Using Story Cloths in Art Therapy
Saturday, April 22, 2023
10:00am – 5:00pm EST
6 CEC (ATCB, NBCC)
In-person, lunch included
Description
Art therapists understand the importance of using art materials that make sense for each client, situation, and environment. Using fabric in art therapy can be particularly efficacious when working with trauma, grief, or other deeply felt emotions and experiences. Cloth is tactile, can be comforting, and may be more familiar to clients than traditional art materials. Stitching and telling stories externalizes the story and allows for alternative stories to arise verbally and visually. Cross-cultural traditions of sewing in community have been used to organize, build relationships, agitate, advocate, grieve, and heal. This workshop explores the power of “women’s work” and how returning to the art and craft of sewing in this technological age provides an opportunity to slow down, think deeply, and join with others in creative community. Participants will sew their own story cloth; materials provided, but feel free to bring special fabric scraps to use and consider what story needs to be told.
Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
- Participants will recognize how narrative textile creation is used around the world to tell important stories.
- Participants will identify 3 ways of incorporating story cloths into their own practice.
- Participants will create their own story cloth using 3 classic stitches and understand how to use the process when working with clients.
Presenter:
Lisa Raye Garlock, ATR-BC, ATCS, LCPAT, works with the international non-profit, Common Threads Project, co-training therapists in using story cloths, along with art therapy, mind/body awareness and psychoeducation to help women recover from the trauma of gender-based violence. She has co-facilitated Common Threads trainings in New York City, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and facilitated Survivor workshops in Geneva, Switzerland through the Mukwege Foundation. After retiring as full-time faculty in the GW Art Therapy Program in 2022, she is deepening her artistic practice in textiles, and currently working on a commission for Conflict Textiles. She plans to expand the Storycloth Database that she created in 2018, and is available to facilitate trainings in story cloths, art therapy interventions, and supervision.
Location:
GW Alexandria Graduate Center
413 John Carlyle Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Directions and parking
Save the date - 4/22/2023
$169 professionals
$149 for GW alumni, faculty, supervisors and students (code: GWUSTO)
Lunch is included
Please consider making a donation to our program.
Every gift, large or small, furthers our educational mission at the GW Art Therapy Program to support student fellowships, diversity, accessibility, and training.
Contact
Please contact 202-994-4148 if you have questions, concerns, or need special accommodations. Registration closes on 4/21/2023. Cancellations must be received 48 hours prior to the event date to be eligible for a refund.