studiomene

Moving blog to Wordpress

My new website was published through Wordpress, so my blog was also moved.
Please visit http://www.studiomene/blog/

  Thank you Posterous!

Autism Day 08/07/10

It was very nice meeting you all during the rainy Autism Day at Jubilee Farm. Thank you especially to Lynn! Many children and adults played with clay, and enjoyed creating muddy process. I brought back some of the tiles to be fired in my studio. Because of the cool weather, the tiles are drying very slowly.

Empathy

I think if we don't know how we feel, it is almost impossible to understand how other people feel(empathy). Helping people to recognize how they feel is a big part of my psychotherapy and art therapy practices. This exercise helps people to improve relationships with their family members.

  This morning, I was reading a blog about how social cognitive neuroscientist think about empathy http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/our-social-brains/201007/empathy-101and tried to understand the Theory of Mind.

  According to Wikipedia, Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states—beliefs, intents, desires, pretending, knowledge, etc.—to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs, desires and intentions that are different from one's own.

  Some scientists think that people with Autism Spectrum Disorders lack Theory of Mind.

  I found a wonderful web site made by Eric Chen from Singapore. He is a 24 year old who was diagnosed with Asperger's less than 10 years ago. He describes his experience very well and how he was " succeeded in connecting with his emotions and making contact with humanity." http://iautistic.com/

Is Exercise the best drug for Depression? By Time Magazine

This is an interesting articule about depression and expercise.

  http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1998021,00.html?xid=rss-fullhealthsci-yahoo

Art Therapy Presentation at Nikkei Manor 06/16/10

I presented Art Therapy for Seniors at Nikkei Manor. After talking about how art therapy works, participants made their own art works with pastels and precut shapes. I was honored to hear many life stories and memories of the residents from Manor and Keiro Nursing Home.

 As we get older, we lose our physical and mental abilities. Our loved ones would pass away.  In art therapy we work on celebrating our lives focusing on what we experienced and gained. We also work on the issues of loss and memories.

 Art Therapy helps us to minimize psychological effects of aging, illness, disability and loss. It helps us to improve quality of life and psychological well-being.

Studio Mene Open House 5/29/10

Thank you for coming to the Studio Mene open house and tile making workshop.

 

By Lulu Mama and Lulu Papa

May is National Asian Paific American Heritage Month

May is a National Asian Pacific Islander American Month. It is not well know like African American Month February. There are several celebrations at International District during the month of May.
 
As a person of color in this country, it is extremely important to know where our ancestorｓ came from and how much we know of our culture heritage. My son is growing up in a primary Caucasian Community. I witnessed his culture identity formation as a teenager and I am so glad that he is a proud Asian American. 
 
Here is a copy from Wikipedia;
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) is celebrated in May to commemorate the contributions of people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent in the United States. Congress passed a joint Congressional Resolution in 1978 to commemorate Asian American Heritage Week during the first week of May. This date was chosen because two important anniversaries occurred during this time: the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants in America on May 7, 1843 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad (by many Chinese laborers) on May 10, 1869. In 1990 Congress voted to expand it from a week to a month long celebration and in May 1992, the month of May was permanently designated as “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.

How Autistic Artists See the World

This is a wonderful article/gallery about art works by artists with Autism Spectrum Disorders by Discover magazine. http://discovermagazine.com/photos/15-how-autistic-artists-see-the-world

Clay-Garden Ornaments

When I use clay during the art therapy, I encourage people to throw clay against the table or to punch clay in order to remove air bubble trapped inside of the clay. This is also a way to reduce angry and anxious energy inside of us.

  I am not a big fun of punching a pillow when we are angry. I prefer more constructive way to discharge angry energy. Therefore, after removing air bubbles out of clay, we begin creating images by continuously punching, twisting, smoothing clay. An image begin forming as we enjoy creating process. We also enjoy texture of clay which has soothing affect. We talk about our creating process and the final art work later.

  When the sculpture gets little harder, we make it hollow. After firing the piece, it is ready to put in your garden or decorate your living space.

Sand Tray

In my studio I have several sand trays with fine beach sand. There are hundreds of small toys as well. I collect toys since they help us to create in art therapy.
It also help me to understand how I feel today and it is fun!