Supernatural Thriller Features Art Therapist!!
January 17, 2010
I am excited and intrigued to see that a new book, Personal Effects: Dark Art
From Publishers Weekly:
Starred Review. Hutchins, author of the audiobook podcast trilogy 7th Son, makes his print debut with the stellar first of an interactive supernatural thriller series. Zach Taylor, an art therapist(emphasis mine), must evaluate Martin Grace, a blind audio engineer suspected of a dozen homicides, to determine whether Martin is mentally competent to stand trial for the murder of hip-hop singer Tanya Gold, whose body was torn literally limb from limb. Martin claims he’s an unwitting psychic sniper, foreseeing crimes actually committed by a Russian demon or Dark Man. One of his possible earlier victims was Martin’s psychiatrist, Sophronia Poole, the girlfriend of Zack’s dad, William V. Taylor, the New York City DA seeking to convict Martin. Weisman, an alternative reality game whiz, is responsible for the items inside the book’s front pocket—a psychiatric report, family photos, death and birth certificates, etc.—that allow the reader to follow a multimedia trail of clues. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
I have not had a chance to read it yet- I have a copy on order- but, as an art therapist myself, I am excited to see this and wanted to get the word out to you all. If you read it, let me know what you think.
Update June 25, 2011:
I read about halfway through this book and, alas, I could not sustain my interest. I’m not sure if it was because of the way it is written, the story line, the character development, or something else. I wanted to like this book. Too bad. If you’ve read it, let me know what you think in the comments.
Modern Art with a Timeless Feel
January 8, 2010
I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and re-post a couple of items that were posted elsewhere this week. This post is about the art work of Mike Dacey who has a studio in Boston, Repeat Press, where he produces wonderful prints. Mike makes use of screen printing, vintage letterpresses and wooden type blocks to make designs like no other- both up-to-the-moment modern and also antique in look and feel.
Mike has been making posters for bands and other events and, as you will see with a visit to the studio through the photos of Meighan O'Toole at her blog, "My Love for You You…". Mike was also written up by Christine Liu, Correspondent for the Boston Globe, at the Boston Globe web site, boston.com where you will see an example of the wallpaper Mike has produced using his designs.
Full disclosure: I have known Mike for many years and visited his studio just last September. Congrats, Mike!
Drawing = Thinking: Milton Glaser
November 24, 2009
In the short video below by C. McCoy via Vimeo, Milton Glaser talks about the importance of drawing- while drawing, of course!
MILTON GLASER DRAWS & LECTURES from C. Coy on Vimeo.
Eye Movement Exercise Increases Creativity
November 16, 2009
A new study has shown evidence that creativity is boosted by an intervention of bi-lateral eye movement designed to increase hemispheric cross-talk. Some of you may be familiar with the use of Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) which also uses bi-lateral eye movements. This article from the Research Digest blog of the British Psychological Society discusses eye movements for increasing creativity. Interestingly, the outcomes are affected by which hand is the stronger- as in right- or left-handed.
Are you wondering why the picture is of a brick for this post? So did I when I saw the original. The article will reveal all.
Fellini’s Imagination
October 24, 2009
"For me the world of my imagination is always closer to the truth than is the truth."
"If I wander around the world looking at things, it is only to reassure myself that the world I have invented is true."
Frederico Fellini (1920-1993)
Every issue of Life Magazine until the end of 1972 is available on Google Books for free. I did a search there for imagination and found this entry: From the July 30, 1971 issue of Life is an article by Dora Jane Hamblin on Frederico Fellini , the great Italian movie director. This piece is about the creation of his made-for-tv film, The Clowns. If you are familiar with his films you know how imaginative they are- perhaps some of the best examples of imagination in filmmaking. The Life magazine article has sketches made by Fellini as studies for this film.
Apparently, Fellini was greatly influenced the Jungian analyst Dr. Ernst Bernhard and by the autobiography of Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Wallace Stevens Birthday
October 2, 2009
Today is the 130th birthday of Wallace Stevens the great modernist poet born in Reading, PA, USA.
One must have a mind of winter To regard the frost and the boughs Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;
And have been cold a long time To behold the junipers shagged with ice, The spruces rough in the distant glitter
Of the January sun; and not to think Of any misery in the sound of the wind, In the sound of a few leaves,
Which is the sound of the land Full of the same wind That is blowing in the same bare place
For the listener, who listens in the snow, And, nothing himself, beholds Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
THE SNOW MAN
BY WALLACE STEVENS
The Red Book
September 21, 2009
The September 16th, 2009, issue of the Sunday New York Times Magazine (you may need a subscription to view it online) has a cover story on a "new" book, The Red Book
coming out by Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychologist. This is the first publication of the notes and art he made during his famous period of reclusivity at which time time he courageously delved deeply into his unconscious. Many have thought him to have been psychotic during this time but what I have read in Memories, Dreams, Reflections
The availability of this book will, hopefully put to rest the view that he was out of his mind during this period. Even the meager views of the book one can see in the Times Magazine and on Amazon reveal the high degree of organization with which he recorded his experiences.
The publication of this book is cause for celebration for those of us who look to Jung for wisdom.
UPDATE:
Here is another article on the publication of The Red Book from the Associated Press via Yahoo News with more details by Ula Ilnytzky. The original book will be shown at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, October 7 to January 25, 2010.
Also, I now see that the price for this 205 page, 8.8 pound book in German with English translation published by W. W. Norton & Company will be $195. That price actually doesn't seem too much for what you will get but you may want to know that it can be pre-purchased
at Amazon now for $105.30 and in stock on December 4. (The sales rank in Books at Amazon is 112 and its not even out yet!)
Biofeedback Game Used in Treatment for Eating Disorders
August 17, 2009
Patients with eating disorders who are in treatment at the Belmont Center for Comprehensive Treatment, a part of the Albert Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia, PA, is using an interactive computer program, "Healing Rhythms", in the course of treatment, as reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal on January 30, 2009.
"Healing Rhythms" is made by a san Diego computer company, WildDivine- the very same company that produces "Journey to the Wild Divine", an interactive computer game that employs biofeedback data to negotiate your way through the game. "Healing Rhythms" uses the same technology and imagery, but without the game component. I wrote positively about this game in this blog some time ago when I began to use it with clients and I still think highly of it. In fact, I would expect to see more input to computers using biofeedback as the technology matures. You can see it happening also in the iPhone with its sensitivity to movement, and the Wii.
There is a link on the lower right column on this page to take you to the Wild Divine web site if you want to explore further. Or click here. (I am an affiliate with the company and get a percentage if you buy.)
This is a cartoon by Stuart McMillan about George Orwell and Aldous Huxley and the different ways they saw the future. Interesting. (Thanks to kottke.org)
