Miss Bricktown's Outstanding Teen Impact on Art Therapy On March 1, 2013 Paula Smith lost her best friend in a car accident while pulled off to the side of the road, and was killed along with one other friend on the scene. Paula went through a severely difficult time when she lost her friend, and it took her almost a year to cope and handle with the grief that came with losing a friend at such a young age. But through the miracle of art therapy she was able to express the emotions she wasn't able to speak out loud. She channeled all of her hurt, pain and grief into paintings and fought through it by teaching herself how to paint and create art. She now travels to different schools in the Oklahoma City area and goes in to teach art lessons to the children. She teaches art therapy lessons and tells her story, and motivates the children to paint and draw what they feel, what they've experienced. She encourages them to put it all on paper if you can't speak, and has brought art therapy into numerous schools in the area in order to support the children especially in low income areas with poor education and a higher safety concern. Paula has worked extremely hard to help children cope with what they are feeling, and continues to support them.
Paula is a great example of how to advocate art therapy, especially in a society where fine arts are starting to be cut. She is living proof of how art therapy can shape people's lives to be better and to help them deal with difficult situations. She is a tough soul, and has inspired and helped so many in sharing how she healed with time and the leading hand of the magic of art. Link to video: http://www.news9.com/clip/9993830/beyond-the-bell-healing-through-art-therapy
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Recently there was a study conducted in Texas with children ranging from ages 3-17. They tested with children from only the Ped or the PICU for the treatment gorup, and the other was a wait list control group. There was a total of 25 children and all started immediately after parent and doctor consent. This study was conducted to see if art therapy destressed the children and limited childhood trauma with hospitalization and treatments if they are terminally ill or have some kind of sickness/disease that requires intense treatment. The patients were able to participate in a 90 minute session where using unused hospital socks and buttons and threads were able to create their own Healing Sock Creatures. The therapist built a connection with the patient as the co-creator, and made conversation with them asking about the symbolic meaning of the traits they chose. Their expressions of deciding the traits allow an opening to understand what the child is feeling and make it more enjoyable for them. After hand a research assistant administered a questionnaire with the children about how they are feeling, if they liked their sock creature and record not only their verbal/ written answers but also their facial expressions. The parents and legal guardians also did a survey 3 and 6 months after being discharged from the hospital.
The questionaires and the responses of the children made the therapists come to the conclusion that art therapy and creating the Healing Sock Creatures improved the childrens mood and in the end were less stressed about their stay in the hospital. Childhood trauma can include being kept for excessive amounts of time in a hospital, going through multiple treatments, or having needle injections or surgery regularly. The Healing Sock Creatures helped the treatment trial group of children cope with stress and lead them to be less anxious as well as happier in the middle of their stay to gain confidence and was used as a device for self soothing during a difficult time. The study showed that "The Healing Sock Creatures became physical manifestations of healing, while addressing the psychological and somatic needs of the children" (Siegel 2016). In the Discussion portion of the written evaluation it continued to explain that the creatures helped the patients to feel safe and empowered, especially during rough treatments where they felt they had a trusty companion to go through anything with them. The parents, hospital staff, nurses and doctors all reported that the children were more happy and helped the patients improve pain management especially in the long run where they would have suffered from significant childhood trauma that could have lead to drug or alcohol abuse, delinquent behavior or being involved in criminal activity. Expressive art therapy has tremendously supported the children that had the chance to make their Healing Sock Creatures and it should be brought to many other treatment centers to help diagnosed younger children. Art therapy has been proven in numerous trials to help patients with coping of stress and has helped them to be more relaxed, happier and heal quicker if they do participate in these engaging activities. With such an overwhelmingly great response to this line of treatment one would think art therapists would be more popular or that art therapists would be recognized by the government for this great breakthrough as a career and potential game changing process. http://www.pediatricnursing.org/article/S0882-5963(15)00273-0/fulltext This past weekend while I was out of town Wham had their annual recycled art festival! On Saturday the community was invited to come down to Wham and participate or come and view all of the activities that were going on at the Community Art Center. The main part of the event was the recycled clothing fashion show where people were able to create and wear their own outfits that are completely made of recycled materials. People were so creative and spunky with this project, and the outcomes were amazing! They had a hair and makeup artist come in to touch up the people, and they dazzled on the run way. On top of that there were booths where people could create mini art pieces, and other tents that showed peoples recycled pieces that would be put up in the main lobby for the month of April. This event brought people together to truly appreciate the amazing creation of art and allowed Wham to give back to the community as well as get support in return. People came across the west valley to come and see it, and really did help them get Whams name out there to get more active members that will help put together more classes and programs in the future!
