Category: Graduation Gallery

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“I Am…” Graduation Show 2021

  • A black and white soft cut block print of a left hemisphere brain profile.
    Katie Gaynor “Untitled.” Soft cut block print, 9×12 in, $20
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Lisa Pascal, “I am here to help.” Mixed Media 14” x 18” NFS
  • The painting consists of petal-like shapes, bursting from one place near but not at the center of the canvas. It looks as though the shapes are emerging from an unfinished painting underneath, pieces of which are still visible at the edges of the canvas. Prominent colors include ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, and viridian green. The primary medium is heavy oil paint, with whimsical applications of crepe paper, textured gold ribbon, and small snippets of gold foil that lend a sense of movement when light hits the piece.
    Barbara Van Der Vossen, “I Am Emerging.” Mixed media on canvas. 24×36. $1,500
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Barbara van der Vossen, “I Am Here With You.” Mixed Media on Canvas. 20″ x 16″ $500.
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Claire Kalala, “The art of burning,” Acrylic on canvas,12×16, NFS, June 2020
  • Abstract mixed media created with watercolor, chalk pastel, and colored pencils. Showcasing an array of warm and cool color tones; red, pink, brown, yellow, teal and black.
    Lauren Parks, “I am… encountering others through myself,” mixed media on paper, diptych 6in x 9in, NFS
  • Abstract mixed media created with watercolor, chalk pastel, and colored pencils. Showcasing an array of warm and cool color tones; red, pink, brown, yellow, teal and black.
    Lauren Parks. “I am… encountering others through myself,” mixed media on paper, diptych 6in x 9in, NFS
  • Abstract acrylic painting of a human bust. Created by the use of a pallet knife, brushes and the artists hands to enhance the appearance of texture and color, light and shadows. Showcasing an array of warm color tones; pink, brown, white and black.
    Lauren Parks, “I am… evolving by experience”, acrylic on canvas, 11in x 14in, $616
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Michelle Miott, Theory Series
  • pink lotus flower floating amongst light blue, mint, pink, and violet cloud nebulas
    Michelle R. Miott, “Bloom.” Mixed, ink and photoshop
  • Thoni, “My Body, My Friend”
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Rachel Thoni, “Layers of Me.” Mixed Media (Paint, Paper, Marker, on Wood). NFS.
  • A pale green mug. Not a traditional form as the mug flew off the wheel during the trimming process. From an aerial perspective, the lip of the mug forms the outline of an ear shape, or soft triangle.
    Megan McMurdy, “Broken Like Me,” Ceramic
  • A small, white mug. Carved into the body of the mug are the shapes of two spinal discs which are afflicted with a degenerative disc disease.
    Megan McMurdy, “Spinal Bones and Aching Moans,” Ceramic NFS
  • A green mug with the technique of sgraffito applied to them. This means an underglaze coats the mug and then designs carved away at this glaze to reveal the clay body. This mug's design is that of chrysalises and small decorative lines & circles.
    Megan McMurdy, “A Chrysalis.” Ceramic NFS
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Katie Boggs, “Mystical Waves,” Acrylic on canvas, 8 in x 12 in, NFS
  • A diptych from a series featuring a woman and a skull. A woman painted in blue tones tugs at her face. The skull is also painted in blue with its mouth hinged open.
    Megan McMurdy, “Tugs of Sadness,” Acrylic on canvas NFS
  • A diptych from a series featuring a woman and a skull. The woman is particularly covered by a Death's Head Moth. The Skull has moth wings emerging from its eyes.
    Megan McMurdy, “The Hope to Transform.” Acrylic on canvas NFS
  • A diptych from a series featuring the head of a woman and a skull. Both have red tears falling from their eyes.
    Megan McMurdy, “Tears of Rage.” Acrylic on canvas NFS
  • Blue and white cyanotype prints of various seashells and a plant branch cut out in circles. Blue, yellow, and green watercolor encircle the cyanotype prints creating bubbles around the images.
    Katie Gaynor, “Safety,” Cyanotype and watercolor, 18x24in, NFS
  • An open box filled with magazine clippings of quotes and strings of lights
    Jessica Aguilar, “Identity 3”
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Jessica Aguilar, “Identity,” Mixed Media (Box, collage, glass, cloth, acrylic paint, electric lights) 10 inches length x 7 inches width x 3 1/2 inches height NFS
  • A box covered in a collage of magazine clippings and other materials
    Jessica Aguilar, “Identity 2”
  • Inside of a wooden box with twinkle lights, clippings from magazines and the words "family is my everything"
    Jessica Aguilar, “Identity 5”
  • A close-up of the inside of a small wooden box with magazine clippings and twinkle lights
    Jessica Aguilar, “Identity 4”
  • Six strings of origami cranes, interlaced with white beads, strung on copper wire on a backdrop of a powder blue wall. Cranes are multiple colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, and white with brief writing on the wings.
