Nona Orbach
“What material am I now?” is a valuable question and tool that I often practice with students, therapists, supervisees, and clients in our first session. It is based on an intuitive choice of material or object which, only later, through the process, will reveal its …
Using materials accurately creates opportunities and mental and emotional space for a genuine creation process for each child. This means you need not put too much on table centers – only the minimum required. Less is more. But, for the most part, teachers are afraid …
Materials are patiently waiting for us to provide them with a verbal voice that will elucidate how actions and matter represent emotional and cognitive transformation. I believe this is essential for our future generations of art therapists. Here is a story from my new book: …
At the beginning of the nineties, I was a young art therapist or expressive therapist, as my title from Lesley University was. A colleague of mine, Lilach Galkin, and I were bewildered about the process of art therapy in the studio. Both of us were artists …
Seeing a Spiritual Blueprint in Action—Jackson Pollock The following is a text from my book The Good Enough Studio, that demonstrates aspects of seeing the spiritual blueprint of an accomplished artist in action, quite literally, as we see Jackson Pollock in the act of painting. …
The studio is a container for many languages: Instruments talk. Materials talk. A brush speaks in a different language than a spatula or a hammer, or a glue-gun. A pencil speaks a different language than oil pastel. My aim is to set these allies in …
Children are going back to school. What are we going to teach or do with our students after this pandemic? Children and families were in lockdown during the pandemic. They did not see friends for months; perhaps someone in their family or surrounding was ill? …
When and where is the shift between an open studio setting to cluttered storage space? If you are an art educator, an art therapist, please ask yourself: Are all the things on my open shelves sufficiently varied, yet not too much? How are many sets …
presentation as inspiration Havi Katchalsky: art and food Presenting a meal or art materials on a table is food to the body and mind. It similarly affects us. It calls for action through objects, …
An art educator who works in an open studio setting encourages children’s choices and understands that showing the art is a part of the process. It is not a final assessed measured achievement! On the contrary, she tries to make it a part of the …