Nessa Rua
21 Friday Jun 2019
Category Archives: art
A Journey Through the Mind of an Artist | Dustin Yellin
07 Friday Jun 2019
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How Does Art Therapy Heal
17 Friday May 2019
Posted in art, Art Therapy, YouTube
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Art used to connect with dementia patients
06 Monday May 2019
Posted in art, Art Therapy, Wellness
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Something happened when Brant Kingman handed his mother a colored pencil.
In the three years since Polly Penney, 87, was diagnosed with dementia, she had lost much of her short-term memory and some of her language. So she would ask Kingman the same question again, then again. Out of “absolute out-of-my-mind frustration,” Kingman, an artist, decided to try drawing together.
Penney grew quiet. Her shoulders loosened. “It silenced her so we could sit together,” Kingman said. “And then every now and then, lucid thoughts would appear to her.”
Almost unintentionally, he tapped into a national trend: using art as therapy for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. There are now art workshops for Alzheimer’s patients. Painting, poetry and pottery classes are tailored to dementia’s tics. Giving Voice Chorus, a pair of Twin Cities choirs for people with dementia, has created a tool kit so other cities might start their own.
Neurological disorders that attack memory and verbal communication can spare creativity, some research shows. In special cases, Alzheimer’s and frontotemporal dementia can even kick artistic ability into overdrive, said Dr. Bruce Miller, a neurologist at the University of California, San Francisco. If the disease attacks circuits on one side of the brain, he said, it might spark an interest or ability in the other side.
“It’s all about the geography,” said Miller, director of the university’s Memory and Aging Center. “It’s where the disease hits that is a determinant of what is lost — but sometimes what is gained.”
Partly because it offers another way to communicate, art therapy is “going to become, more and more, a regular part of how we look after people,” he said. MORE HERE
Anyone who says
02 Thursday May 2019
Posted in art
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Writing a poem with clients
26 Friday Apr 2019
Posted in art
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Writing a poem for the first time can be intimidating, but there are many possible ways to get started. In this post I’ll talk about just one of them, which is a list poem.
Defining a Poem
The first step when introducing poetry to clients is to define poetry. Show what a poem looks like on a page. Explain that a poem is usually short, and that each line has a fixed length. It uses carefully-chosen language to express a feeling, and sometimes uses rhythm, rhyme, or repetition.
Writing a List Poem
A list poem is a poem in which each line begins the same way. List poems are wonderful for beginning writers especially, because the start of each line is provided, creating a comfortable way in (at least I have this part that I can write, and know I’m spelling it correctly). A list poem can be simple and powerful. One client, who struggles with depression, wrote a poem in which each line begins, “I love” followed by one thing that makes her feel happy.
5 Tips for Writing a Successful List Poem:
Read poems together as a group, to get clients familiar with the sounds and rhythms of it. After reading a poem, ask if there is any line that clients like or find interesting. Ask why they like it, what makes it stand out. Keep your ear open for things clients say—does something sound like a list poem? “Every morning I…” “I want to read…” “If I had a million dollars I’d…” “I love the way…” The possibilities are endless.
When clients are ready to begin writing, here are some tips to keep in mind:
1. Be specific
Help clients bring their poems to life by including specific details. In other words, show, don’t tell. “I wake up early,” becomes, “I wake up at 3:00 am every morning to go to work.” Instead of “I cook Chinese food” help the client write, “I cook catfish with spicy sauce.”
2. Five senses
Can you see this poem? Can you hear it? Smell it? Feel it? Taste it? Is this poem bringing a world to life? If not, think about describing with the five senses.
3. Order
Pay attention to the order of the list. Does it have a beginning? A middle? An end? Does it need an additional line to bring it to a close?
4. Word Choice
Think about word choice. Could another word be more effective? Sometimes beginning writers want to use the word “beautiful,” but write “nice” instead because it is easier to spell. Help the writer actualize the poem in her mind.
5. Edit
Don’t be afraid to edit. ‘Make it Messy’ is a good mantra for first drafts. They should have crossed out parts and additions. Are any items in the list extraneous? Are there unnecessary repetitions? Help students build the confidence to edit themselves.
What is Mindfulness ?
