Category Archives: Visual Arts

Together is Better: How to make art with new Mainers to build community

Refugee resettlement programs in Maine have created development and investment in communities but has lacked cohesion at times. Urban and rural areas should look for ways to assimilate new Mainers without taking away from their home culture identities- one way to do this is through public and community art. Humans have a fundamental relationship with […]

Dementia & Engagement at the Museum

Museums all over the world (the MoMA, Denver Museum, National Gallery of Australia) are offering special programs for seniors with dementia and caregivers. These range from dementia-only viewing hours of specific pieces of art, to hands-on engagement through art making, tactile experiences with sculpture, to lecture and discussion of shows. Research has shown that creative engagement […]

Finding Oneself in a Circle

A mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol of the universe. Monks use mandalas to gain enlightenment, but we can all use this art form as a tool to gain wisdom and compassion. As many art-as-therapies, the mandala allows individuals to openly self-express within a safe structure. The circle represents wholeness and infinity, and represents […]

Painting & Mindfulness

My friend Phil Frey (http://philipfrey.com) was teaching workshops in painting & mindfulness last year, and I thought this was a lovely and simple connection between art and health. Mindfulness means purposefully paying attention to and accepting without judgment ones present feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. In a state of mindfulness, you may not do anything to change […]