Art Therapy and Art Education

Greater Good Magazine | Everyday Art by Christine Carter

2009-11-25T09:29:00.000-05:00

"A lot of parents believe that their children are either born with artistic talent or they're not. But research suggests that artistic creativity, along with other kinds of creativity, is more of a skill than an inborn talent, and it's a skill parents can help their kids develop."

Greater Good Magazine | Everyday Art by Christine Carter

Speaking of Faith | Learning, Doing, Being

2009-11-22T14:41:00.002-05:00

"November 19, 2009
What Adele Diamond is learning about the brain challenges basic assumptions in modern education. Her work is scientifically illustrating the educational power of things like play, sports, music, memorization and reflection. What nourishes the human spirit, the whole person, it turns out, also hones our minds."

Papercutting... a beautiful piece of art

2008-10-21T09:19:00.001-04:00

allaboutPapercutting: Inner Thread.

I came across this website through a link from another blog (sorry I can't remember which one, maybe WhipUp?) anyway, the art of papercutting is so beautiful and intriguing to me - I've cut paper for collages, but nothing like this - it's amazing. so delicate. so powerful. This image is titled Inner Thread and the artist dedicates it to her sister who has been battling Schizophrenia for a long time. Read the entire post. It's beautiful.

Mental Illness & Art Therapy | Art Therapy Helps Treat Mental Illness, Study Shows

2008-07-23T08:47:00.000-04:00

post taken directly from the Art Therapy Blog. I'm always glad to see research about Art Therapy...

Mental Illness & Art Therapy | Art Therapy Helps Treat Mental Illness, Study Shows: "Mental Illness Treated With Art Therapy
July 10th

The latest news from Spain is that art therapy helps treat mental illness. The University of Granada recently performed a study that confirms the contribution of art therapy to aid in the treatment of mental disease.
About the Mental Illness and Art Therapy Study

One of the researches, Elizaberta Perez, said the study is founded on psychoanalysis principles. Perez worked for over a year with 20 acute mental patients from the Therapeutic Community of the Northern Area of the Virgen de las Nieves Hospital of Granada. The patients volunteered to take part in the sessions two days a week. During the sessions they adapted paintings of artists like Amedeo Modigliani, Edvard Munch, Vincent Van Gogh, and contributed their own visions.

The patients used their paintings to project repressed desires, feelings and emotions from their hearts and minds. During the artistic process, they were able to bring these feelings and emotions to life, or abolish them as they saw fit, Perez said.
Filed as Mental Health & Art Therapy"

inspiration: article in Scientific American Mind

2008-07-20T09:26:00.000-04:00

How to Unleash Your Creativity: Scientific American

Calm Down or Else - article by Benedict Carey

2008-07-15T09:58:00.000-04:00

Often Unsure How to Handle Behavior Disorders, Schools Turn to Forcible Restraint - NYTimes.com

This article really illustrates the problems with mainstreaming students - teachers and staff are not prepared to handle the additional responsibility of students with disabilities. Obviously, this doesn't apply to all schools, however taking one class in grad school does not make me, or anyone else, 'highly qualified' for teaching students that have been mainstreamed. I am really torn on the issue because I think there are pros and cons to the situation, but most of all I think one teacher for a classroom is not enough most of the time - teacher aids are necessary for a large classroom but schools don't always have the budget to support the extra staff. what a dilemma.

The Urge to End It - Understanding Suicide - NYTimes.com

2008-07-07T07:11:00.000-04:00

The Urge to End It - Understanding Suicide - NYTimes.com

for anyone in the mental fields, this is a great article about suicide and the potential of preventing so many deaths by restricting the means or slowing down the process thereby taking away the impulsiveness of the action.

Why one girl refuses to remember - CNN.com

2008-07-04T08:55:00.000-04:00

Why one girl refuses to remember - CNN.com:

a touching article about one little girl who survived the cyclone in Myanmar but lost her parents and three siblings.

Included in the article is a reminder of the power of Art Therapy:

"Deb Barry, a child protection advisor for Save the Children, recalls meeting a boy who had not spoken to his grandparents for nine days after the recent China earthquake.

'He had not been able to really express himself,' Barry says. 'But on this first day in the child-friendly space, he sat down and began drawing pictures. And he started talking again within 20 minutes.'

