Art Therapy options

Arbor Expressive Arts co-owners Courtney and Kayla sent this invitation:

We have an open house this weekend at the studio. It's from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m this Saturday, January 19th, 2008! Bring friends and come check it out! Hope to see you there! This information may be on the web site too www.arbor-arts.com. Love, Kayla

While you may have missed this particular open house Arbor Expressive Arts is a lovely place to visit. Kayla or Courtney will be happy to sit down with you to talk about how you can fill your expressive needs. In addition to painting and multiple other art forms, they have movement, meditation, writing classes and art therapy support groups. And, their format is affordable. Why not... visit the website, where you can take a look at the studio and current classes/ groups!?

~ k

"Poetry Of Cancer" in the WELL section of the Health.NY Times.com Tara Parker Pope writes:

One of my favorite features in The Journal of the American Medical Association isn?t about scientific research. It?s called ?Poetry in Medicine,'? and it features writing from patients and doctors about their experiences.

Last week, I was touched and surprised to see a poem by Kyle Potvin, a longtime friend of mine who learned she had breast cancer in 2006. On a business trip to Texas the following spring, she bought her sons terrariums to grow cactus plants, an activity that inspired her poem ?The New Normal,? about her own experience with cancer.

The New Normal
To grow a Texas cactus from the start,
You scatter tiny seeds on dirt and sand
(Your nail works well to nudge stuck ones apart).
Then sprinkle water with a steady hand.
Each day, my son asks, ?Will it get real tall??
He crowds his brother as they check for growth?
The way I?ve searched my hairless head since fall.
I pray young shoots will sprout up soon for both.
It happens all at once ? soft spikes appear;
I rub my scalp while calling to the boys.
They peer in close to analyze each spear.
My bigger joy is lost to hooting noise.
The victory is all my own: Mom?s hair?
The news is that we grew a Prickly Pear.

Earlier this year, The Oncologist http://well.blogs.nyt... medical journal reported that expressive writing, which involves writing down your deepest thoughts and feelings, may improve the quality of life for cancer patients
Kyle says that writing poetry, as well as reading the poetry of authors like Jane Kenyon, who died from leukemia, and Susan Deborah King, who wrote about breast cancer, has helped her cope.
?The simple act of reading poetry from authors who have experienced illness and death is cathartic, as is writing your own, whether anyone sees it or not'? Kyle said. ?Writing your deepest fears can help process the emotions and provide some clarity. It is also refreshing to hear others talk about death because your own family and friends do not want to hear that kind of talk even in the abstract.'?
A Web search of poetry and cancer turns up several interesting sites. One of the most popular is The Cancer Poetry Project, http://www.cancerpoet... a foundation that collects poetry from cancer patients and their family members. The group?s book is available on Amazon, and the Web site also includes several excerpts. http://www.cancerpoet...

Related Links:
Pain as an Art Form -- http://well.blogs.nyt...
The Power of Words for Cancer Patients -- http://well.blogs.nyt...
Books: Cancer Gets a Makeover -- http://well.blogs.nyt...
Health Guide: Cancer -- http://health.nytimes...