A visual journal, continued...

Lifetime Art Impressions, LLC drawing

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Examiner article

It is easy to create a visual journal; all you need is a notebook or sketchpad and drawing materials. You can use any art media that feels right to you, pencils, colored or not, markers, crayons, paints etc. You can trace objects like your hands or cut out a symbol and paste it onto the page and then draw around it.

Doctor and Board Certified Art Therapist, Cathy Malchiodi described many types of visual journals: “Feelings Journal, Spontaneous Imagery (…most often it refers to creating a scribble or free-form lines and looking for images within those lines.), Non-Dominant Hand Drawings (…draw with your non-dominant hand over time and see what emerges), Working within a Circle (…Mandala Journal), Dream Journal, Photocollage Journal [vision board collages], Doodle Diary (…Doodling with felt markers… is not only fun, but also has been shown to actually improve memory in some cases.), Intention Journal (…for example, a gratitude practice or a goal to become healthier in the next year), Altered Book (Any book can be used as a visual journal; you can use the words and images in the book as part of your journaling or draw/paint/collage over text.) and Create Your Own Approach.

Her recommendations, “Just Relax…, Record the Date…, Don’t Go it Alone…, [and remember] Safety First.

Let’s get started!

Your superpower, continued...

Lifetime Art Impressions, LLC photo

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Examiner article

I enjoyed doing the research for this article. First, I got the idea from a teenager who mentioned a superhero trait during a brief discussion and it triggered some deep thought for me. Did you ever ask yourself what hero ability you would like to have if you could pick a super human trait? For me, I think I would like the ability to fly. It must be extremely freeing to just step up and be air born.

If you didn’t yet, I encourage you to look at the link I attached in the examiner article. It links to the article, 15 People With Real Life Superpowers. These are really crazy traits but found to be true. It’s really interesting.

All of the superhuman traits I listed in the article, I actually believe I have and I am in the process of fine-tuning such celestial birthrights.

What gifts do you hold? I challenge you to look deep within and surface such powers. We all need to engage these profound powers to not only empower ourselves but to light the world along the way.  

Awareness of life patterns and how to shape them, continued...

Lifetime Art Impressions, LLC drawing

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Examiner article

If you could visually depict the threads that intertwine within your world, what would this pattern look like? Be sure to include your helping hand!

I ask because this article was inspired by a project required as part of the curriculum in my Expressive Trauma Art Therapy course. You can see a photo of my finished product posted above.

Basically, I had to trace my hand and then draw a grid on top of it and within each shape on the picture, I had to input different creative patterns, symbols or pictures. It was tedious to create but the project did turn out to be visually cool. I like how you can still see the hand as it kind of pops even though it is meshed within all of the complexities detailed within the picture. It is very symbolic of our life patterns.  

It is not easy to break the force of a chronic and negative pattern but with awareness and hard work channeled effort can overcome and persevere.

What are your thoughts? Have you changed any toxic patterns in your life? If so, what are they and how did you do it?

Fostering dreams through dance, continued...

Photo of Melanie Buttarazzi by Paul Gregory
 

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Examiner article

Melanie’s mission, “To change the face of art in education. Art is the number 1 thing that gets cut in the school system without the realization that this forum gives kids a chance to be creative and this enables them to process and channel emotions surfacing from the hardship in their lives; it keeps them out of trouble. I think dance should be a requirement in all schools, even a basic level to gift children a path to explore new ways of expression.”

She talked about her program, “Kids are selected in the LA area currently; we’re working with organizations that have foster youths and at-risk teens. We’re going into the organizations and we are asking who is interested in dance, then we interview and select individuals in need of our help; some with and some without dance experience. We’re teaching important life and teamwork skills. We have a lot of fun while we engage them in hard work.

I’m also involved in The Teen Project and they have a new facility called FreeHab, it’s a center for run away youth involved in drugs and alcohol. It’s a 1-year program to help them turn their life around. Participants, females ages 18-25, are benefiting from the experience in such a short time; from May 2014 to present. These young women have shared their testimonies on camera discussing how they look forward to dance, and how this has brightened their perspective, and how it has helped them as a support to overcome relapse. These girls who participate and look forward to dance class teach new members that join. They get together at the facility and work on their dancing as well as teaching the new girls who join the dance class on their own time; a few new entries came in recently, and, in the sidelines, they taught these girls the whole piece; a routine they’ve been working on since May.”

It is Melanie’s goal to grow her program, Fostering Dreams Through Dance, and offer continued support.

“During our first program, completed July, 2014, we had 15 teens who participated and performed at their graduation in August. We would like to be able to offer additional help (like scholarships) to those who move through the dance program. While currently, I continue to welcome them to come back, I am hopeful, with the support of our communities, to be able to do more for these graduates.”

If you know of any organizations that will participate in Melanie’s program by helping with funding in order to provide extra classes, scholarships and other benefits, please pass the article forward so they can get in touch with Melanie through the website.

Melanie’s closing words, “I want to create more awareness; I want to use dance as a vehicle to help at risk youth find his or her voice and courage to embrace a healthier life through the expression of dance!”