KATHLEEN FOGEL-RICHMOND,
LMFT, ATR-BC
As an art therapist, I strive to help others use art to heal and also understand and make adaptive changes in their lives. My own art making is central to exploring my feelings and understanding my world. Firstly, the process itself of making art is relaxing and meditative. It allows me to clear my mind from stressors, while immersing myself only in color choices or strokes on a canvas or shapes emerging out of clay. Secondly, the image content specifically provides a focus for contemplation and exploration through symbolic representation of feelings, experiences or reactions.
Memory Muse Palisades
(Manipulated photo with acrylic paint, oil pastels, spray shellac & painted frame 4'5" High x 3' Wide)
During the pandemic my top coping skill was found in exploring nature; being outside, gaining exercise & also avoiding the spread of covid indoors. With my family or alone I found myself on hikes where I felt at peace. I took a lot of photos, which I later manipulated through an app to slightly alter the image. I printed the image on a larger scale (14” x 24”) and then manipulated the image further by painting on top. This piece is from a Memory series where the image is further developed by mounting & continuing the image beyond the manipulated photo all the way to the end of a re-purposed frame. The goal is to create a physical manifestation of a memory where the center is clearer and gets increasing blurred as is extends out, much like a memory can be transient.