24 Wednesday Apr 2019
Posted in art, mindfulness, Wellness
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Mindfulness is a concentrated state of awareness that can help us see and respond to situations with clarity and without getting carried away by emotions or the constant chatter in our heads. Mindfulness enables us to:
· Better manage tension and stress
· Enhance objectivity, mental focus
· Communicate and make decisions more effectively
· Improve productivity
· Quiet’s noise in the mind
Meditation
Meditation is the tool we use to cultivate mindfulness. With meditation, you intentionally pay attention to a particular object as a way to strengthen concentration. There are thousands of meditative techniques: Tai Chi, yoga, focusing on the breath and using a mantra are all examples. People often think that meditating “correctly” means clearing all thought from the mind. This is a myth. The mind never stops thinking – it’s when we get caught up in our thoughts that we lose mindfulness. By witnessing thoughts, allowing them to pass, and returning to your chosen object of focus, you can actually build the muscle of concentration. Think of meditation as a fitness routine for the mind.
Are there other benefits to mindfulness?
In addition to boosting brain power, numerous research studies have shown significant physical benefits including:
· Reduced blood pressure
· Lowered cholesterol levels
· Enhanced immune function
· Reduced headache, migraine, back pain
· Improved respiratory function
Mindfulness does not require a particular set of beliefs in order to learn and practice – it is a quality of mind, accessible and available to all.
Mindfulness allows us to live every moment fully without the filters of bias, judgment or emotional reaction.
Mindfulness helps the body cope with physical challenges such as headaches, back pain and even heart disease.
Mindfulness keeps us from reacting too quickly – it helps increase the gap between impulse and action.
How art aided Andrew Marr’s recovery
24 Wednesday Apr 2019
“When I started to recover in hospital, one of my early frustrations was that I found I wanted to draw.
Drawing does for me what others find in meditation, prayer or gardening. It is my way of connecting to the world; it is not just making images but drinking in and praising what’s around me.
Returning to the world as I did after my stroke, you look at it with fresh eyes. You want to absorb all you see. That meant being able to draw again and art aided my recovery and charted it.” Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-2442555/BBCs-Andrew-Marr-Knowing-I-able-draw-realise-I-going-OK.html#ixzz2gwenGqUy
Another
28 Thursday Mar 2019
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Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing. Arundhati Roy
blind me
22 Friday Mar 2019
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oh such liberating desire
release me from these bonds
which blind me from the sun
the brightness
‘the warmth
lifted from the stone
placed in a washing bowl
my fingers reach in – grasping
lifting dripping into my face
a brief respite from the dryness
the lonely sleep
Opportunities 4 mindfulness
06 Wednesday Mar 2019
Posted in art, mindfulness
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For most of us, a typical day begins when we get out of bed, wash, and then start our activities. At some point, we get a bite to eat, walk somewhere, and talk to someone. Often, by the end of the day we find ourselves stressed out and physically exhausted. It doesn’t have to be that way! 
Everyday activities can be an opportunity for a meditation moments; bringing mindfulness, clarity, and peace into your day while energizing yourself and reducing stress.
A study published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition found: “Brief meditation training reduced fatigue, anxiety, and increased mindfulness. Moreover, brief mindfulness training significantly improved visuo-spatial processing, working memory, and executive functioning.”
These brief mindfulness meditations can be done anywhere or anytime …well using common sense. Just like you should not text and drive I would not meditate and drive either.
Here are two examples of how to add meditation without taking time out of your schedule.
- When you get up in the morning, you usually wash. Let’s use washing your face for our first meditation opportunity. Feel the temperature of the water on your hands. Focus on the temperature as you add a little soap. Notice how the suds feel on your hand. When a thought comes in, think of it as someone else’s phone ringing. You hear it, but you don’t have to answer it. Next, feel your soapy hands or the washcloth on your face. Focus on that sensation as you wash your face. Next, feel the rinse water on your face — how does it feel? Is it too cold? Too hot? Just right? If your mind wanders, there is no need to judge, just go back to focusing on the feeling of the water on your face. As you towel off, feel the sensation of the air on your face. It’s that simple, you just meditated.
