Art Therapy: Lesson on Color

Art therapy can be incredibly powerful, but first one needs to realize the most important lesson: everything is subjective.  I would not say I'm an artist yet I enjoy making art.  Both the process and the end product motivate me to express myself creatively.  Being a psychology student underlies my interest in the meaning behind the art- the symbolism.  I am therefore sharing two of my pieces from an art therapy lesson (a class I am taking this year) focusing on color.  Our medium was paper because it allowed for a wide range of colors but did not force us to focus on the mixing of paints.  I learned that pink is often upsetting after more than 15 minutes, and small organized shapes can be indicative of someone who has a very organized task type of job.  My images are simple and abstract.  Both images represnt emotions that I had felt that same day.  The top is irritation and the bottom is tired.  You may see something totally different but I see the brightness, the pink and the sharp angled corners of a lingering irritation.  The bottom image is on an earthy brown, and full of fluid lines, calm hovering pastels, sun, and moon.  The beauty of it is in what it means to the artist, how the artist chooses to represent what they feel, and how psychologists can use these symbols to alleviate problems as well as help patients communicate them. 

Love Fern

I bought my own eggling!  My roommate calls it our love fern :) You can already smell the basil-- I'm so proud it actually sprouted!

Early Morning Musings

I am absolutely stunned by the work of Vivian Maier (a nanny by trade) who did most of her photography in Chicago.  There are stories in her work that make the viewer wonder.  The formal aspects alone are intriguing with her use of space and forms.  Her work dates from the 1950s into the late 1990s.  Check out Vivian Maier.  Wish I had time to write more but I'm attempting to study!

Tribalism

Artist: Rosanna Webster

 I'm very excited about the idea of tribal Native American prints for Fall.  The entire nature trend has been a growing force. This style with its slight ruggedness is definitely one interpretation of it.  I say rock it.  Natural stones and feathers are also huge and make great accents.  There's a lot being done in terms of sweaters, backpacks and knits that can be purchased semi-affordably at stores like H&M and Urban Outfitters.  

Artist: Marita Contreras

Stunning. Check out her artist statement on website.

Film

The images were scanned at my school which may have affected some of the quality unfortunately.

I'm feeling...