Mukibaum Treatment Centres

The Arts for All program at MukiBaum enables children and adults with developmental disabilities to become less marginalized by society’s perception of their disability. Through a demonstration of their talents and artistic achievements, they fill the gap of this bias and promote better understanding and acceptance of persons with disabilities and their artistic abilities.

for more see: http://www.taaproject.com/taapestry/gallery/curated-exhibitions/mukibaum-treatment-centres/

kiwi nostalgia

It's amazing how simple images can evoke an involuntary emotional response ..remember Manu from playschool, and hokey pokey ice creams in those flimsey cones in summer

art therapy seems to be gaining greater credibility..

Art therapy and Terrorism/Extremist Rehabilitation

Can art therapy cure terrorism? In recent times, perhaps the most fascinating use of art therapy is underway in Saudi Arabia where extremism is getting a new look with a softer approach, reports Nancy Durham (CBC News, Canada). Sounds very unlikely, but the government has been trying to rehabilitate terrorists (ex-jihadis) for the past few years through psychological and religious counseling and art therapy.

The participants are engaged in art therapy to get their anger out on paper rather than acting it out as, for example, suicide bombers. The Saudi government is tackling the problem very seriously in the hopes that the experiment will yield favorable results.

http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles_various/the-therapeutic-value.asp

Kids With Cameras: Alex Rotaru

Have a squiz at these sites while I try and work out how to embed youtube videos, so inspiring:)

http://www.kidswithcamerasmovie.com/

also:

http://www.arttherapyblog.com/

&

http://www.10toesover.com/Crazy_Art/Crazy_Art.html

cave art

Prehistoric Cave Art suggests that like the modern artists, the prehistoric man must have been driven by the need of self-expression too.

Prehistoric Cave Art all over the world, mirrors the difficulties and triumphs of the native man. And even today indigenous tribes of Africa and Australia practice intricate rock art. These paintings are characterized by sophisticated depictions of elegant human figures, richly hued animals, and figures combining human and animal features, called therianthropes continue to inspire admiration for their energy, and powerful confident lines.

---> so interesting that self expression through art dates back so far, such a powerful tool whether it be through paint, clay or any other tactile means

DOODLING AS A CREATIVE PROCESS

Doodling essentially allows our intuitive feelings to express themselves in pictorial symbolic form. Interpreting these symbols can help to unveil meanings that are not apparent to our linear mind. A symbol conveys an entire thought in one image. Language depends upon a linear procession of symbols to convey a thought. While doodling, words may form themselves, and these should be accepted. But, for the most part, doodling allows the unconscious to come to the surface without judgment or critical analysis from the conscious mind.

http://enchantedmind.com/html/creativity/techniques/art_of_doodling.html

"The creative process, so far as we are able to follow it at all, consists in the unconscious activation of an archetypal image and elaborating and shaping the image into the finished work. By giving it shape, the artist translates it into the language of the present and so makes it possible for us to find our way back to the deepest springs of life."

- Carl Jung