    Sara Blevins, “I am still growing.” Origami paper 2.25 in x 34.5 in NFS
  • Six strings of origami cranes, interlaced with white beads, strung on copper wire on a backdrop of a powder blue wall. Cranes are multiple colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, and white with brief writing on the wings.
    Sara Blevins, “I am still growing.” Origami paper 2.25 in x 34.5 in NFS
  • A string of colorful paper cranes against a green leafy background
    Sara Blevins, “I am still growing.” Origami paper 2.25 in x 34.5 in NFS
  • Six strings of origami cranes, interlaced with white beads, strung on copper wire on a backdrop of a powder blue wall. Cranes are multiple colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, and white with brief writing on the wings.
    Sara Blevins, “I am still growing.” Origami paper 2.25 in x 34.5 in NFS

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Counseling and Art Therapy Process, Theory Series

These Series of artworks represent psychological theories that are used in therapy, illustrating the integration of art and psychology that is art therapy. Student art therapists chose an art form to create a piece for each theory, ending with their own theory at this time in their art therapy careers. Congratulations to our 2021 graduates!

  • Series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Claire Kalala, Counseling Art Therapy Theory Series
  • Series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Seraiah Simmons, Theory Series
  • Series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Lauren Parks, Counseling Art Therapy Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Yasi Ahsanipour, Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Bailey Call, Counseling Art Therapy Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Michelle Miott, Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Katie Gaynor, Counseling Art Therapy Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    McKeon Dempsey, Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Katie Boggs, Counseling Art Therapy Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Lena Townsell, Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Sara Blevins, Counseling Art Therapy Theory Series
  • Series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Jessica Aguilar, Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Lisa Pascal, Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Rachel Thoni, Counseling Art Therapy Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Connie Zabokrtsky, Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Meg Mcmurdy, Counseling Art Therapy Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Barbara Van Der Vossen, Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Sarah Pregmon, Counseling Art Therapy Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Addy Purdy, Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Marcela Santos, Counseling Art Therapy Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Anita Alex, Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Lindsay Innis (each image is animated, which is not visible as an image). Counseling Art Therapy Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Sam Froh, Theory Series
  • A series of psychological theories interpreted artistically
    Kate Harris, Counseling Art Therapy Theory Series
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“I Am … ” Graduation Exhibit 2021

  • Abstract acrylic painting of a human bust. Created by the use of a pallet knife, brushes and the artists hands to enhance the appearance of texture and color, light and shadows. Showcasing an array of warm color tones; pink, brown, white and black.
    Lauren Parks, “I am… evolving by experience.” Acrylic on canvas, 11in x 14in, $616
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Katie Boggs, “Mystical Waves.” Acrylic on canvas, 8 in x 12 in, NFS
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Barbara van der Vossen, “I Am Here With You.” Mixed Media on Canvas. 20″ x 16″ $500.
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Lisa Pascal, “I am here to help.” Mixed Media 14” x 18” NFS
  • pink lotus flower floating amongst light blue, mint, pink, and violet cloud nebulas
    Michelle R. Miott, “Bloom.” Mixed, ink and photoshop
  • The painting consists of petal-like shapes, bursting from one place near but not at the center of the canvas. It looks as though the shapes are emerging from an unfinished painting underneath, pieces of which are still visible at the edges of the canvas. Prominent colors include ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, and viridian green. The primary medium is heavy oil paint, with whimsical applications of crepe paper, textured gold ribbon, and small snippets of gold foil that lend a sense of movement when light hits the piece.
    Barbara Van Der Vossen, “I Am Emerging.” Mixed media on canvas. 24×36. $1,500
  • Abstract mixed media created with watercolor, chalk pastel, and colored pencils. Showcasing an array of warm and cool color tones; red, pink, brown, yellow, teal and black.
    Lauren Parks, “I am… encountering others through myself.” Mixed media on paper, diptych 6in x 9in, NFS
  • Abstract mixed media created with watercolor, chalk pastel, and colored pencils. Showcasing an array of warm and cool color tones; red, pink, brown, yellow, teal and black.
    Lauren Parks. “I am… encountering others through myself.” Mixed media on paper, diptych 6in x 9in, NFS
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Claire Kalala, “The art of burning.” Acrylic on canvas,12×16, NFS, June 2020
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Rachel Thoni, “My Body My Friend.” Storycloth (Fabric and Embroidery). NFS.
