One artist would paint for eight hours at a time and only realize that much time had passed when she realized she was very hungry. During the painting time all her pain would disappear. The minute she came back to consciousness it would all return. Art s power to evoke emotion reveals art s healing properties. Bringing forth our images regardless of their ability to unnerve us and trusting that the process will allow us to transcend the mundane visually connects us with our inner core, a place of wholeness that remains intact.
Art is a natural process for learning transformational thinking.
The artist begins with some medium and creates something. As the artist works the image, he or she transforms it by adding to it or subtracting from it. Artistic expression is a way of taming the impulsive drives and promoting the development of higher ego functions. Also, art therapy is an effective treatment modality because falsification is difficult. Subject matter an artist may have difficulty confronting often appears in their artwork disguised in symbolic form.