I am mostly self-taught, although I've had some basic drawing and painting classes as a prerequisite to go to school for  Art Therapy. I have been formally trained in how the artistic process affects the psyche, how art heals. Art really is a form of communication, and often it allows us to express what we cannot in words. The process of producing art is a repairative process. It provides a safe outlet for your emotions, helps improve self-esteem, helps build frustration tolerance, helps thinking become clearer, and helps heal trauma and loss by  bridging the gap between explicit and implicit memories and providing mastery over conflicts on a subconscious level. Art making affects your brain on a sensory level. There is so many more ways art helps you, too. I currently work in a psychiatric hospital where I help people of all ages heal from life's problems and tragedies through the artistic process. I have been working in the field of art therapy since the year 2000.

Not only can art be healing for the person who makes it, but I believe it can bring healing and/or awareness to those who view it as well. I am a child of God with the Holy Spirit living inside me, and when I make art I choose to allow the Holy Spirit to guide the process and communicate through me. God wants to commuinate His love, His divine nature, and His plan for salvation, not only so we can go to heaven one day, but so that we can live the abundant life, now, which is found only in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Because I am an art therapist I may view art in a slightly different way than the traditional artist as I see all artisitc creation as a valid expression of where a person is at that moment of time in their life. It becomes like a snap-shot of where they are in their life journey. Therefore, all art is valuable  to me regardless if it pleases the eye or doesn't. There's simply a messsage in the art that needs to be decoded and allowed to be expressed.

My art is the same. It has been a  visual recording of my life's journey and what the Spirit of God in me is saying.

My art is also a testimony of the awesome power of God, as God has totally transformed my life from darkness to light, from shame to triumph. The presence of God in me has allowed me to overcome and to share that journey and victory. I began making art around the age of 4.  It happened quite naturally and seemed to be an instinctual and driven response to a life full of trauma and hardship.  My early life all the way through until my early adulthood was filled with trauma and loss of all kinds. I owe it to God and the creative drive He put within me to not only survive the traumas but to overcome them and become a victor and co-creator of my destiny with God. Although my art-making started out as a way to heal, now my art, more than anything else, is an act of worship and devotion to God. Its a way to capture all the beauty and complexities of life. It is also a way to express what God has put in my heart.

Most of my artisitc creations come from an emotional response to life, whether or not it be one of awe for God's goodness or from a need to self-repair from old memories. Because of this, I tend to prefer abstract creations. I like to combine my personal drawings with computer technology. I use photoshop alot and am beginning to learn about Corel Painter X. I usually draw my creations out with either chalk, oil pastel, or colored pencils, which are my favorites to use right now. Then I scan the items and began further elaborations through my artistic programs. I feel like there are infinite possibilities this way, and this allows me to re-work my art in a way which seems most pleasing to me. 

God has also been leading me in more traditional art expressions such as with acrylic paintings on canvases. These paintings most often capture a vision God has given me or something God had put in my heart to express to others about his nature, love, and goodness.

To find out more about me or to read my blogs you can check me out at myspace or facebook.

I hope you will enjoy my art.

God bless,

Cassandra Donnelly