Themes

Have you ever noticed a theme in your art?  A few weeks ago in group art therapy class I made this collage:

And then this weekend at our art therapy workshop I made this:

Quite similar, right?  So, yes I have a theme of military vs. civilian life.  I wonder how long that will take to go away!  When, on Saturday, when our workshop leader was giving us direction to make art about inside vs. outside, my first thought was to do something like the page you see above.  That I was outside of the norm while in the military because I was female with rank and also because I was artsy.   Now that I am out of the military I am outside of the norm for civilians because I was in the military for so long (and how that affects traits/characteristics/beliefs)!  So... I contemplated for a bit about what else I could do to truly represent my feelings on that topic, but decide to go with my first instinct anyways because it was true to how I feel.

I have a lot of this type of thought/feeling - very dichotomous.  I did a collage about that last month - The Dichotomous Self.  Its not always about the military/civilian life, sometimes just polarities I notice within myself.

When I was just starting my recovery from hip surgery I certainly did a lot of hip/bone type themes.  Whatever occupies your thoughts will come out in your art - either blatantly or subtly.

What I was wondering is, have you noticed any certain themes that tend to show themselves in your own art making?  What about your thought processes?  I'd love to hear from you on this topic!

Love was in the air

Hello!  Hope your having a wonderful Monday. I know that Valentines day was last week, and I am a bit late getting to this post, but life has been kinda crazy!!

First. I wanted to share some Love/Valentines Day themed mail art with you.  The week before Valentines I sent out the last of the Valentines mail art I had made....

because I had signed up for a handmade valentine swap!

A few days before Valentines I sent this one out:

It was for mom and dad!

And I got this:

It came from Sherri - an instagram buddy I made because she wanted to trade snail mail with someone! You know I couldn't pass up!

My last lovey-dovey mail art was:

Its re-cycled mail art which is awesome!  Also, on the inside it says that it came with "crazy, beautiful, unconditional, abundantly bountiful love" which I think is pretty awesome.  This one came from Amy and I think it was part of the Valentines swap!

And lastly, on Valentines Day...
At my internship site we had a dessert competition and therefore I got to taste a bunch of wonderful desserts.  Also, a friend of mine submitted a photo of he and I to the local newspaper for a Valentines Day Couples online gallery and of course they selected us.... I say of course because we are in no way a couple... he just thought it would be funny to submit out photo.

So, did any of you have a great valentines day??

Craziness

Hi there friends.  Just wanted to say hello and apologize for not writing much this week!  I have been so busy that I feel a bit crazy.  Homework seems to be keeping me busy to the point I am finishing assignments the night before they are due and I am not working on anything that needs more attention than a few days - by that I mean research papers!  I forced myself to start writing one of the papers on Wednesday when class was canceled due to our instructor being sick.  I spent Valentines day at Internship site and then prepping for today.

Today we are having the interviews for next year's incoming art therapy class!  I am the art therapy adviser's graduate assistant so I am quite busy with this.  I had to go shopping to get food to feed all of the applicants (19 or 20 of them) plus the girls that will be helping me out.  I also had to email all of the interviewees (and FYI there are another 10 not being interviewed today!) and arrange their interview times and find out if they were going to dinner with us tonight!  So, I will be there from 8am until probably 9pm today!  Yikes.  The good thing is that I get to meet all of the people that will be in next year's class.

Also..... My iPhoto library has been giving me some issues and since I am still new to Mac computers I don't know how to fix it.  I will be trying, but need time!  I appreciate your patience.

One thing I did not share with you yet, and still have access to the pictures, is that our Peace Papers artwork is being exhibited at the school library! This is the art made from our old uniforms.  So, here is the sign at the beginning of the show:

All the small pictures on the border are mine!

and my piece:

And some others:

Mine is the one on the left!  

I hope you enjoyed the pictures!  I will try to write more next week!  Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Marble Painting

Hi there!  Today I wanted to share with you one of the art therapy directives that I do with my patients! Its called marble painting and it is fun for kids of all ages (yes that means adults!)  So, here is what you do...look for a box lid (or make a similar contraption) and tape a piece of paper to it.  Then squirt some paint randomly around the paper:

Next you add a handful of marbles and pick it up and shake it all around.  It turns out different every time.  You have very minimum control over how it tuns out which is part of the reason that I like it - it requires no skill!

This project is good for people who need to work on upper body strength and bilateral coordination.  It could also be done standing to work on ability to stand, you could have the person sift their weight from foot to foot or rotate their trunk from left to right!  And of course you can do it just for fun!!

If you try this project please share a link or leave a comment and let me know how it turned out!  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!