MC-345 - Textiles in Art Therapy with Women: Interweaving Historical and Personal Connection
Recorded On: 10/12/2020
For centuries, women have sewn, stitched, and woven worldwide to create community, externalize experiences, and sustain mental health and wellbeing. We will explore the history and socio- political significance of textile art media for women and the potential therapeutic benefits, inviting art therapists to integrate textile media into their practice.
Objectives:
• deepen their understanding of at least two social and/or political mental health stressors women face through a brief, general history of women’s political and personal resilience through textile arts;
• learn about three ways textile arts and needlecraft have potential as therapeutic tools for women to cope with distress, create community, and foster resilience in oppressive environments;
• learn at least two reasons to consider textile arts as they incorporate culturally and socially relevant modalities in their practices with women.
Samantha Kimberly Wright
Sam Wright is currently enrolled in Prescott College’s Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. She is pursuing an emphasis in Social Justice in Counseling, as well as a certificate in Expressive Arts Therapy. Sam was born in Texas but spent most of her childhood in Western Massachusetts before attending the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont in the Fall of 2010. There she obtained her Bachelors of the Arts in Psychology with a dual minor in Human Development & Family Studies and Studio Art. Sam spent her final undergraduate semester in Oaxaca, Mexico, carrying out a semester-long investigation on mental health in the cultural context. Upon graduating in the Summer of 2014, she decided to return to Oaxaca to solidify her proficiency in the Spanish language. During this time, she attended numerous workshops in graphic arts, printmaking, collage and fanzine elaboration, mainly through late Oaxacan artist Francisco Toledo’s artistic education center and museum, Centro de Artes San Agustín (CaSa). Additionally, she became certified as a translator and interpreter for English and Spanish languages. In 2017, Sam took part in an eight-month program for specialization in contemporary art in one of Oaxaca’s centers for visual arts, La Curtiduría. It was through this program that she explored new artistic media, including performance art, sculpture and installation. Although already a longtime textile crafter, it was during this period that she began to learn embroidery as an addition to her knowledge of sewing and knitting, understanding them as powerful artistic media, especially as tools for social justice-informed therapeutic work. In the Fall of 2019, Sam moved to Prescott, Arizona where she now resides.
Dr. Margaret Carlock-Russo
Past President, American Art Therapy Association
Prescott College
Margaret Carlock-Russo, EdD, LCAT(NY), ATR-BC, ATCS, is a board certified art therapist and licensed creative arts therapist, currently serving as the President of the American Art Therapy Association. Margaret has over 25 years of experience as an art therapist working with individuals and groups. Much of her career has been spent working with people with health conditions or impairments, learning disabilities and dementia. Most recently, she has developed Chroma Soul Arts, an organization focused on providing community groups and retreats, addressing issues of aging, social connection, self-care, and wellness. Margaret is also an associate faculty at Prescott College, coordinating their Expressive Arts Therapy Post Master’s Certificate Program.