The boy's grandmother was so happy that she hugged the staff. She called it a miracle."

layering memories, knitting

2008-06-30T13:33:00.001-04:00

Kelly Darke.com
this is the finished piece from an art therapy assignment this past semester. We were to create ten small pieces of art that represented an important event in our lives. These ten pieces were supposed to go together, either as one piece or hung together. I did nine pieces because it worked better for my display idea.

update - Knit - R - Done

2008-05-13T13:17:00.001-04:00

Knit - R - Done
another image - titled Nervous - of an embroidery piece by Knit 'Er Done - I just really like the idea of craft/art combined with medical imagery - or any unexpected imagery.

Knit - R - Done: The Outside Looking In--Exploration of Perceptions

2008-04-16T10:03:00.002-04:00

a great example of using your artwork to work through personal issues.

Knit - R - Done: The Outside Looking In--Exploration of Perceptions

2008: The Year of Knitting Fearlessly

2008-01-03T10:26:00.000-05:00

2008: The Year of Knitting Fearlessly

I love this idea about knitting fearlessly... I want to knit something fun and crazy - objects - art - not necessarily something practical. I'm always afraid to start something if I don't know just how it will turn out in the end - sometimes I have fun ideas, but never get started for fear of "messing" it up. although, since the process of knitting is so meditative and soothing it shouldn't matter how the finished product turns out - I'll enjoy the process regardlessly.
I also want to knit myself a sweater - something cool - something of my own design. I did follow a sweater pattern this past year and it turned out ok, way too baggy, but still comfy, kind of like a blanket to wear. start knitting....

24c3: The history of guerilla knitting

2008-01-03T09:53:00.000-05:00

24c3: The history of guerilla knitting

I'm not sure if I would ever make the connection between guerilla knitting and computer hacking... this article talks about a lot of really great and innovative knitters throughout history.

whip up » Blog Archive » Jade Pegler: art, paper, textiles

2007-10-28T13:02:00.000-04:00

whip up » Blog Archive » Jade Pegler: art, paper, textiles

very cool work - It's along the lines of the work I'm inspired by right now - textiles, fiber, lines, combining materials...

new project

2007-10-26T21:49:00.000-04:00

posted about here - it's knotting and embroidery, not knitting, but has the same meditative benefits as knitting.

Knitting Daily | Today's Post

2007-08-23T09:50:00.000-04:00

Knitting Daily | Today's Post

an excellent example of how knitting can be used as a personal therapy - knitting an object in memory of a loved one.

knitting therapy discussion

2007-07-15T08:18:00.000-04:00

there is an interesting thread on Knitter's Review regarding Knitting as Therapy. One individual posted the following comment:

As a high school special education teacher, I have observed many different types of people. I have students who can only learn while moving. I had a student last year who walked the perimeter of the room while reading silently. Worked SO well for him.

I think it's great that teachers are learning and understanding that not all students are the same and some cannot just sit still and listen. Some students learn better while moving or fidgeting.
I have read other stories from people who use knitting to help them focus (I will look for the resources) and I had an experience when teaching knitting to a girl who was diagnosed with ADHD she told me that she enjoyed knitting because while knitting she wasn't thinking about all the things that bother her.
I would love to hear other stories regarding knitting as therapy.

whipup.net

2007-06-23T22:12:00.000-04:00

awesome little essay about knitting:

whipup.net

knit family

2007-06-17T08:28:00.000-04:00

an experiential idea I had based on draw your family. each color represents a family member - I chose colors, fiber, and patterns for each "person" and connected them all to a canvas background (which I embroidered with a pattern). the entire piece actually opens up to allow for notes and things to be put inside.

drawing

2006-09-13T08:24:00.000-04:00

I this post the other day - The Big Draw - on whipup.net and thought about how great drawing is for art therapy... for more information, go here - Drawing Power -

information on Drawing Power website states in the education program section of the website that "Drawing can develop skills of perception, communication and invention transferable to any subject and helpful in a variety of educational settings".

There is also a link from that website to the Drawing Research Network which is "loose network of individuals and institutions who are involved in some way with drawing research...

