By Anne Basham, Art with Heart Volunteer

When Kristi Conner, a therapist at Sound Mental Health, began using Chill & Spill with some of her teenage clients, she was thrilled to see it working right away.

“I was originally drawn to Chill & Spill because I have a bachelor’s degree in arts,” says Kristi. “Whenever I can, I like to tie art in as a different form of expressing yourself.”

Kristi found out about Art with Heart through some of her colleagues. After attending a training, she began using Chill & Spill with some of her younger clients, and is planning on trying it out with some of her adult clients as well. She likes that the book offers both structure and flexibility.

During the activity “I Really, Really Feel…” Kristi gives her clients the option to write their own mission statement, make a collage, write a poem, or use another form of creative expression. She told me the story of one teenager who was struggling to find the motivation to do well in school.

“When she started circling words that surprised her, it was like it flipped a switch in her head,” says Kristi. “With one word, she was able to see her take on school in a much different way.” Kristi is happy to report that her client is now doing fine and has not had the need to return to therapy.

We are thrilled to continue to hear stories like this of the transformational power of our books and hope to hear from you as well!

You are invited to take an
Art Journaling Magical Tour of Wonderland

Multimedia Altered Book Workshop
Saturday, August 21, 10am-5pm
McMillen Art Studio • 19360 163rd Court NE, Woodinville, WA 98072

Join us for a full-day, artistic immersion experience where artist Erin McMillen will help you unearth your spontaneity, imagination and intuition to discover your unique, individual style. Your canvas will be an otherwise forgotten book, which you will turn into an art journal, using a range of painting and collage techniques.

SUPPLIES: Each participant will need to bring the following: a used book for alteration (ideally larger than 8×10” with between 20-50 pages), 1” flat paintbrush appropriate for acrylic paints, metal ruler, self-healing cutting mat, Xacto knife and/or scissors, a good glue stick (such as UHU), white and black Sigma gel pens, apron or large t-shirt to protect your clothing. Please label supplies with your name. All other supplies will be provided.

TEACHER: Erin McMillen, formally trained as a graphic designer, originator of the Robert B McMillen Art Scholarship Community.  Unlearning her formal education over the past several years, Erin has immersed herself in multi-media artwork.  For more information about Erin and her Art Journaling Tours, please visit http://www.artjournalingtours.com and http://imaginarytours.blogspot.com.

COST: $150 minimum donation to Art With Heart.  The class will be taught at Erin McMillen’s home. Please fill out and send the attached Registration Form to Art with Heart before August 14 to secure your spot. Download the Registration Form here.

We enjoyed a wonderful bookfair today at the downtown Bellevue Barnes & Noble. If you missed it, there’s still a chance to participate!

Between now and July 1st, you can shop online at Barnes & Noble, who will generously donate a percentage of sales to underwrite our programs. Just go to http://bn.com/bookfairs and check the box indicating that this is a Bookfair Order (enter code: 10177269). Thanks for your help!

A special thanks to Your Giving Group Real Estate Team at Windermere Yarrow Bay for sponsoring this event.

Gregg Swearingen's page in "Oodles of Doodles"

In 2005, Art with Heart invited illustrator Gregg Swearingen to participate in the “Oodles of Doodles” book project for hospitalized children. Gregg’s illustration ended up being one of the children’s favorite pages. Several years later, while visiting in Colorado, Gregg showed Art with Heart’s book to his brother in law, Jim Wittwer. Immediately impressed with both the quality of the work and the mission of the organization, Jim was eager to find a way to contribute support.

We recently heard from Veronika Mihalj, a teacher and Art Therapist from Canberra, Australia. She wrote:

I wanted to let you know the work you do is an inspiration! I receive your newsletters and have followed what has been happening with Art with Heart for a couple of years now. It is so wonderful to connect with like minded people who believe in the power of Art and creativity.

When researching Art Therapy resources for my own practice, I came across your wonderful organization and ordered your ‘Chill & Spill’ journals. They have been an incredible tool to assist me in numerous places where I have facilitated Art Therapy Workshops.

Since graduating with a diploma in Art Therapy five years ago, I have had some interesting experiences using art as a healing and community-building tool – particularly during my time in the Philippines and working with Indigenous Australians.

This image (left) is from Blue Gum Community School in Canberra. Chill & Spill has inspired our daily relaxations and visualizations. The “Fly Away” activity especially has helped me understand the children’s home life and therefore some of the challenging behaviors that have been occurring.

The use of metaphor is so powerful, the children love expressing themselves in this way and we learn so much about them as human beings.

When I lived and worked in Manila as an art teacher at the International School a couple years ago, some fellow teachers and I started a volunteer project where we facilitated expressive art workshops for street children.

It was amazing to see the children go from being so unsure about even making a mark on a canvas to being so confident in taking risks with color and experimenting with different techniques. There self-esteem increased as well as the potential for breaking out of the poverty cycle they have been a part of. Many saying that they wanted to sell their artwork! The photos (right) were from a workshop inspired by Chill & Spill’s “My Place” visualization activity. So, yes…your work has spread to the other side of the world!

The last photo (left)  is myself with a group of students who participate in my weekly expressive art workshops for Bungee, a resilience-building program for young people at risk of mental health issues. Chill & Spill again has inspired many of my workshops.

Once rapport has been built with the help of Chill & Spill, I facilitate many collaborative activities where children create art together to foster the idea of community.  They use lots of recycled items to make sculptures –a mermaid made out of CD’s; a whale made out of woven plastic bags. etc.

