So what's cool to do and see around here?
If you are like me, you are new to New Mexico and the Santa Fe area. Part of what drew me to come to SWC was the location. The moment I stepped into New Mexico for the first time I knew my soul was coming home!…
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Honoring the Spectrum of Self
On May 20, 2016 the Wild Heart Gallery hosted the opening night of "Honoring the Spectrum of Self," an exhibition where Southwestern College staff, faculty, and students were invited to investigate the sacred pieces that have shaped them as an individual or within the collective. The show featured a variety of works installed within the…
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(Part 2, if you missed it…)Part 3: How Using Ownership Language Changes My WorldviewBy changing the statement from "we" to "I" in this entire blog series I have shifted my perception of life. I no longer blame “society” (you, we, or any form of “other”) for what I am perceiving as a deep societal issue. In…
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(Part 1, if you missed it...)Part 2: Practical Examples of Ownership Language I look around and see so many things that say "Stop doing THIS!" or "Don't do/think/act THIS way!" or even "Fight THIS!"With so much negative bombardment, is it any wonder I feel so overwhelmed and defeated much of the time, especially when I scroll through…
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Part 1: What is Ownership LanguageIn many of my classes our teachers have been training us to use “I statements” during discussions. For example, it applies when you fall into the habit of using we, or you, when you actually mean “I” in a statement, as I just did in this sentence. See what I did…
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I have had the honor of watching the power of art therapy first hand, in my personal life recently. I asked my husband if he would mind if I shared this story, and he told me to go ahead, so I would like to share it with you. It is a true testament of how…
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“Interesting how you are only using a black sharpie marker in your art today,” says my art therapist, as she gently points out my visible tension with perfectionistic, black and white thinking….…
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Come enjoy Laura's Art Show at the Wild Heart Gallery at Southwestern College. It will be up until the beginning of June, with a closing reception on Saturday 5/30 at 5:30!
by Laura Schoff
I feel with such a passion that art has the capacity to heal in many different ways. It has been my…
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This weekend a group of Art Therapy students, soon to be interns, gathered for the Capstone Process. Debbie and I facilitated this weekend, focused on transition, group dynamics, an art offering and goodbyes. These students are moving from having multiple classes and seeing clients at the Southwestern Counseling Center, to entering into the full-time…
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Influenced by archetypes and art therapy, Sprout explores the interplay between the unconscious and conscious parts of the psyche. …
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by Debbie Schroder
Program Chair for Art Therapy/Counseling Program
It doesn’t really surprise me that as we approach the eighth week of the quarter, I’m finally able to spend a little time putting together an image that contains mandalas created by incoming art therapy students, during orientation. The quarter has been full – of teaching…
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by Debbie Schroder
The gardens on campus are lush and the temperature is hot – it must be Portfolio Review time!
Every year we ask our art therapy students who are moving into 2nd year, to bring in at least three pieces of art created during first year. By looking at their art and hearing…
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In April, a call was made: "Archetypally speaking, who is showing up for you lately? What mentors, thieves, medicine folk, or tricksters are asking you to speak their name, embody their abilities, and artfully express the connections you have? Please, answer the call, create the art, embody the voice that wants to be heard and…
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by Karen Stefano Ed.M., M.A., L.P.C., NCC
Karenstefano@icloud.com, www.tissuepapercollage.net
How can you unwind your body and mind, listen to the inner stirrings of your spirit, and supercharge your creativity? It’s easy. Tissue Paper Collage!
Mythologist Joseph Campbell said, “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” The truth is that our…
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by Jessica Callaway, LPAT, LPCC, ATR-BC
I didn't know what to expect when I decided to go to Haiti. I realized when I was on the plane that I was partly, or mostly, going for selfish reasons. I was excited to practice art therapy and teach yoga in an environment I had…
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"Fireflies" Chulee (Eve) Choowong-In "Me"Art is unlimited possibilities and discoveries that can be shared. My art process is an internal dialogue that dances onto the surface of my media. Born in Thailand, I grew up in the rural area known as Chainat. At age 12, I came to the United States and lived in Marshfield, WI. I…
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I am a big fan of reusing materials into new forms. Broken bits glued together to make guardians; Torn fabric to make new yarn or a rug; Old shoes into a Journey; Or large boxes into castles. After reading, "Endangered Threads: Socially Committed Community Art Action," by Janis Timm Bottos (2011), I knew that there was a…
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I'll start with an ending. Last quarter's Art Therapy Techniques class ended with each member of the group creating an altar of the art that was made during the quarter. We made Mandala's every class, masks, body tracings, finger painting, inner guides and characters, and containers to name a few. In this class I made…
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by Debbie Schroder
I can’t seem to stop smiling this afternoon. I’m smiling because of my morning – I went to the Roundhouse, the New Mexico State Capitol Building, to watch Art Therapy intern Todd Nichols speak in the Rotunda. A number of senators and state officials also spoke, but they didn’t bring…
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What is a Container?
There are so many types of containers, a person, place, or thing that holds. Many images come to mind: a milk carton, hands, shoes, a home, a room, a box, a nest, my heart, a chair, a mouth, a closet… Many sensations come to body: warmth, safety, fear,…
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by Debbie Schroder
I have a song stuck in my head. I think it’s staying stuck because we’ve entered a new year and part of the lyrics are “How am I gonna be an optimist about this?” The song is called “Pompeii”, by Bastille.
This quirky song’s melody sounds pretty upbeat but…
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As an Art Therapist, I know that the art process is an important container. As a supervisor, I like to weave in art making and sand tray work in supervision, to articulate client and agency issues and express the multi-dimensional experience that a new therapist has.Katelyn did her practicum and internship at a jail, working…
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by Debbie Schroder
The front door was already open and as I opened the sliding glass door to my patio, a fierce gust of wind blew through my house, lifting an antique plate and a figurine right off of the shelf they were on. They crashed to the floor in jagged pieces as I…
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by Debbie SchroderAs it got close to 6:00 on Monday evenings I could feel my eagerness to begin painting. Every Monday evening the in-state art therapy interns and I engaged in amazing relationships with our canvases. We painted for an hour, then shared our work and talked for the rest of each class.The process involved…
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