A new article has recently came out by a registered Art Therapist Gretchen Miller whom studies the impact of art therapy and exercises on emotionally and physically struggling children, women and families. Some may be homeless, poor, have disabilities, have been abused or bullied, and any other situation that has left them to feel a variety of emotions. Art therapy has helped these people become more open and creative while working if they are not verbally inclined to talk, and allows those emotions that are all bottled up to come out and to cope with them in a calming and indirect way to explore how they really feel. By doing it through a session and working with others in a class it empowers them to work with others and to build up with other people who might be dealing with the same thing they have, also to problem solve and stabilize themselves to negotiate and confront any conflict. Instead of coping with these emotions through crying, screaming, or acting out it allows them to put it all on a canvas safely and sooth/ control their behavior in a creative and engaging way. Art therapy helps children and people of all ages to be more confident and content with what they have accomplished. It helps them feel more worthy and strengthen their ability to accomplish more than what they believed possible.
While art therapy can be administered by themselves, it does help to join and communicate with others in a safe and group environment,It can be done in hospitals, shelters, art studios, parks, clinics, schools and treatment centers and at home to help children feel better about themselves and support them mentally when they have had too much going on and experiences to cope with any of the emotions those might be evoking. http://3blmedia.com/News/Important-Role-Art-Therapy-Supporting-Childrens-Mental-Health This week kicked off the Youth Art Month at the Phoenix Art Museum! This month in the Wolfswinkel Building from March 3rd to the 30th, children's and teenagers art pieces will be on display for the public to see and appreciate. People from all over the state have applied and submitted their work to be recognized, and even some of the students from PHHS applied! Daniel Angel's Prey Mantis drawing done in Art I was submitted on Friday to be reviewed, along with a few other students pieces! This month advocates the importance of art in early education and gives a chance to present how much talent is in the youth of Arizona. This month I will be working to take part in this movement, and will be sending postcards too our Representatives Trent Franks and John McCain to advocate for legislation for our youth art programs and will also be partaking in other events surrounding this. I'm so excited for this month, and I can't wait to see the entries!
Here's the link for extra information(: http://azarted.org/submit-student-artwork-yampam Recently going into 2016, the NAEA has started a new project; a quarterly published journal and magazine that highlights some of the ups and downs the organizations if facing, what issues people are facing with the lack of art and support in their communities, and to put out to public eye the research they are conducting on certain areas of discussion. The quarterly journal "reports quantitative, qualitative, historical, and philosophical research in art education, including explorations of theory and practice in the areas of art production, art criticism, aesthetics, art history, human development, curriculum and instruction, and assessment" (National Art Education Association). With this new recent publication coming up between the Studies in Art Education journal and the NAEA they will be able to inform the public and promote art education and therapy through written language. It digs deeper into the mental understanding of art with psychology, sociology and philosophy in the past and here today. Going through these magazines will not only help me further understand by selected book, but it will give me more knowledge and motivation to create meaningful art myself and to help others do the same within the community.