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Rachel Thoni, “Layers of Me.” Mixed Media (Paint, Paper, Marker, on Wood). NFS.
  • A diptych from a series featuring a woman and a skull. A woman painted in blue tones tugs at her face. The skull is also painted in blue with its mouth hinged open.
    Megan McMurdy, “Tugs of Sadness.” Acrylic on canvas NFS
  • A diptych from a series featuring a woman and a skull. The woman is particularly covered by a Death's Head Moth. The Skull has moth wings emerging from its eyes.
    Megan McMurdy, “The Hope to Transform.” Acrylic on canvas NFS
  • A diptych from a series featuring the head of a woman and a skull. Both have red tears falling from their eyes.
    Megan McMurdy, “Tears of Rage.” Acrylic on canvas NFS
  • Blue and white cyanotype prints of various seashells and a plant branch cut out in circles. Blue, yellow, and green watercolor encircle the cyanotype prints creating bubbles around the images.
    Katie Gaynor, “Safety.” Cyanotype and watercolor. 18x24in, NFS
  • Blue and white cyanotype prints of various seashells cut into the shapes of petals to create a blooming figure in the center of the paper. Blue, yellow, and green watercolor outline the cyanotype prints. A hand tracing and cyanotype handprint are placed on the lower corners of the image.
    Katie Gaynor, “Growth.” Cyanotype and watercolor, 18x24in, NFS
  • A black and white soft cut block print of a left hemisphere brain profile.
    Katie Gaynor “Untitled.” Soft cut block print, 9×12 in, $20
  • A green mug with the technique of sgraffito applied to them. This means an underglaze coats the mug and then designs carved away at this glaze to reveal the clay body. This mug's design is that of chrysalises and small decorative lines & circles.
    Megan McMurdy, “A Chrysalis.” Ceramic NFS
  • A pale green mug. Not a traditional form as the mug flew off the wheel during the trimming process. From an aerial perspective, the lip of the mug forms the outline of an ear shape, or soft triangle.
    Megan McMurdy, “Broken Like Me.” Ceramic
  • A small, white mug. Carved into the body of the mug are the shapes of two spinal discs which are afflicted with a degenerative disc disease.
    Megan McMurdy, “Spinal Bones and Aching Moans.” Ceramic NFS
  • Art therapy graduation art 2021
    Jessica Aguilar, “Identity.” Mixed Media (Box, collage, glass, cloth, acrylic paint, electric lights) 10 inches length x 7 inches width x 3 1/2 inches height NFS
  • A box covered in a collage of magazine clippings and other materials
    Jessica Aguilar, “Identity 2”
  • An open box filled with magazine clippings of quotes and strings of lights
    Jessica Aguilar, “Identity 3”
  • A close-up of the inside of a small wooden box with magazine clippings and twinkle lights
    Jessica Aguilar, “Identity 4”
  • Inside of a wooden box with twinkle lights, clippings from magazines and the words "family is my everything"
    Jessica Aguilar, “Identity 5”
  • A string of colorful paper cranes against a green leafy background
    Sara Blevins, “I am still growing.” Origami paper 2.25 in x 34.5 in NFS
  • Six strings of origami cranes, interlaced with white beads, strung on copper wire on a backdrop of a powder blue wall. Cranes are multiple colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, and white with brief writing on the wings.
    Sara Blevins, “I am still growing.” Origami paper 2.25 in x 34.5 in NFS
  • Six strings of origami cranes, interlaced with white beads, strung on copper wire on a backdrop of a powder blue wall. Cranes are multiple colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, and white with brief writing on the wings.
    Sara Blevins, “I am still growing.” Origami paper 2.25 in x 34.5 in NFS
  • Six strings of origami cranes, interlaced with white beads, strung on copper wire on a backdrop of a powder blue wall. Cranes are multiple colors of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, and white with brief writing on the wings.
    Sara Blevins, “I am still growing.” Origami paper 2.25 in x 34.5 in NFS
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2020 Graduation Exhibition

A felted house under a tree perched on a grassy hill, all contained inside a teacup
  • This story cloth was inspired by a photo taken on August 27th, 2018, during my cohort's orientation to GW's art therapy program. It represents the moment that all of our individual paths crossed as we gathered side by side, aimed our sights in the same direction, and set off on this journey together as one. As I look back at our time together, I am overwhelmed by the continuous love and support that has been provided to me, and I will be forever grateful for each of these 21 women.