KnitKnit blog

2006-09-12T10:36:00.000-04:00

I just found out about the KnitKnit blog by Sabrina Gschwandtner - she is the creater of KnitKnit magazine which is "KnitKnit is an artist's publication dedicated to the intersection of traditional craft and contemporary art". Sabrina is now writing a KnitKnit book and the blog will be used to post about the upcoming book.

on her blog she has an interesting post about Raechel Matthews who teaches knitting in schools and colleges - she lives a very creative life -

Hot Jobs of 2007!

2006-09-08T07:41:00.000-04:00

Art Therapist is among the top 10 Hot Jobs of 2007, according to this article by Candace Corner. There has been research by the Monthly Labor Review journal.

super easy art therapy + no clean up!

2006-08-31T18:56:00.000-04:00

check out Jackson Pollock .org to create your own digital painting - lots of fun and no mess!

the knitted house

2006-08-10T16:10:00.000-04:00

check out these two articles about how residents at Hobart's Strathaven nursing Home recreated the interior of house with 50's style decor - awesome knitting as art therapy project:
Strathaven folk knit themselves a room
The Knitted House , the new real estate 'loom'

art therapy article

2006-08-07T15:35:00.000-04:00

Art therapy boosts spirits of Alzheimer's patients

knitting as therapy

2006-07-28T10:15:00.000-04:00

just a few links I found while doing a search on Google for knitting therapy - there are thousands of personal statements out there from people who have benefitted from knitting.........

http://knittersreview.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=45

http://www.bhkc.co.uk/data/knitting_therapy.htm

http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer03/FEATknittingyourself.html

http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall03/FEAToncemore.html

http://www.mbmi.org/about/history.asp

http://www.stitchlinks.com/index.php

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-100-1657093-100,00.html

https://tv.ku.edu/news/2005/04/29/knitting-the-stress-away/

visual journals

2006-07-25T12:17:00.000-04:00

creating a visual journal is a great way to express your ideas and feelings without the need to verbalize emotions - you can learn a lot from your own drawings and relieve stress in a creative way.

I bought a small sketchbook and knit a cover for it that I continue to add to - each page has a drawing, sketch, collage, or some other type of image and on the back of the page is my reflection about the image or how it makes me feel.

article about knitting for therapy

2006-07-02T20:17:00.000-04:00

Teenagers in Stitches - this article is one of the first I came across last year while searching for information to write an art therapy research paper - I am very intrigued and inspired by the idea of using knitting as a means of art therapy and want to pursue this more. I am always happy to hear when teenagers are using craft as a way to express themselves and relieve stress at the same time.

Knit Theory

2006-07-02T18:04:00.000-04:00

I first saw this article mentioned on microRevolt - it's a very interesting article about hyperbolic space and a mathematician who crochets this unimaginable space into crazy looking shapes with yarn... read the whole article here

article on knitty.com

2006-06-27T21:10:00.000-04:00

while looking through the archives of knitty.com, I came across an article called Knitting Yourself Together by Kat Welsh, about the relationship between knitting and meditation.

Stitchlinks

2006-06-26T20:22:00.000-04:00

please check out Stitchlinks - it is a great website dedicated to knitting and cross stitch as a means of therapy...
"Stitchlinks is a friendship network which combines the benefits of knitting and cross stitching with up to date, practical health information to enable our members to lead a fuller life"

microRevolt

2006-06-25T22:13:00.000-04:00

check out mircroRevolt reblog - great place to find interesting knitting news / projects

Knitting / crochet outdoor installation

2006-06-24T15:57:00.000-04:00

While searching for interesting knitting art, I came across some great work by Carol Hummel - she has created these amazing tree "cozies" - this one posted on Microrevolt and this other one I found posted on Neatorama

Knitting Therapy

2006-06-22T16:03:00.000-04:00

- knitting as art therapy -

my first project is called deconstruct/reconstruct - it is the process of unraveling a knit piece and giving it a new life by creating something new with the yarn. for example, I took this old sweater that I have had for at least ten years and created this long i-cord to use as the base for a new necklace. I'm going to create a bunch of silver spheres to randomly attach to the cord - similar to work I've been doing here, but mixing materials: fibers and metals. I'll post the finished piece here as soon as it is completed. (yes, that's me in the picture from 1996 wearing the sweater)

Welcome!

2006-06-22T13:56:00.000-04:00

welcome to my blog dedicated to knitting and art therapy, knitting as art therapy, and art therapy and knitting in general...