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...

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...

In the previous posts I described some of the attributes you may want to look for when selecting a children's book which to alter  Altered Book {Intern Edition}: Work in Progress Preview 1  and then I gave a couple of research sources and tips on how to mix-media with traditional materials and organics in this post  Altered Book {Intern Edition}: Work in Progress Preview 2 . In that last post I voiced my intention for the book. A sort of tribute from past experiences and resource for future interns working through an art therapy internship. As mentioned before I'll be using nuggets of knowledge left behind from prior interns as well as more "inspirational" sorts of generic content that I ascribe as being helpful for the students to know/think about. It is rare for me to use 1 media...maybe rarer still is for me not to think or work in layers (tho it happens at times). On the page-spread with the white daisy for example... Background Daisy image. G...

In my last post I gave a few suggestions on selecting a book and prepping it. If you still haven't selected a book take a peek here  Altered Book {Intern Edition}: Work in Progress Preview 1  before proceeding. Over the last few years I have had the opportunity to work with and supervise some very creative and motivated art therapy students. Each having to come face-2-face with the good the bad and the hairy of an internship site. That is the reason for this altered book. Advice, inspiration, motivations from myself and prior students for internship survival... tho maybe it will be much more.... Maybe it will be: ...an informal guide to thriving at an art therapy internship site... (remember, the title is still a work in progress so bare with me here) On this post we will pick-up after the children's book was prepped (see Work in Progress Preview 1 ) and a theme selected...  Magazine images can be added-to and extended in order to facilitate incorporation...

Returning from this years’ AATA Conference in San Antonio thankful to have connected and reconnected with so many amazing art therapists. It’s been busy and I didn’t mean to set the blog aside, but here’s some visual yummies to begin to make things up. Last August (yep, 2013) I made a small accordion book. In this accordion style, I essentially pieces together several strips of paper into one continuous page that folds at repeating intervals. I gave the book purpose when I decided to use it as a place to document art techniques. These art techniques were small samplings of ones I would be using in my groups. Today I completed the small book and am posting some of the images here with brief dialogue on some of the techniques. If there's interest I will consider separate posts later-on. Book Cover: Layered tissue paper with pressed leaves. Accordion style pages were 'seamed' with strips of tea bags. On left: Tea bag sheets can be used to age/antique.   On ...