    Page Schwartz, “21 Buttresses”
  • Christlyn McCaskill, “Untitled”
  • Christlyn McCaskill, “Untitled”
  • This piece examines the idea of complex trauma in the context of hope. The well that nourishes our bodies is contaminated. Let us go to it and look inside. We see the twisting of childhood trauma alive. Its toxicity strangles our people. We whisper our wishes into coins. Drop them into the well. Plunk, plunk, plunk. Let us grow new life from the death of this evil.
    Jenelle Hallaert, “Wishing Well”
  • Beth Oliver, “Untitled”
  • Beth Oliver
    Beth Oliver, “Untitled”
  • Beth Oliver, “Untitled”
  • This is a layered response art from learning about the DSM - 5
    Beth Oliver, “A Duende of Psychopathology”
  • Jenna Cataldi
    Jenna Cataldi, “When There’s Nothing Left to Burn”
  • This piece is a culmination of 12 different paintings, representing different mental illness disorders, layered on top of one another. Some layers are completely covered over, and others have previous layers showing through or were enhanced. As I became more invested in my artistic process, I started to become curious about the different levels of creativity that can accompany a certain diagnosis. This required me to abandon the pockets of technique I heavily rely on in my personal artmaking practice and embrace the vulnerability to take on the perspective of what I thought each disorder might be like. My creative process expresses that suffering is integral to the human condition, and that the mental disorders are not so separate after all.
    Jenna Cataldi, “What’s Your Story?”
  • This piece represents an abstract timeline of personal hardships experienced and the impact they’ve all had on my life, ultimately reflecting how I cope with adversity. When I started weaving, I was fixated on the aesthetics and perfection making sure each layer was pulled tight enough so there were no holes or loose ends. Towards the end of the weaving, the layers become looser, and mistakes are more visibly seen representing myself becoming more comfortable with vulnerability. This process provided me with the awareness that I don’t need to hold myself together to be perceived as strong because as the weaving shows, so much appreciation, insight, and beauty can be found in the unraveling.
    Jenna Cataldi, “The Only Way Out is Through”
  • Jenna Cataldi, “Theory Series”
  • This series was created to reflect the aspects of post traumatic growth that I have witnessed in my life. Resiliency depicts a NICU incubator that represents the resiliency that my sister has shown since birth. Relationship depicts myself as a young girl being comforted by a Ugandan bishop's wife, Lovey, who showed me healing relationships can happen in small quiet moments. Regrowth depicts a new plant growing out of the soil, reflecting the way our brains can heal through new growth.
    Kirsten Ashey, “Resiliency”
  • Kirsten Ashey
    Kirsten Ashey, “Relationship”
  • Kirsten Ashey
    Kirsten Ashey, “Regrowth”
  • Christlyn McCaskill
    Christlyn McCaskill, “All That is Left is a Shadow”
  • Jenna Cataldi, “Metamorphosis”
  • Kathryn Mullins
    Kathryn Mullins, “Mental Self in 8 Parts”
  • Kathryn Mullins
    Kathryn Mullins, “Matchbox Series”
  • Kathryn Mullins, “Matchbox Series”
  • Kathryn Mullins, “Matchbox Series”
  • Yasi Ahsanipour
    Yasi Ahsanipour, “Freedom”
  • At the end of my first year in the GW Art Therapy Program, I found myself reflecting on my growth, change, and development through the metaphor of a “controlled burn." Though seemingly destructive, Fire clears away the dead and unnecessary material while also purifying the soil for future growth. Therefore, my small series of three paintings reflect myself in past, present, and future. I now feel as if the fire is out, but the burned ground remains, preparing for richer, denser, greener growth as I transition into the field of Art Therapy.
    Gina Astuto –“SHE IS {BE}COMING”
  • At the end of my first year in the GW Art Therapy Program, I found myself reflecting on my growth, change, and development through the metaphor of a “controlled burn." Though seemingly destructive, Fire clears away the dead and unnecessary material while also purifying the soil for future growth. Therefore, my small series of three paintings reflect myself in past, present, and future. I now feel as if the fire is out, but the burned ground remains, preparing for richer, denser, greener growth as I transition into the field of Art Therapy.
