Pat B. Allen

ARTE-TERAPIA Hacer arte es una vía de conocimiento, una actividad sanadora y una forma de liberar nuestros recursos creativos. Bastan un lápiz y un papel ... y la habilidad que teníamos de niños.Des

Art is a spiritual pathnot a religion, but a practice that helps us knit together the ideals and convictions that guide our lives. Creating art can be prayer, ritual, and remembrance of the Divine. And the sharing of this creativity with others in small groups can serve as sanctuary, asylum, ashram, therapy group, think tank, and village square. Pat Allen has developed a reliable guide for walking the path of art through a series of simple practices that combine drawing, painting, and sculpture with journal writing. Designed for readers at any level of artistic experience, the book shows how to: awaken the creative force and connect with the divine source of creativity access inner wisdom and intuition about life issues, including both personal and community concerns find a path to meaning that includes honoring, celebrating, and giving thanks explore the images and symbols of traditions such as Catholicism, Judaism, shamanism, and Goddess worship join in spiritual community with others who are following the path of art discover that artmaking can help us live our ideals and be of service in the worldDetailed examples from the authors own practice of art, plus the stories and images of several other people, are presented to illustrate how art becomes a spiritual path in action. At the authors virtual studio, www.patballen.com, readers can post their images and writings, communicate with the author, and subscribe to an electronic newsletter. The site also contains an archive of the images in this book in full color.

An expert in art therapy offers this wonderful guide for anyone, artistic or not, who is interested in using art to know more about himself or herself (Library Journal) Making artgiving form to the images that arise in our minds eye, our dreams, and our everyday livesis a form of spiritual practice through which knowledge of ourselves can ripen into wisdom. This book offers encouragement for everyone to explore art-making in this spirit of self-discoveryplus practical instructions on material, methods, and activities, such as ways to: Discover a personal myth or story Recognize patterns and themes in ones life Identify and release painful memories Combine journaling and image making Practice the ancient skill of active imagination Connect with others through sharing ones art worksInterwoven with this guidance is the intimate story of the authors own journey as a student, art therapist, teacher, wife, mother, and artistand, most of all, as a woman who discovered a profound and healing connection with her soul through making art.