 This year, exhibitions chair, Christine Nicklos collaborated with program members Katrina Funk & Kelly Baas to create a day of mindfulness, held at Fulton Street Collective on Sunday, November 2nd. We began the day with a free workshop led by Chicago’s reputable Dance Movement Therapist Kris Larsen, who led participants in a powerful one-hour experimental exercise to increase mindfulness through movement and body awareness. The workshop was followed by an art opening/reception, complete with an array of refreshments. The exhibit was on display at FSC from November 3rd through November 8th and showcased various members of the Illinois art therapy community. Artists expressed what mindfulness meant to them through a range of medium including painting, printmaking altered books, sculpture & interactive art. Among the artists were art therapists, art therapy students, IATA members and a six year old whose mother entered work on behalf of her daughter. The event was a great success. It helped kindle connection and self-care by bringing the community together for a day of art and movement dedicated to mindfulness. Respectfully submitted: Christine Nicklos, M.A., LPC Exhibitions Chair-Illinois Art Therapy Association
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 The IATA Programs Committee opened our 2013 Programming Year with a very well attended program run by a pioneer in the field of Art Therapy. Art Therapist and author Dr. Harriet Wadeson, PhD, LCSW, ATR-BC, HLM facilitated a beautiful program focused on her experience using creative self-expression in the face of illness. Her own personal experience and journey with cancer as described in her book, Journaling Cancer in Words and Images: Caught in the Clutch of the Crab, was the foundation for what she presented. Participants were prompted to reflect on their lives and begin the creation of their own altered book. Harriet educated participants in specific techniques and encouraged lively conversation and learning. She offered the opportunity for each participant to explore the magic that this particular creative process has to offer. Harriet incorporated her own professional experience into her teachings. The participants shared their work and left eager to integrate this modality into their practice.
Respectfully Submitted: Katrina A. Funk, MAAT, LPC Programs Committee Co-Chair  On Thursday, April 18th, 2013, the Sage Community Health Collective, a worker-owned community health collective located in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, partnered with IATA and the Programs Committee to offer a spirited and inspired workshop about the importance and intersections of self care, community care, and social justice. Participants were from a variety of corners of the mental health, art therapy, and social work fields. Everyone seemed to enjoy the open space and collaborative tone. After a large group lecture, discussion participants worked in smaller groups to make art and creative presentations that were then shared with the larger group. Attendants of this workshop will continue to ponder on important questions how therapists and other mental health workers can prevent and transform burnout within our communities, thus cultivating sustainability in our healing and justice-seeking practices.
Respectfully Submitted: Katrina A. Funk, MAAT, LPC Programs Committee Co-Chair Arts-Based Supervision: Engaging Artistic Ways of Empathy, Understanding, and Communication3/9/2013  In late March of 2013, IATA members had the opportunity to attend a rich program led by Barbara Fish, PhD, ATR-BC, LCPC. Moving from the understanding that supervision is the foundation of effective clinical work, Barb engaged participants in a stimulating discussion and lecture about incorporating creative processes into the supervisory relationship. Barb introduced art-based ways of understanding, empathizing, and communicating with both clients and supervisees, and helped participants to explore interpersonal and systemic dynamics through the use of art. Participants were also given the opportunity to engage in image making, written reflection, discussion, and learning as way to build valuable art-based resources for supervision.
Respectfully Submitted: Katrina A. Funk, MAAT, LPC Programs Committee Co-Chair  We hosted a special IATA Program in partnership with the Fulton Street Collective: A Moment to Be: A Self-Care Workshop for Students & Art Therapists, on Saturday, 11-10-12, 9:30am-12pm, at the Fulton Street Collective, 2000 W. Fulton Street, Chicago, IL.
The workshop was co-facilitated by dance movement therapist, Carla LaFarga and art therapist, Melissa Hedlund. The focus of the workshop was to 'be' and 'release' through dance/movement and art making. We were able to provide the workshop at no cost and offer CE's. It was an amazing time of caring for oneself through art and movement. Something that we all need to sustain ourselves in this work. Art Therapist Melissa Hedlund , ATR, LCPC held a benefit for The Light of the Heart on November 4th in Aurora. Three fellow IATA art therapists, Mary Andrus, ATR-BC, LCPC Heather Leigh, ATR-BC,LCPC and Heather Randazzo ATR, facilitated art therapy workshops for the public. Read more here:
http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/lifestyles/15825504-423/light-of-the-heart-fundraiser-attracts-90-to-paramount.html On October 18-19, 2012, Northeastern Illinois University, held it's annual Art in Response to Violence Conference at NIU. Two representatives from IATA , Laura Ebach and Melissa Hedlund, attended the conference on Friday, October 19th, to provide a safe space for participants to create artwork in response to the conference. The pair set up a comfortable and safe environment in one of the art rooms at NIU for attendees to express what they needed through paints, oil pastels and chalk pastels.
 IATA’s movie night at the Fulton Street Collective featured the artist Andy Goldsworthy’s documentary Rivers and Tides. The film was a stunning display of his art work and a glimpse into his process and home life. It was an intimate gathering and an excellent space to watch a movie in. The spectacular beauty of Goldsworthy’s environment was enhanced by the cosy seating and highlighted by the art space in the Collective. We munched on pizza and salad and took in Goldsworthy’s gorgeous genius before discussing the highlights of the film in relation to our own practice as artists and art therapists. I highly recommend attending the movie night events and look forward to the next one.
Alison Pollack, first year art therapy student at Adler School of Professional Psychology  On Sunday September 9th, 2012 IATA held the opening reception for our exhibition, Past President & Leaders In The Field. The exhibition, held at the Fulton Street Collective, presents an impressive range of works by: Dan Anthon, Barb Fish, Laura Jacob, Estelle Kenney, Mildred Lachman-Chapin, Debra Paskind, Don Seiden, Terri Sweig, Randy Vick, Pat Allen, Bruce Moon, Cathy Moon, Violet Reilly, Judy Sutherland and Harriet Wadeson.
The exhibition provided an amazing opportunity to honor those that have come before us. We hope you will join us on Friday Sept. 14 for an open art studio and Sat. Sept 15 for a panel discussion with this inspiring group of art therapists, who have helped to shape our field.  IATA’s panel discussion about how to find work as an Art Therapist, held on July 22 at Fulton Street Art Collective was a great success! Panelists Amy Lynn, Barbara Fish, Val Newman, Lindsey Hurle, Joanna Zakhem, Lisa Dinnocenzo, Andrea Koch and Jenni Ford provided audience members with a wide range of knowledge and expertise about how to navigate the job field after graduation. Surveys collected at the end of the panel discussion were overwhelmingly positive and there were many requests for more events of this type. IATA will continue to pursue panel discussions, lectures and events that meet the needs of our membership. - Sara Miller ATR, LCPC |
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January 2014
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