http://www.arteducators.org/research/studies On March 7th and 8th of this year, it will be Arts Advocacy Day in Washington DC! This coming year will be the 29th consecutive year that this event has taken place, and it has grown in size since then. It brings together "a broad cross section of America’s cultural and civic organizations, along with thousands of grassroots advocates from across the country" (Americans for the Arts). Within those two days these Americans who have traveled from near and far to meet with their members of Congress and speak to them about education policies and national art funding nationwide. Organized by over 85 organizations including the NAEA, it has helped to promote awareness and the advance of legislative action with lighter taxes, more funding, and the impact art has on lives across the nation. These advocates that attend will not only be networking, strategizing, and learning for national policies, but take what they learned and apply it in their own communities. This national events makes national advocates for the NAEA and brings a new chapter of art to every community who has atleast one person attend.
While I myself can not attend for some obvious reasons, I will continue to look out in the coming weeks who from Arizona will be attending and track the briefing papers that will determine the budget for NAEA funding going into the fiscal year, which is coming up quick. Art Advocacy Day is used as a tool and rally of support to encourage representatives to pass the budget proposed. http://www.americansforthearts.org/events/arts-advocacy-day The National Endowment for the Arts going into 2016 is fighting for equity in education in several underserved communities. This coming year is their 50th anniversary, and they are coming in with a bang. They have released a vigorous new strategic plan that will bring art programs to the 4 million students who do not have access in run down and underfunded areas. Close to 50% of their "grants go to support underserved communities, whether that's direct learning grants, which provide opportunities for knowledge in the arts, professional development grants, teaching artists" (Zubrzyck 2015). They plan on having teachers integrating art into their lessons, finding art specialists to work with these teachers, and advancing the work that they do to a larger amount of schools. There are many cities taking on reform programs, including in the city of Chicago where art is being brought to all the students in Chicago Public Schools, and the NEA uses their data as a base for the development of programs in other cities.
By getting the teachers and administrators of public schools involved, it is now brought to the attention of the government when coming up with K-12 education policy reform. By bringing art into lower income and run down areas it will build up the next generation of Americans to work harder and have a more open mind going into adulthood. The National Endowment for the Arts is taking on a big job, but is addressing several national issues while advocating for art equity throughout the country at the same time. Zubrzycki, J. (n.d.). National Endowment of the Arts Focuses on Equity in Education. Education Week. Retrieved January 30, 2016, from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2015/09/national_endowment_for_the_art.html Just by first glancing at their website, I was thoroughly impressed with this organizations accomplishments and set goals. It is clean, easy to navigate and jammed full with so much information your head will spin. Starting at the About Us page, it is clear they are devoted to advance visual art education around the world to promote human potential and support global awareness. This organization teaches students of all ages the benefits and techniques of many different visual arts by highly certified art teachers of various levels and expertise. Through classes and numerous challenges and programs, they advocate and promote the understanding of art and celebrate the way art enriches human experience and society.
On the website there is various tabs that give an abundance of information on news and events, learning, building communities, advocacy, research, and so much more. Going into this project I will be utilizing all of these tabs, and post blogs each week about some of the ongoing projects and or events going on around the world promoting the #RightToArt in schools. For this post specifically, I found a healthy competition for the Seventh Annual Vans Custom Culture Design Competition for U.S. High Schools. Going from January 5th to February 12th, schools around the country enter into the competition and use a blank pair of Vans as their canvas to represent their four themes for Vans "Off the Wall": Action Sports, Arts, Music and Local Flavor. Students are encouraged to paint the shoes to present those aspects of their local community and school on the shoes, and the winning submission receives a $50,000 donation from Vans towards their art programs and promotion of the #RightToArt Movement in the community. This competition encourages students everywhere to embrace their expressive abilities and work together to gain recognition of art education and its influence on the youth of America. National Art Education Association: http://www.arteducators.org/news/news Vans Custom Culture Competition: http://sites.vans.com/customculture/ |
AuthorLauren Schuster. Art Activist and Enthusiast. Archives
April 2016
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