Calabasas is Mourning

As summer heat climbed into the triple digits, school started this week.  Both my daughters are now in high school, and they were really looking forward to seeing their friends and starting a fresh new year.

On the second day of school, all the families were informed of an unspeakable tragedy... a beautiful, talented and loved 16 year old girl took her own life.  The entire community of Calabasas is in mourning for the family as well as the future that was not meant to be for her.

As a parent of a 16 year old girl, I am devastated and saddened to my core, but I can not even imagine the anguish of waking up each morning and realizing that it was not a bad dream.  I send you love, light and hope.

As an Art Therapist, MFT and grief counselor, I would like to offer my services in any way that I can.  I will meet with friends, siblings, classmates or adults.  Or I could facilitate a group at the high school, Swim and Tennis Center or my office here in Calabasas.  Please feel free to contact me directly at 818-836-1239.  I am here for support.

SoulCollage: Four months after surgery

Way back on May 6, 2011, my daughter Cydney had a surgery to remove a cyst from her ovary (the Dr had to take the ovary also).  It very was scary, and I felt angry and helpless.

Now, almost four months later, she is healthy and it is almost as if it never happened. I created this SoulCollage right after the surgery while I was still scared confused and angry, but also grateful.

There are images in this collage that look like an egg, as I was thinking about my daughter's ovaries and her ability (in the future) to get pregnant - or not.  To be a mother is something that is very important to her - something I did not know about my own daughter until this situation came up.

The hands holding cans look like that old telephone game.  I guess I was thinking about communication.  At first it was hard for my hubby and I to talk about our daughter without blaming each other, but I realized that we had to be on the same team and stop the blaming.  But there is a knot in the line - that interferes with direct communication.

Officiating a Wedding

On July 29, 2011 my brother married the girl of his dreams, and I had the honor of officiating the ceremony.  When they first asked if I would be interested in performing the marriage, I was sure they were kidding.     After it became clear that Dave and Nathalie genuinely wanted me to preside over the wedding vows, I went down to the County Commisioners' Office in Norwalk, CA to take an oath and become deputized for one day to perform a marriage ceremony. (I did not even know that was a "thing")

On a breath-taking cliff, overlooking Malibu's Point Dume Beach, and surrounded by family and friends, I conducted the marriage ceremony.   I did not realize how emotional it was going to be.  We all cried and then we ate an awesome dinner at Geoffery's Restaurant in Malibu overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

If the whole Art Therapy thing doesn't work out, I can use this as a fall-back career.

Flying Pig!!!

This is a really funny drawing.  Or at least it was meant to be funny, but now when I look at it, the pig looks a bit angry or judgmental.

I did this drawing a few days a go, so I kind of forget what I was thinking that day.  Maybe I was feeling fat and angry about something I ate.  Could be.  Who knows?

A flying pig represents and impossibility "When pigs fly..."  There are many things in my life that feel that way right now.  Impossible.

As I am looking at this drawing more and more, I am thinking that the pig looks more determined than angry.  Maybe she is going to accomplish the impossible.  I like that interpretation a lot better than feeling fat.  I am feeling determined to turn things around in my life - both personally and financially.  Determination.  The old Billie Holiday song "Crazy He Calls Me" comes to mind.  She says, "The difficult, I'll do right now.  The impossible, will take a little while".

You go Piggy!

Degas Dancer in Oil Pastels

Another drawing that was done during client session.  Client was drawing her relationship with her daughter, and I just started drawing the example picture that is on the box of oil pastels.

I need to draw more with oil pastels.  They are so forgiving and fun to blend. Because I was copying this drawing, I was surprised by the color use of the shading and highlights. I would have never seen the shadows as blue or the skin as purple and yellow if I had not drawn this image - in fact, I have looked at this drawing hundreds of times on the pastel box, but I have never really seen at it before.

Looking and seeing are NOT the same.  Check out "Zen and the Art of Seeing/Drawing as Meditation" by Frederick Franck  .  Great book.

"Healing Through Art" - Worldwide Art Therapy

Sangeetha Neeraja

Express News Service

Last Updated : 11 Jul 2011 08:33:35 AM IST

CHENNAI: Words lie, Art doesn’t. For the query, “How are you?” Most of us instinctively say, “I am fine”, even though we might feel far away from it. On the contrary, when given a piece of paper and some colours and asked to express through ‘art’ for the same query, “How are you?”, the drawings that people come up with throws up a whole new dimension.

Magdalene Jeyarathnam, Founder-Director of East West Centre for Counselling Centre, who has been in the field of counselling for close to two decades, made the above observation as she shared the ingenious use of Art Therapy in counselling.

Going by this premise, East West Centre for Counselling has introduced the first-of-its kind certificate courses in Art Therapy in Chennai for those who wish to pursue professional counseling or Art Therapy as a career.

Magdalene noted, “Art Therapy is a powerful tool in the hands of the counsellor, mostly people are incapable of expressing themselves in words. When words fail, art comes to rescue.

Through art, the memories or the images that otherwise lie buried in their unconsciousness is brought to the surface, and then the therapist through various sessions helps the client to deal with it.” In Art Therapy, various art techniques such as art work, clay, water colours, crayons, oil on canvas, sewing, collages, group discussions, games and exercises, case studies, role-play presentation and testimonies are used.

Art Therapy is successfully used to deal with individuals, couples or families who are suffering from trauma, grief and loss, substance abuse, vocational burn out, depression and anxiety and also personal development.

The training methodology used is experiential learning. They also use some quantitative common test like Silvers Test-House -Tree-person test to get a baseline understanding of the client.

Magdalene said, “During the course, the therapist can also create their own assessment test. For example, at the beginning of the therapy, if the client takes the House-Tree-person test, and after three months into the therapy, the client is asked to undergo the same test again, the therapist can draw inferences on the assessment test.” There is a paucity of professionals in India to train people in this field of Art Therapy. Magdalene observed, “Most of them go abroad to get trained in Art Therapy, but sadly they don’t come back to India to practice or train others.” Melba Thorn, who holds a BFA from Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam and MA in Marital and Family Therapy specialising in “Clinical Art Therapy” from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, will be the trainer for this course.

They offer a weekend module for professionals at a cost of Rs 3,000. And the one year diploma course comes with a tuition fee of Rs 50,000. They also offer Art therapy sessions for those who need it.

Call 9884100135, 98847 00164 or visit www.centerforcounselling.

Torn Paper Collage with Ink

It has been awhile, but I am back and my promise to you is that I will post my art again on a weekly basis (more often if I am able to).  

This is a ripped construction paper.  Glued together and than enhanced with ink pen design. 

I began this piece while I was working with a client.  She is an adult female who I feel is very controlled and fearful. After several weeks of her drawing, I took away some of her control and told her that she could only tear the paper.  As she worked I created my own torn paper collage.  I have been making art along-side my clients more often these days.  I have abstained from doing this in the past, but recently I feel that I can watch my clients without staring at them.  Otherwise, I get bored and the client sometimes feels judged.

I completed this collage by adding repeating patterns (some of which I borrowed from Henna designs).  I liked the focus that these tiny designs required, but at times it was exhausting and felt very much like I was perseverating. I like this and I want to do more in the genre. It is really an interesting juxtaposition of letting go of control and almost OCD control.