Safe Place Artwork Facilitated By Ani Buk

Second year students attended the Art Therapy with Diverse Populations class facilitated by Art Therapist Ani Buk. This course explored the use of art therapy with traumatized clients. In addition, the class learned about the concept of vicarious traumatization and self-care. For the experiential, the class created 3-dimensional models of a Safe Place.

Here are some of them with thoughts from the artists:

I began my safe place with a room made out of a cigar box. It'’s a good solid thing and smells faintly of tobacco which reminds be of the cigars my boyfriend occasionally smokes. There is a picture on the wall of us that makes me smile. I imagine I smell coffee and pine needles. I imagine I am in the room and the window is open. I feel the air brush against the hair on my arms and I think I hear wind chimes but they are far away. I sip my coffee and taste the bitter and sweetness of it. I hear the wind in the trees rattle and soften, I hear birds call and respond. I think I hear loons on the lake. I step out of the house and take my coffee to the porch. I pick up a stone I left on the small table and cup it in my hand. Its my special object, a stone I once found that is curved and looks like it's striving to rise like some embryonic animal coming to life. It fits perfectly in my palm and lies curled around my thumb.
Walls inside and out are covered in art projects Ive done and am doing. One idea leads to the next and the ideas are inexhaustible. Right now I am working with paper, cutting it into mandalas and faces. The faces are characters in stories I can write down at night when it's too quiet. I say the words, Im safe I can stay here as long as I want and I can leave when Im done.

Deborah Berk






This Space was created by second-year student Erin Viola.

































Margie Edwards Green created this space.