THE ARTS

S P OTLIG H T ON TH ESANTA FE ART SCENE

By Anya Sebastian

Since we are entering a new year, this would seem to be a good time to start looking at things in a new way. Art obviously features prominently in this community, Santa Fe being the third largest art market in the US, but how many people are aware of the fact that it can also have a powerful ability to heal?

Southwestern College in Santa Fe was one of the first places, in 1998, to offer an accredited graduate degree course in Art Therapy and Counseling. Deborah Schroder, the Program Chair, moved here twenty years ago to be part of developing that course of study and she is still as enthusiastic about it now as she was then. “Art therapy has grown dramatically in the last decade,” she says, her eyes lighting up as she talks about her favorite topic. “It’s now even available in spas and health centers, and kids as well as adults are able to reap the benefits.”

The ability to draw is not necessary in order to participate; what matters is the process itself, not producing an end product. “People don’t edit art, like they edit words,” points out Deborah, “so this is a way to access and release emotions, experiences that have been trapped and unacknowledged, so that they can be recognized and healed. It’s a simple but very effective way to get in touch with what lies beneath the surface.”

Colors, shapes and lines obviously play an important part in what emerges and the significance of that goes beyond therapy, because it also influences and can even determine, how people respond to works of art in general. Many artists, like Santa Fe’s Alexandra Eldridge, prefer to keep their own interpretation of a painting and what it means, to themselves, in order to leave the viewer free to explore it without any preconceived ideas. “People frequently tell me what they see in a painting and what it means to them, and it’s always different and hardly ever the same as mine,” she says. “We all interpret what we see through our own life experience; that’s one of the reasons why it’s so powerful.” So the next time you experience a strong response—positive or negative—to a work of art in a gallery, or as you go through your day, maybe take a moment to ask yourself the reason why. You may just find yourself embarking on an unexpected healing journey.