them to have a chance, no matter how small. I had one participant who left & returned tell me about fondly remembering me "getting on his case every time he started to get worked up and telling him to STOP + BREATHE and take it from the top". ...

These days it is hard to be mindful. So much negativity and anger floating around, bogging us down. In a mindfulness group I run we dived into a daily practice for the month of December (yes that was so 2016, seems like only yesterday).  We began by splashing and smearing paint on old folders (the 1/3 tabs). Then turning them into small books. Using a prepared calendar with prompts for each day's mindful practice. The writing of a goal. Contemplating on a color. Conjuring and writing a pleasant memory. And so on... Everyone approached the tasks a bit differently. Some with words, others with pictures, or even drawings. Everything/anything was OK. The purpose had been achieved. To slow down, stop, contemplate for a few minutes, before getting all wrapped-up in the day. Or as a breather after a long day. Having served its purpose, we now place it aside and ourselves permission to pick-it-up when we need a break. A distraction, and a breath. Have the c...

Art media properties have been a thing of fascination for me. In a brief chapter written many moons ago [ Lorenzo de la Peña, S. (2015). 2-Dimensional Materials. In D. Gussak & M. Rosal (Eds.), The Wiley-BlackwellHandbook of Art Therapy [E-book version]. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishers.] , I went into details on the various properties of art medias. That is something that I’ve built-on from my undergrad years as an art educator student and from sheer curiosity. In the last 4 or so years, that attention to detail and CURIOSITY, have become the main thread in my mindfulness groups. I work in forensic mental health. An often bleak environment with limited access to materials and rich in time. Boredom is the biggest complaint, right up there with lack of privacy and noise. The trifecta of negative behavioral expression. In spite of the recent explosive popularity of Mindfulness; I don’t have to screen those I serve to know that over 90% of them don’t know what mi...

#Hermine After the long pregnancy months and the 8 weeks (turned to 13 due to a timely hurricane), getting back on my feet was something I was looking forwards to. Finding the right daycare and resuming my career right where I left off... Except that, as soon as I did find daycare and returned to work, it was lackluster. Trading those long & slow morning routines for quick out-the-door and on the road ones. Taking only the memory of her soft skin and baby scent to get me through the long commute (50 miles each way) and even longer work day. ---- some will scoff at that statement, saying i should be more than ready to return to work after 13 weeks. And in many ways i was tired of the home monotony. I knew going into this that the stay at home mom gig was not for me. But jumping into an 8-4:30 (with commute more like 6:30-5:30) while my infant is raised by (essentially) strangers, is no walk in the park. I bare my soul to set the stage for why it worked out to have dissolved my g...

active labor - ring of fire While I do not pertain to know where these threads on the topics of pregnancy and professional identity will take me, they have certainly been building up-to -- labor and a birth story. Also, this post is more about the labor experience than it is about professional identity (that comes into play a bit later-on). Forewarning this one is a bit gory.  But, before we get there, a brief background on myself (as I'm hoping that not everyone that reads these posts knows me). I am an art therapist (you may know that by now). I consider myself an artist. Mindful engagement with art media and related topics is my favorite means of connecting with my clients.  As part of my groups I teach breathing exercises and practical ways to self-soothe. So when I found myself unable to do any of those things during my labor, I really felt out of sorts. Here's how things went... I had no idea what was in store for me when I awoke before my alarm this past M...

Spring has arrived (sort-of). Pollen is wafting and everywhere there are signs of life. After the intensity of the #creativedeed365 it took a few weeks before I could settle into a new "creative rhythm". One with a focus on building resiliency through creative engagement... ...and the first 3 months look like this... *These mandalas are on 8x8 bristol sheets. The 1st mandala of 2016 - using a vast variety of media: art stix, prisma color pencils, markers, sharpie pen, water soluble pencils. Processing the new year, changes, and hopes. February's mandala - prisma color pencils & sharpie pen. Swirling emotions carried over from 2015 meet current ones. March 4th mandala  - using handmade paper, prisma color pencils, acrylic paint. Reflecting & documenting developing  relationships . "Feeling, feelings...and taking ownership" 

...and just like that 365 days of creative deeds later the year-long project comes to a restful & reflective close. It all began with Gretchen Miller's Creativity in Motion  project for 2015. Here's a run-down: Create small pieces of art (about 3x2.5) daily Randomly gift the art pieces "as acts of kindness" + "to spread creative goodness" Date stamp and the # of the card were identified for each In addition, small "tags" were added that went on the back of each deed with basic information on the project and asking to share with  #found + #creativedeed365 on social media cites. I did not include my name, but I did include the name of my town (or wherever I made them, if I was travelling). In order for this project to be feasible I decided to recycle old pieces of art whenever possible as the base (some of the months with recycled art: January , April ). Each month's creative deeds were prepped as a batch. The paper cut into the r...

All the planning and scheming didn't help, as October turned into a month of creative catch-up. Those on Instagram noticed my posts came in 2s and 3s -- sometimes days after the creativedeed. I wouldn't call it a creative slump; I managed to muddle through, didn't I! As the year winds down,  I too seem to need some rest and recuperation. On days where I just couldn't find the time I left post-its on my cards with the intended passage or image. At first there was plenty of guilt at the thought of leaving it undone. As if doing so would undo all the others before it (psst, it didnt).   High expectations can sure be motivating, but we must be able to take our own advice and be willing to adapt to our changing needs/demands. Only then will we be able to remain resilient in our practices. Began with a black chalkboard paint base - and it proved quite the challenge as very few things showed-up well. Made me miss the subtleties of the naturally dyed papers I used a c...