: Cynthia Pearson, Alfredo Zotti
: Art Therapy and the Creative Process A Practical Approach
: Loving Healing Press
: 9781615992980
: 1
: CHF 8.30
:
: Bildende Kunst
: English
: 152
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB

International voices from across the globe come together inArt Therapy and the Creative Process to share their perspectives on art, the artist's process, and how art has been therapeutic for them.
In the first section, the three primary contributors--Alfredo Zotti, Samuel Mann, and Cynthia Pearson--create a triple commentary on a piece of art. Zotti paints a picture, Mann analyzes it, and Pearson writes a poem to complement it. In later sections, various artists share why they write, paint, play music, or take photographs, including what their individual mediums mean to them, what they may mean to others, why they have chosen various art forms, how art allows them an opportunity to escape from the world, and how it can also help them heal.
Artists will find kindred spirits in these pages. Lovers of literature, music, and art in all its forms will gain insight into artists' souls, how they view the world a little differently, and why.Art Therapy and the Creative Process gives art a purpose beyond what most of us usually think of it having--that art is a way to keep us all sane in a maddening world and it gives us the opportunity to create something to heal that same world that wounds us.
'Art Therapy and the Creative Process is a fascinating, multi-perspective look at art. I found myself resonating with many of the pieces here. Art allows us to take control of the uncontrollable and make meaning out of chaos. Viewing art as therapy opens the door to a new understanding between art, science, and psychology.'
--Tyler R. Tichelaar, Ph.D. and award-winning author ofThe Best Place andNarrow Lives
'Creative activities heal. They lift us out of suffering for awhile. They validate us when we feel damaged and worthless. And, over time, they can transform our perception of our world, so that we change from sufferers to survivors, and even joyful surmounters.Art Therapy and the Creative Process can be a shining example for those who want a way out of a personal hell.'
--Bob Rich, PhD, psychologist and author
'The book is a beautiful piece of work and all concerned should be very proud. The human dimension is enhanced through art and expressive approaches should be a much stronger part of mental health care .'
--Professor Patrick McGorry, AO MD PhD, Executive Director, OYH Research Centre, University of Melbourne

Carol’s Story
by Alfredo Zotti

During the 1930s and the Great Depression, most of the industrialized countries found themselves in a financial crisis caused by the collapse of the world market. Carol, then a young woman, decided to settle and work as a waitress in Sydney, Australia. She was born in Tasmania and had lived there all of her life before coming to Sydney. Given that it was still possible for some people to afford a cup of tea and some cake, she managed to find a little part-time job in a tea cake shop.

One evening as Carol was going home, she encountered the unusual sight of a well-dressed man sleeping on a park bench with his face covered by an old newspaper. As she quickly walked by to pass unnoticed, the man suddenly woke up and caused her to trip, hurting her leg in the process. She was terrified, but the man understood and said, with a strong European accent, “No fear, no fear, Miss. I will not hurt you. Let me help you up.”

Carol felt a sense of relief. With the help of the nice man, she got up and they both headed towards the park bench where they sat together. At first, there was silence as Carol came to terms with her excruciating pain. Soon she asked the man, “Where are you from?”

“I come from Yugoslavia,” the man said. Yugoslavia is today known as Serbia, but back in those days, it was still Yugoslavia. “They promised me lots of work, and that is why I decided to come here, but now I cannot find any work,” he continued. “I wait each morning, in line, hoping for some work down at the construction sites, but I have to be lucky to get some part-time work, and I cannot afford a place, so I sleep in the streets and use the public toilets to wash.”

Carol looked at him and noticed his kind eyes. She said, “It looks like you are in luck for tonight. You will have to help me home. You can stay for the night. I will let you sleep on the lounge.”

The days went by fast. Carol came to trust Paul (this was the name of the nice Yugoslavian man) so much so that she asked him to stay with her for a while till he had a roof over his head. She cared for him and did not want him to sleep out in the rough.

Paul was not your average man. He was extremely caring and gentle, and he respected Carol very much. He treated her like a real person, not like how some men treat women as inferior sexual objects. He was a real friend to Carol and really appreciated her kindness and desire to help him.

Paul would work occasionally part-time because he was a good worker. But the competition for work was fierce during the depression because many people were willing to work hard. Carol and Paul had a friendly relationship. They had had no sex yet, but they cared for each other. The ingredients for a great relationship were certainly there. Unfortunately for Carol, as soon as Paul got some money together, he went to visit some people he knew to borrow enough money to buy some land that was suitable for a tomato farm. He always wanted to grow tomatoes and make a living as a tomato farmer.

He borrowed thirty pounds (which would be the equivalent of about 12,000 dollars today) and went up to a place called Kariong, situated on the Central Coast of New South Wales, to buy a piece of land. The first thing he did was to build his house while he slept in a tent that he had made with recycled materials, and he worked with the local council, part-time, to earn a living. The land was quite big, forty acres, ideal for growing tomatoes, or so he thought.

Carol and Paul kept seeing each other on weekends. Paul would catch the train to Sydney, which was a couple of hours away from Kariong. Sometimes, Carol would visit Paul and sleep in the tent. By now, their relationship was complete and Carol and Paul were thinking about their future. They planned to get married.

Paul learned that Carol had two sons, Cyril, who was twenty-four, and John, age twenty-six, who lived independently at the time. Carol had been married twice, but she had never known a man like Paul—a real equal partner who treated her like a real person.

Paul continued to work with the council, and this was just as well because as soon as he built the house and started to plant the tomatoes, he discovered that the land flooded quite frequently. Twice he lost his tomato crop. Realizing that the tomato farm was not possible, Paul continued to work until he got a permanent job with the local council. It was not easy to work in those days because migrants were