    Gina Astuto, “SHE IS {BE}COMING”
  • Gina Astuto, “SHE IS {BE}COMING”
  • Kiara Stewart
    Kiara Stewart, “Untitled”
  • Rachael Mecholsky
    Rachael Mecholsky, “10 Children”
  • Seraiah Simmons
    Seraiah Simmons, “Paint or Pollute”
  • Casey Frederick
    Casey Frederick, “Countertransference Reaction Mandalas”
  • Bo Hundley
    Bo Hundley, “I Just Feel A Little Extra”
  • This painting was done as part of my supervision process at my 2nd-year internship. Every week, changes were made to the same canvas, each layer of material encompassing my reflections and reactions to my experiences from the previous wee. They often incorporated goals for the coming week, hopes for the future, and the continued contemplation of my personal identity as an art therapist. In the beginning, I used traditional art materials, including acrylic paint, oil pastels, and India ink. However, as my experiences became more diverse, so did the texture of my piece. I began incorporating found items such as cheese cloth, tissue paper, feathers, sand, marbles, clay, hot glue, burlap, rope, a snail shell, beads, torn paper, and wisteria seeds. Much like our ability to tell the age of a tree by counting its rings, I am able to look back at the photos taken of my painting every week to see my own growth and development.
    Page Schwartz, “27 Weeks”
  • Rachael Mecholsky, “My Own Theory,” from Theories Series
  • This artwork was created in the course Psychopathology, Art & Diagnosis class as an attempt to understand borderline personality disorder (BPD) through creative process. I had a chance to process diagnostic features of borderline personality disorder while reading a mental health memoir entitled “Get Me Out of Here: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder” by Rachel Reiland (2004). That was the first time I was able to shift my conventional perspective by putting a human face to a dry list of diagnostic criteria and try to get into the shoes of a person suffering from a mental condition. I noticed that I started approaching the topic with a pronounced resistance, which I was able to moderate through the art process, eventually internalizing the idea of different personas coming into play when the sufferer is emotionally overwhelmed and understanding that the emotional conflict of personality disorder is usually rooted in abusive childhood experiences. This helped me comprehend some of my own unresolved parts-related emotional issues. I continued creative exploration of the topic of coming out from the darkness of uncertainty into the light through realization and awareness that different aspects of personality tend to emerge depending on a situation, which serves as a means of coping. The persistence of personality disorders stems from an approach/avoidance conflict. The patient gets stuck between the need to feel related in order to heal (represented by color) and the fear of trusting because of the anxiety and dysregulation that takes over in relationships (represented by shapes and movement). While “trying on” the shoes of someone who is suffering from a mental illness through creative process I realized how fine the line between mental health and mental illness is and how psychiatric symptoms may be considered as responses to often very adverse environments and how these responses, both evolved and socially influenced, serve protective functions and demonstrate human capacity for meaning making and agency (Johnston & Boyle, 2018). Placing myself on the continuum helped me restore my thinking and view people with mental disorder through personal, social, and cultural meaning considering what people do, not the “disorders” they “have.” I believe that this experience will help me approach diagnosing from a different perspective.
    Olesya Van Dijck, “Someone, who is fighting for survival and at the same time is a murderer”
  • Bo Hundley, “Theory Series”
  • Kirsten Ashey
    Kirsten Ashey “From House to House”
  • Yasi Ahsanipour, “The Tree of Life”
  • Aubrey Rainbow, “Never Forget”
  • This piece is a reflection on how equally vital physical touch is for a young child as food; Physical nurturance as sustenance for the body
    Linnea Hatteberg, “Skin Hunger”
  • Olesya Van Dijk, “COVID-19: Social Isolation and Emotional Distancing”
  • The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
    Jenelle Hallaert, “Gestalt Therapy”
  • Kirsten Ashey, “Theory Series: Mix Tapes, Psychoanalytic Theory”
  • Rachael Mecholskt, “Existential Theory,” from Theories Series
  • This is my final piece of the Counseling Theory Art Series which was designed to develop an understanding of each theory on cognitive, perceptual, and kinesthetic level. This artwork is a representation of my own art therapy and counseling theory at the time of graduating from the program. I used a bottom-up approach to this task remaining at the kinesthetic/sensory level of ETC in order to balance cognitive nature of theories. This approach also appeared to be reflective of my trauma informed approaches to treatment, as well as acknowledgement of me being a wounded healer and awareness of my own countertransference. I chose to work intuitively, entrusting myself to the process of exploration of each theory through an unfamiliar technique or media, noticing bodily reactions and honoring discoveries along the way. Which is very much in line with Nathaly Rogers Person-Centered Expressive Arts therapy approach, which employs a variety of forms – music, movement, dance, drama - to recognize human innate ability to be creative. As an art therapist my therapeutic approaches are rooted in a creative process that is believed to be transformative and healing.
    Olesya Van Dijk, “Fearless Art Therapist Warrior”
  • Kirsten Ashey, “Theory Series: Mix Tapes, Gestalt Theory”

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