On Our Mind: Thoughts from Mark & Michelle Dean
by Michelle Dean 05-12-2016 | 2:15PST | Comments (0)
“Writing books is better than planting vines, for he who plants a vine serves his belly, but he who writes a book serves his soul” — Alcuin (ca. 735–804), an English scholar, poet, and teacher Books have been deemed one of the most valuable kinds of art objects in the history of mankind due to […]
by Michelle Dean 01-10-2015 | 9:21PDT | Comments (0)
Art is a universal process among children in cultures around the world and is something that all adults possess the capacity for into old age. All people may call themselves artists if they create artwork, reserving the term professional artist for those who receive money for their work. Developmentally, there is a universally accepted progression […]
by Michelle Dean 29-06-2015 | 5:03PDT | Comments (0)
This is an excerpt from the chapter: Dean, M. L. (2013). Cultural Considerations of Eating Disorders Through Art Therapy. (pp. 277-288). In Howie, Prasad and Kristel (Eds), Using Art Therapies with Diverse Populations: Crossing Cultures and Abilities, London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. While biological, genetic, and psychological factors contribute to the etiology of eating disorders, the influence […]
by Michelle Dean 01-12-2014 | 5:25PST | Comments (0)
As a part of her honors requirement for the Art Therapy: Media and Application course at Arcadia University this semester, I invited Samantha Baggott to write a guest post on her research about overcoming communal rejection through art, which includes an interview with art therapist, Gussie Klorer and her recent project, Ribbons of HOPE in Ferguson, Missouri. […]
by Michelle Dean 09-10-2014 | 5:48PDT | Comments (2)
Decorated paste papers, as described in Paste papers: The How To…, may used in a multitude of educational and therapeutic applications. Using the slick and flexible pigments can facilitate abstract and playful imagery as well as lessen anxiety and encourage creative flow (Chilton, 2013). The less structured, or sometimes referred to as regressive elements, inherent […]
by Michelle Dean 04-09-2014 | 2:35PDT | Comments (2)
For centuries, artisans have been decorating papers by drawing designs in colored paste (Maurer). Paste papers are lovely way to create easy decorative papers, which may be admired on their own, incorporated into drawings or utilized in a variety of contexts such as collage, book binding, and scrapbooking. They lend themselves to a multitude of educational […]
by Michelle Dean 06-06-2014 | 5:47PDT | Comments (18)
I am often consulted for advice from art therapists regarding professional questions and concerns. Here is one, from an art therapist in a major metropolitan city in the US. She has given me permission to share this because she and I both felt it an important topic to contemplate and discuss. Question: “I was asked […]
