64 NATURE-BASED EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY
most recent excursion Laurel often exclaimed at each discovery,
“Neena, it is SO beautiful!” or “We are really in the woods now!”
Ironically, just as she said those last words, we were walking on a
portion of the North Carolina Mountains to Sea Trail on a narrow
band of forest that is bounded by roadway on either side. I am
reminded of Alice Walker’s words, “anything we love can be saved”
(Walker 1997, p.29), and I hope that it is possible to preserve the
rich natural beauty of this land and to pass on our love for it to
future generations.
In this chapter we define art and aesthetics from a nature-based
expressive arts perspective, examining their cultural, historical
and contemporary contexts. We explore concepts of beauty as a
fundamental aspect of human existence and the relationship between
beauty and sustainability. Finally, we explore expressive arts concepts
of aesthetic response and responsibility, imagining living life as
an aesthetic response to the world. We suggest how these ideas can
shape everyday attitudes and practices that embody an awareness
of, and appreciation for, beauty that can enrich both personal and
professional lives and contribute to personal and planetary wellbeing.
A nature-oriented approach to expressive arts, like all expressive
arts work, is grounded in the arts. By the arts we mean not only
the so-called fine arts, but also the handcrafts and all of the creative
acts of ordinary life: cooking, gardening and caring for others. The
ancient Greeks had no word for art (Shiner 2001). Among all of
the languages of the American Indians there is no word for art
(Highwater 1981). In these cultures the arts were an integral part
of life. Many contemporary artists, art critics and art historians have
in recent years called for a reevaluation of how we think about the
place of the arts in our lives today (e.g., Gablick 1991; Neal 2015;
Shiner 2001).The long story of the arts
From the beginning of human history people have sung and danced,
played drums and rattles and created images on caves and canyon