KATHLEEN FOGEL-RICHMOND, LMFT, ATR-BC

As an art therapist & educator, 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.

Bolster

(Altered Photo with Paint, 15” x 11”)

Bolster comes from a series where I take photographs on nature walks that spark metaphorical meaning & psychological thought. I came upon this tree which expressed an interesting duality. One side being devoid of any branches and the other with branches that have grown to be supportive anchors needed to balance the tree to keep it upright & viable. In this piece where the subject is deliberately off-center, the viewer is drawn into the tangle of branches that are attempting to bolster the tree to remain vertical. The blur of leaves in the center suggests a falling movement. The images resonates with how I am feeling in the current political moment and attempting to hang on to hope that the tree doesn’t topple over.