I have promoted your resources to many teachers and Art Therapists here in Australia. I will be coming to Seattle in August and would love to visit the source of Chil & Spill’s inspiration!

“Your Giving Group” and Barnes & Nobel of Bellevue have chosen Art with Heart to be the beneficiary of their Book Fair on June 26th. We hope you and your children can join us for a festival of fun and author book signings!

WHERE/WHEN:
Saturday, June 26 at Barnes & Noble Downtown Bellevue, 626 106th Ave NE, Children’s Stage

SCHEDULE:

11:00 – Authors Steffanie and Richard Lorig read Such a Silly Baby

12:30 – Author Margaret Chodos Irvine reads Ella Sarah Gets Dressed

2:00 – Authors Steven & Carmela D’Amico read Ella the Elephant,

3:30 – Author Samantha Vamos reads Before You Were Here, Mi Amor

After the readings, each of the authors will be on hand to sign your books and each presentation will be followed by question and answers. You won’t want to miss it! Be sure to print out and BRING THIS VOUCHER with you so that a portion of the proceeds of the sale of the books go to benefit children in crisis through Art with Heart’s programs and books!

Art with Heart just received word that we have been awarded a grant of $10,000  from The Act of Giving Foundation, for the reprinting of our therapeutic journal, Chill & Spill.

The foundation is dedicated to empowering organizations that improve the quality of life for under-served, underprivileged, or impoverished people. Their 2010 giving focus was on organizations that empower children – and Art with Heart fit the bill!

Helena Hillinga Haas is a founding board member of the organization, and was introduced to Art with Heart’s work through our Art Buddy training. She  introduced Art with Heart to the membership and championed our work through the grant process. Huge thanks to Helena for helping to make this grant possible!

This donation, along with gifts from the Kismet Foundation and Paul & Debbie Brainerd, bring us closer to our goal of being able to help 20,000 more teens through the healing gift of the expressive arts. If you would like to contribute and help youth in crisis, please DONATE TODAY!

Working as the Arts and Healthcare Program Coordinator for the only hospital within city limits that delivers babies keeps Sarah Colby pretty busy. The Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s Teen Pregnancy Center is one of only two clinics in the entire St. Louis metropolitan area that offers comprehensive programming to expecting teen mothers in education, developmental and medical care.

Colby has witnessed and been inspired by the impact of Art with Heart’s therapeutic journal Chill & Spill has had on teens, and in result is “ordering them like a lunatic” to ensure that she always has a backup supply. She attests that the unique journaling process aids in providing a transformational experience for pregnant teens; as they work through feelings of shame, articulate the journey they are on, and turn their fear into celebration.

In an environment where much of the daily interaction is about vital signs and questions like, “Did you take your vitamins?” or “How are you feeling today?” – books like Chill & Spill acknowledge the psychological dimension of the teens’ health and well-being and allow them to delve into their feelings.

The journal process is often a private one.  As Colby states, ”sometimes they share, sometimes they don’t”, but the acceptance and openness that the process fosters for young moms-to-be instill confidence and self-awareness that has proven to be invaluable.

One of the most positive effects that Colby has noticed since introducing the Art with Heart curriculum is the buy-in from her staff.   Chill & Spill has made tangible the positive impact of patient reflection to otherwise skeptical hospital employees.  ”If the staff doesn’t own it or engage with it,” says Sarah, “its not going to happen.” Yet, she has found that when effective resources such as Art with Heart’s therapeutic books are provided, “others will gather around it and give it life.”

So what’s the next arts-inspired project to be born out of the Teen Pregnancy Center? Belly casting is due out next year.

On Tuesday April 27^th, a wonderfully diverse group of participants gathered for a workshop led by Evi Feltus (Childlife Specialist at Swedish Medical Center) to learn about using creativity with hospitalized children and their siblings.

Participants gained an awareness of the hospital experience from a child’s perspective, and engaged in writing, drawing, and collage exercises to deepen their understanding of how to use Art with Heart’s therapeutic books in ways that build trust, encourage creativity, and help reduce fear of the hospital experience.

All workshop attendees are eligible to become Art Buddies at Swedish Medical Center. Art Buddy volunteers work under the leadership of Evi Feltus, and spend time creating art with patients and their families.

Art Buddy workshops at Swedish Medical Center are now held quarterly, so if you weren’t able to join us this time, you’ll have 2 more opportunities this year! The next workshop date is TBA, so now is the perfect time to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter, to stay informed for all upcoming events.

Art with Heart recently hosted a group of delegates from six different South Asian countries. Each of the delegates were leaders in their respective communities and played an important role in bringing the arts to life in various ways. Their visit was part of a 3-week U.S. tour to learn how American nonprofits utilize the arts as a means of instilling peace and resolving conflict with high-risk youth. The World Affairs Council selected AwH to be one of three nonprofits they would visit while in the Seattle area.

During our time with them, we had the opportunity to share how Art with Heart’s work was helping children cope with trauma and crisis – how our books had no boundaries and were helping children not just here in the states, but around the world in other English-speaking countries.

We were honored to be chosen and humbled by our guest’s excitement and enthusiasm for what we were doing. One of the artists, Proshanta Karmakar Buddha, from Bangladesh, left Doris and I with a parting thank you gift that we will both cherish…portraits for each of us! Many of Proshanta’s prints and paintings are inspired by the themes of liberation and explorations of peace within his country. We hope that Art with Heart can inspire many artists to utilize creativity for that very end.

Thank you to the World Affairs Council for allowing us this unique and important experience!