Art therapy is a topic that seems to be quite popular today. It is an area that I hold a great deal of interest in, yet from a formal text book understanding I know little about. There is scarce doubt that from personal experience the act of creating art is an activity that is filled with healing and self renewal.
I have suffered from cervical and lumbar osteoarthritis for a great deal of time and the symptoms are most severe mornings and evenings. This chronic condition demands a resolute desire to fight back with a multidisciplinary approach. Art is one of the tools in the shed that can and should be used on a daily basis. These moments of discomfort are excellent times to enter into the creative process. Pain is in constant demand for ones attention and the act of focusing on any piece of creativity begins to lessen that grip.
It is not even that important that a person attempt to manufacture a masterpiece, rather that they continue along the most important aspect of their lives; to create. The piece I put together this morning is from a method I call disparate image collage. Next week I intend to speak of this self created method and my art theory that surrounds it. Suffice it for today that it is the end result of a hot cup of coffee and my desire to think outside of pain. It works, if only temporarily, and you as an artist add to your body of work. The precious little girl is Victoria, a huge joy in my life posing for one of my favorite portraits of her.