North Panhandle Times

Opening reception is from 6-8pm, Saturday, Jan. 21

West Liberty University Creative Arts Therapy students are putting finishing touches on art submissions for their annual Creative Arts Therapy Exhibition. The exhibition will be displayed at Oglebay Institute’s Towngate Theater, 2118 Market St., Wheeling, from Jan. 21 to Feb. 26, 2023. 

“This is our fourth year that we are presenting our student exhibition at this convenient downtown location and we are grateful that Towngate Theater and the Oglebay Institute are so generous with their space,” said Terri Giller, who is the undergraduate Creative Arts Therapy Instructor. “I see this as a great way for our students to connect with the community, highlight art therapy education and educate about the role art can play in healing.”

This exhibition includes work from undergraduate and graduate students. Artwork in the exhibition includes pieces created in studio arts classes as well as art therapy specific assignments. Students were asked to consider “The Healing Power of Art” and about 12 students participated in the exhibition.

Creative Arts Therapy major, Makenna Klarr experienced this while recovering from her own experience, “Using art as a coping mechanism for healing after my car accident has helped me work through one of the most traumatic points in my life. Art has helped me heal emotionally almost as much as medicine and surgery has helped me physically. The three pieces that I created of medicine bottles are representative of how healing can be overwhelming but it’s important. I collaged a copy of my discharge papers from the hospital as a background and cut out some words that were most prevalent in my experience.”

Klarr is currently a part of the Art Therapy and Counseling Bridge program, which allows her to finish her undergraduate and starting her graduate work simultaneously to complete her bachelor’s and master’s degree in a 3+2 year structure.

“This artwork not only focuses on the content of the art to express emotions or experiences, but also identifies the benefits from a variety of art processes. For example, students have observed that even taking the time to focus on a still life has therapeutic benefits, allowing them to ground and stay present,” Giller observed. “Working with clay can also be therapeutic, the physicality of the process allowing them to release tension and engage in sensory experiences that can regulate the nervous system.”

Students were also encouraged to share their experiences using art to process their experiences.“The art piece, ‘Growth through Madness’ was created using my father’s radiation treatment mask. He had completed cancer treatment and brought it home; I wanted to transform it, this shows that even the scariest things can grow to be beautiful,” shared Maddie Boyd, a WLU senior. Boyd will be graduating from WLU this spring as a psychology major and art therapy minor; she is hoping to continue her studies and earn a master degree in Art Therapy.According to Giller, Art Therapy is a mental health profession that uses art media and the creative process to explore feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem.Art therapists are master-level clinicians who work with people of all ages with various abilities and disabilities. Guided by ethical standards and scope of practice, their education and supervised training prepares them for culturally proficient work with diverse populations in a variety of settings.In addition to the Creative Arts Therapy undergraduate program, West Liberty University is the only public university in West Virginia to offer a graduate degree in Art Therapy and Counseling. The art therapy degrees are housed in the College of Liberal and Creative Arts.For more information, please contact Program Director Dr. Susan Ridley, via email at: susan.ridley@westliberty.edu.Share

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Contact InformationMAUREEN ZAMBITODirector of Media RelationsEmailmaureen.zambito@westliberty.eduDesk: 304.336.8203Cell: 304.280.6074Address:West Liberty University219 Shaw Hall208 University DriveWest Liberty, WV 26074

Original source can be found here