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One Love
Phil Lewis
digital collage
2020
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Community Letter
Dear Colorado Art Therapy Association Members & Affiliates,
Our passionate Board of Directors have been working hard in 2023 to organize art therapy advocacy efforts through outreach, community events and serving on committees.
In April, Nicole Nepote, Government Affairs Chair, started the Government Affairs Committee, dedicated to developing a direction for our art therapy advocacy efforts in 2023-2024. In May, we organized the Art Therapy Conference committee, aiming to provide an impactful conference for the purpose of advancing the field of art therapy in Colorado in 2023.
We are very excited for our upcoming collaboration with world renowned artist Koko Bayer and our community partnerships with Envision:You and O.A.S.O.S. Boulder County to uplift LGBTQ+ youth in Longmont, Colorado in light of the Club Q tragedy and recent laws in school that are perpetuate LGBTQ+ youth.
We hope that you will consider joining as a board member, volunteer or committee member. Attend our events and help us spread the word about art therapy, because when we work together we can achieve great things!
With Gratitude,
Lara K. Rutledge, MA, LPCC, ATR-P
President, Colorado Art Therapy Association
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Art Therapist in the Spotlight | | |
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Kate King, MA, LPC, ATR-BC
Colorado Licensed Professional Counselor and Board-Certified Art Therapist, Kate King, is releasing her new book: The Radiant Life Project: Awaken Your Purpose, Heal Your Past and Transform Your Future this spring!
Read more about her new book, professional development and take a journey with her as she shares about her personal experiences as an art therapist.
King says, "my calling toward this work with my clients is deeply meaningful to me. I feel energized and ignited by this intentional form of healing. It aligns with my highest purpose."
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The Radiant Life Project: Awaken Your Purpose, Heal Your Past, and Transform Your Future.
The common problem in our society is precisely this: We are not as alright as we seem. Trauma, physical and mental illness, and disembodied value systems are at an all-time high across our communities. Additionally, issues of pervasive social justice imbalances, inequality for marginalized communities, and painfully charged political dynamics clearly demonstrate a large-scale desire for collective change and transformation. Society is waking up to a new reality without the shackles and numbness that have previously limited our potential. This book is the timely resource to support the expansive elevation humanity demands.
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Colorado Art Therapy Association News | |
State of Government Affairs - 2023
The Colorado Art Therapy Association recently formed the Government Affairs Committee, led by Government Affairs Chair, Nicole Nepote, ATR, LPC. This committee supports COATA's efforts in planning a direction for art therapists advocacy efforts in Colorado. The Government Affairs Committee plans to release a poll in June 2023 that COATA members and art therapists can participate in to share their views on the direction of pursuing art therapy as a license or title protection for art therapists. Stay tuned for more details to be released soon.
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Painting & Process with Stars of Hope USA | |
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On April 8, 2023, Colorado Art Therapy Association partnered with Stars of Hope USA and University of Colorado, Colorado Springs to provide a space to uplift LGBTQ+ individuals impacted by the recent Club Q tragedy.
Art therapists were present to offer therapeutic support to participants who painted a star to commemorate lives lost along with messages of hope for LGBTQ+.
Leara Glinzak, ATR-BC, MSAT, art therapist facilitator recounts the event below:
When I first saw the collaboration with Stars of HOPE and that I was available I had an immediate yes response. This type of work and these tragedies are a call for art therapy services-when words cannot possibly be strung together to begin thinking or processing what all occurred.
Art has space for everyone at the table, and I was given the opportunity to sit at a table with a group of folks.
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I witnessed the beginning aspects of discomfort and confusion where to begin in making the first mark.
And finally, themes of skies, galaxies and clouds emerge as we shared a comfort in the notion that like the ever changing sky, nothing lasts forever and change is inevitable.
I created art in response to what was going on at the table to increase empathy and understanding, I chose similar media and symbols.
The conversations eventually shifted to helping one another when materials were not cooperating how someone expected. There was support among the mess of paint covering the table cloth and water spilt across the table. And there was laughter.
Therefore, when you see my star it embodies the space at the table; the discomfort, the storm, the stars-a light in the darkness, confusion, and a changing sky through a sunrise with moving clouds, encompassed by the butterflies emerging upward with a rainbow peaking through as a bridge.
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Response Art by C.L. Brandenburg, art therapist facilitator at Painting & Process | |
About Stars of Hope USA
WE'RE USING ART TO HELP PEOPLE HEAL AFTER TRAGEDY
Tragedies such as mass violence and natural disasters leave many survivors feeling hopeless. To give them hope, we use evidence-based therapeutic art making in the form of a star to compassionately support survivors while providing healing art sessions for both body and mind.
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From Koko Bayer
I am so thankful to everyone who has been part of #projectspreadhope, their support has enabled me to put up hundred large prints and thousands of stickers and small-format prints over the past 3 years around Colorado and the US.
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Annual Art Therapy Conference 2023 Early Bird Registration | |
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We are very excited to host our 2023 conference in-person at the beautiful Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, Colorado.
Please consider early bird registration to save money while helping Colorado Art Therapy Association plan for our event. There are a limited number of seats, so purchase your ticket today!
Use the promo code [COATA] at checkout to save NOW!
Early Bird Registration tickets are $55 with discount code until August 15th.
Regular registration begins on August 16th and prices will be as follows:
$45 for students
$65 for members
$75 for nonmembers
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Phil Lewis
Growing up in Lake Tahoe and Colorado, my Art has been influenced most by nature. From a young age, I saw shapes and colors when looking at landscapes and animals. When I’m outside, creativity flows and I’m able to share what I see with others.
As a kid, I doodled my way through school. When I got to college, I was still fixated on worlds I saw in my mind. I signed up for Art 101, drawing, and painting, but felt an urge to expand what Art could do, where it could live, and how people could experience it.
The cyber world has always fascinated me. When I was 12, my parents told me I could get my first computer if I memorized the entire DOS manual, so I did. When I took Intro to Photoshop in college, everything clicked. Mixing traditional Art with digital mediums unlocked a vortex to expand creativity the way I envisioned.
In 2001 I graduated college and spent the next 7 years on a musical voyage, playing bass in a band with my brothers. I kept with the Art, mixing mediums to make band posters and album covers.
In 2008, we decided to go our separate ways and I turned my focus entirely to creating artwork. It’s been a heck of an adventure ever since — full of color, good people, and best of all, the chance to hear what others care about through the conversations Art opens up. It would be impossible to do any of this without the massive amount of love and support I get from family, friends, and fans. I hope the Art I create can be a reverberation of this love and energy, which is abundant in nature and the connections we make when creating.
I can’t thank you enough.
Instagram: @phillewisart
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phillewisart/
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