Scribble 7 : Connections ?

The week I made this I was supposed to focus on "Connections." It was the last full 2 hours I spent in the art studio because my group isn't working out as well as I'd hoped for reasons beyond my control.

I know I'll be doing a lot of moving and traveling over the summer but it might be interesting to turn these into paintings or series of paintings and prints. I have a lot of them now.

Spring in the City

Three characters

I have been doing some exploration in my art therapy sessions (I am seeing an art therapist) about the three "characters" at play in my life: The Hermit, The Alchemist, and The Chariot. So this is all three of those characters and what they look like in a stuffed sculpture. The three purple/blue/gray sticks are The Alchemist, the red donut is The Chariot, and the yellow circle is The Hermit.

I haven't processed this piece yet, though.

This is turning into a major body of work, actually, all of my characters. Neat :)

Job Application

Today I wrote my first letter for a job posting that was for "psychotherapist" when I think they really meant "art therapist" (but didn't know it). I told them all about how art therapy fits perfectly into their treatment model and why I'm so awesome they should hire me. It was so good and still kind of scary.

I've been updating my resume basically every week as I remember things that I never included. Volunteer experience, certifications, exhibitions, all these things that weren't on my resume before. My dept chair says a 2 page resume is okay for therapists, especially art therapists, since there aren't as many people applying (as in the business world for corporate jobs). The work experience, education, and licensure are on the first page, so that will get the most attention, and then the other stuff is on the second page, the icing on the cake I guess.

Applying for jobs fo realz is scary because I remember what it was like last time. There was a lot of stress and crying and whatamIgoingtodoifIneverfindajob. And then I took jobs that were less than ideal because I was afraid this was the best I could get. So far I've just been dropping generic cover letters and resumes at things that look interesting, but not really investing in any application. So this is the first real application I've invested in, one that I will follow up with in a few weeks with a phone call, marking the beginning of my earnest job search. I have my charts and files set up so I can keep track of who I've applied to, when I applied, when/if they've contacted me, is that job still open, etc. I'm ready to go. Eeeeee!

Thesis Scribble 3

I investigated the hole on the right (surrounded by orange) in this art piece and this plant art piece.

Thesis Scribble 2

This scribble goes with this art piece and this art piece.

Thesis Scribble 1

FINALLY my scribbles are scanned in and ready to be viewed by the general public (both on my blog and in my thesis).

This scribble inspired first this art response and then this response. You can see I focus a lot on that giant red bubble.

A Positive Fantasy

Almost like a womb (again)
Growing (again)
It isn't growing alone, it is surrounded by health and vitality.
It's safe here to come out -
And if you aren't ready to come out we will reach in and help you realize
This is healing water
Water to help you grow.
It is not poisoned.
It comes from the fresh sky and the fresh rain and lands on fresh, fertile earth.
This time it is different
This time you can put down roots.
This is good soil
This is good earth
This is good water,
Clean and fresh.
It's okay because this time when it rains it will be just enough.
And when you're planted it won't be so deep you won't be able to get out.
And the sun will obey its natural cycles and come and go as the sun does.


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Protecting My Eyes

My eyes are the chariot that protects
The lids droop to protect the eyes
From taking in
As if the light is too bright and will burn the retinas causing permanent, irreversible damage.
Oh.
It's that serious...
The chariot patrols the borders through my eyelids
The shape of my eyelashes reflect its spines,
Its protective gear,
Keeping out contaminants
Keeping out the harsh rays that threaten to destroy my vision
Forever.
It's okay to let them droop.
Plants grow in the dark.
Did you know that?
Too much sun can kill even a cactus.
They need the dark to grow and digest.
So keep your lids down,
So you can grow and heal.


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Scribble 6 : Tree

When I was reading Bruce Moon's book The Dynamics of Art as Therapy with Adolescents, I noticed that all of his groups had some kind of theme. Even though the youth were free to make whatever they wanted they always had a theme. I figured this was in case someone felt stuck and didn't know what to make.

I thought I might increase my attendance to the open art drop-in group if I introduce an optional theme. Today's optional theme was "TREES." I wanted to be able to have conversations about the metaphor of a tree, something that is grounded and consistent but flexible and growing. So inevitably my scribble turned into a tree.

Someone said it was Picasso-like but I think they were going for Van Gogh.

Someone else said I should be selling these scribbles. So far I've made 6. The problem is I'm very attached to these things, I see my inner psyche playing out in them, I don't want someone else to have them!