Healing can take many forms. Physical relief can be found in medical intervention, chiropractic services, or massage. But healing can also come in the form of art. Navigating the world, navigating personal life crises, and navigating dynamic changes that impact us can create a physical, mental or even social isolation traceable to certain ailments. As…
Red pants with black lettering hung from the wall. The red against the white walls intrigued me to walk closer. I approached the pants to discover I could actually read them. I realized I was reading someone’s true story. It touched my heart, as if I heard the voice speaking from the pants. I walked…
The students at Pine Grove Learning Center created a Butterfly Kaleidoscope together. Each child sponge-painted their own butterfly shapes with acrylic paints. The finished paintings were combined into one large collage. This Healing in Arts project symbolizes the beauty of transformation through colorful changing patterns from butterfly to butterfly—and student to student. We tailored the…
Art can provide an open space for the critical exchange of ideas. Due to the harsh realities in this world, at times we need to discuss content that some may find offensive or traumatizing. We try to forewarn about potentially disturbing content, such as the following story about child sexual assault, so you can opt…
All of us fight secret battles, personal struggles unknown to others. These conflicts may cause us to lose sleep, overwork, binge eat, drown our sorrows with alcohol, or chew our fingernails—however we particularly deal with stress. Recently, I faced one of these gut-wrenching trials, causing a huge bout with anxiety and fear. While I faced…
Have you ever chosen to do something small that made a big difference in your life? One U.S. military veteran, let’s call him Mark, reluctantly decided to participate in the 2021 Voices project, featured at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At the time, Mark’s life seemed quite bleak, in part due to drug and alcohol…