212 • Introduction to Art Therapy
the courage to put into words. This therapist recommended that I consider art therapy as a
way through the words, to help me deal with pre-verbal information and to help with the
material that had just been brought to light. [At this point her male psychotherapist referred
her to me for adjunctive art therapy.] I began, stronger and interested in this process but
still carrying the residue of all my previous experiences with art. I chose clay—the only
media that seemed MINE. I painted at home, but still used modeling paste and thick paint
to almost sculpt the paintings (D).
Clay was wonderful! It was very forgiving—I could start over. It took energy to manipu-
late and that helped reduce my tension and anxiety. Whatever I made, I made so it faced
me—it was mine, and even though my art therapist was watching as I worked, I didn’t need
to reveal it until I was ready. It was solid and had dimension—something I had great diffi-
culty managing in painting. I could work quickly with the urgency that the feelings seemed
to demand and still have something done at the end of the time. Judy has often wondered
why I am so adamant about only using brown clay.
I have said that I like the texture better, like the color better, that gray is too sticky—but
it wasn’t until I began to write all this, that I had an inkling that maybe it’s because my first
good experience as a teacher with art came with the brown clay I used with the kids at camp.
It makes me feel good. The brown clay also seems more life giving than the gray, which
seems to be spooky and dead.
I have used other media—watercolor, pastels, chalk, and acrylic paints (E), but I still
prefer clay. It seems funny to me that I can be working and suddenly “see” something in the
clay that can be formed and worked to produce an expression of what is going on in my head
at the time (F). I prefer to just let it happen rather than being given an assignment. It seems
more “mine” than trying to make something come through a demand. It’s funny too that
when I paint [at home], it is usually at a time of either great stress (G), or a time of success
(H). Believe me, stress has won out over success more times than I care to think.
It’s just like the clay in many ways. I get a fragment of an idea or thought and begin to
think about the materials or ways I can show it. Sometimes I know just what needs to be
done. I have wandered up and down the aisles of craft and art supply stores until something
clicked and I identified the material I needed to complete the image. I don’t see a picture—I
describe it in words to myself—but I know what I want it to look like (I).
How is all this different from “talk therapy”? I think it’s the best of both worlds. It’s
another way to help yourself express things clearly for yourself and also a better way to
express yourself with the help of a therapist. Sometimes words are not enough. Sometimes
showing is needed as well as telling. Sometimes the words we use have different meanings
and emotional attachments for others than for ourselves.
There is one additional special advantage I can see—change and progress become visible
over time for both client and therapist. You have a record of what you have “worked on” and
how you have changed by looking at the artwork. It is very comforting to see progress rather
than being told that you have progressed. Words are so slippery and hard to capture—art is
real and tangible.
For me there was the added benefit of becoming more confident about expressing myself
and showing my feeling to another as I got more involved in art therapy. When you have
come from the “do it the right way” school and are encouraged to be free, it spills over into
other areas of your life ...
Am I glad about this experience? YES. But I’m also realistic enough to know that most
people’s experiences with art through school can have a great impact on whether they
approach this with anticipation or dread. I think of the people that I met in the hospital