Consulting

Workshop or Presentation Descriptions 

 Art of the Holocaust: A PowerPoint presentation and lecture on the art created during the Holocaust and the power of art in times of war.

Postmodernist Art and Art Therapy:  A PowerPoint presentation and lecture on the integration of postmodernist art-making techniques, artists, and art therapy

Beyond the Face: A presentation of the benefits of self-portraiture in a therapeutic context.

 Positive Psychology: An examination of the benefits of positive psychology to art therapy and counseling

Integrating Art in the Classroom: A review of the research on the benefits of arts integration and the importance of the arts to learning.  Includes a hands-on demonstration of art and literacy integration or art and math integration.

Gender Differences in Children’s Art: An overview of studies related to gender differences in children’s drawings and a presentation of current research on the subject, including my own.

 Understanding Children’s Art Development: An examination of the benefits and limitations of stage development theory, and an overview of my research on the similarities of art development in different cultures. Participants will observe a child’s drawing from a developmental perspective.

Integrating Concepts from the Massachusetts Art Curriculum into the Classroom: A review of the basics of the Massachusetts Arts Frameworks, and ideas for incorporating these standards into the curriculum. Participants can engage in hands-on art activities that exemplify the concepts discussed.

Warning Signs in Art: An overview of signs and symbols in a child’s art that might indicate an emotional, psychological or developmental issue.

Art Therapy: An overview of art therapy and its applications for different client populations.

Making Books and Puppets: A look at teacher-made books and puppets for use in the classroom, and simple books and puppets that children can create.

 Multi-Cultural Art Activities: The pedagogy of multicultural integration. Participants will engage in games and art activities from various cultures.

Sweet Dreams and Scary Nightmares: An introduction to understanding dreams and nightmares, and creative approaches to helping children process their nighttime and naptime images.

Art and the Special-Needs Child: A presentation about the importance of art in working with various special needs populations, and how art is a tool to equalize disabilities.  Various art activities appropriate to individuals with special needs are addressed.

Art in Times of War and Political Conflicts: An overview of children’s resilience as documented by their art in times of war and political conflicts. Includes examples from the Holocaust, El Salvador, the Spanish Civil War and Darfur,among others.

Creative Art Activities: An overview of creativity and art for children, taking into account differences between teacher-created and child-centered art. A hierarchical model of art activities and goals in formulating art activities will be presented.  This workshop integrates hands-on experiences to understand how the same activity can meet different educational goals, and focuses on various techniques to assist teachers in planning creative art activities.