- As you go about your day, you are most likely waiting in line or in traffic, so take a moment to breathe. Everyone has to breathe, and there is no way the person in front of you in the coffee line will know you are meditating! Sense the breath coming in and out of your nose or mouth. Don’t worry about thoughts; you know what to do, think of your thoughts as someone else’s cellphone ringing. Some people like to label their thoughts as “thought” and then let them go. The important thing is returning to sensing your breath coming in and out of your body. You will feel your shoulders relax and your patience returning
VA arts program exhibit
28 Monday Jan 2019
Posted in art, Art Therapy, groups
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Recently visitors to Microsoft’s flagship Manhattan store got a glimpse into the world of the American Veteran. Through the Eyes of a Veteran—a digital showcase and panel discussion held in December—represented the exhibit of the same name still currently on display at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, in Staten Island. 
The Snug Harbor exhibit, features the works of about 75 Veteran artists originating from the Creative Arts Program at the VA New York Harbor Health Care System’s Brooklyn Campus.
Beryl Brenner, VA’s creative arts therapist for the creative arts program, and Snug Harbor’s director of performing arts, Larry Anderson, curated the exhibit.
Brenner, who has been introducing Veterans to the arts for 38 years—with 26 of those spent at VA—said the show at Snug Harbor “is a composite of years and years of work from the other shows they’ve done.”
Through the Eyes of a Veteran expresses a range of themes—from battling PTSD, to the different aspects of military environments both stateside and deployed—and also looks at Veterans through the lens of their individual portraits. MORE HERE
Art and Smarts
25 Friday Jan 2019
For many education advocates, the arts are a panacea: They supposedly increase test scores, generate social responsibility and turn around failing schools. Most of the supporting evidence, though, does little more than establish correlations between exposure to the arts and certain outcomes. Research that demonstrates a causal relationship has been virtually nonexistent.
A few years ago, however, we had a rare opportunity to explore such relationships when the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in Bentonville, Ark. Through a large-scale, random-assignment study of school tours to the museum, we were able to determine that strong causal relationships do in fact exist between arts education and a range of desirable outcomes. Read more here: NYT
Philippine rehab uses Art therapy
08 Tuesday Jan 2019
Posted in art, drawings, Mental Health
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MANILA, Sept 14 — A group in Manila are using art therapy to help addicts overcome drug addictions and show Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that bloody retribution is not the only solution to drugs.
The Centre for Christian Recovery, a religious organisation which manages a small private rehabilitation facility west of Manila, has incorporated drawing into its daily sessions as a way for addicts to express their feelings.
“These drug dependents are not used to saying what they feel,” said Davis Dakis, the programme director.
“They do not know how to express their emotions. So now, through art, they can express whatever they feel.”
The art sessions at the centre, which caters for 40 addicts, comes amid a bloody campaign against drugs since Duterte took office in June.
More than 2,500 people have been killed in the war on drugs, with about 900 deaths a result of police operations, police say.
Owie, a drug user undergoing rehabilitation, said he was afraid of going back on the streets despite his attempts at reformation.
“I hope our president will take a different action. I don’t want it to be like this. It’s as if he wants to just kill all of us addicts,” he said.
“There is still hope for us, it’s not too late to change.” — Reuters
Rough Road/Path photos
04 Friday Jan 2019
Posted in art, creative arts therapy, groups, photo set, Therapy
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I have been involved in facilitating groups for decades. One of the tools I use for groups of adults, teens, or children are photos. I use photos as a way for folks to become familiar and used to talking and sharing in a group. As a way to indirectly share something of themselves by talking about an image/photo. As a way to begin a conversation about larger issues or deeper issues.
One set of photos I use are Rough Road/Path photos with alcohol addicts and heroin addicts in the beginning of recovery. I spread the photos out on a table and ask the group (usually 10 to 15 men) to pick out one photo that represents their journey in the week or weeks before they came into rehab. Once everyone has chosen a photo I ask them to (one at a time) hold up the photo, describe the photo and why they chose it. The descriptions and stories they tell come from them, their experiences and begin the process of revealing a bit about their
You and Me
07 Friday Dec 2018
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You and Me
I hear you
I know you
I have walked in your shoes
I am walking with your feet
Your skin is my skin
I hold you
You hold yourself
I ask you
You ask yourself
We listen together
Our ancestors tell a story
of laughter from long ago
when we were all babies
alone swaddled in blankets
waiting for the breast
We watch as you move
I call out the signs
You give me your hand
We hold them together
and wave good bye
RichardbBrunner 