The Good Enough Studio

Organize your space in the best way to achieve therapeutic significance. "The good enough studio"-derived from D.W. Winnicott's notion of the good enough mother-serves as a safe space where clients, students, and artists find modes of expression and being that unveil their own authenticity and connection to the archaic creativity of humanity. As a global art therapist and educator, Nona Orbach facilitates this profound alchemy of self-transformation by attending to the nonverbal, intuitive choreography that each individual uses in order to create. In Orbach's groundbreaking therapeutic model, the consciously organized studio is a place of acceptance where actions, materials, and the space itself "speak" and guide discovery.In this book readers will learn how to: Organize an open-studio setting Create an environment of acceptance and choice that facilitates transformation Understand action-material relationships as emotional and pedagogical communication Discern and mirror each individual's creative blueprint The insights of The Good Enough Studio will cultivate the work of those interested in the phenomenology of materials: artists, educators, therapists, and parents, as well as the nonprofessional and curious reader. Through guidance and case studies, Orbach shows how the creator's poetic truth can lead to integration and well-being. Nona Orbach is a multidisciplinary artist, therapist, blogger, lecturer, and facilitator of workshops for art therapists in Israel and around the world. Her artwork engages with archeological and historical contexts and is compiled under the title Tel-Nona. As an excavator in the Tel (mound) and preserver of the artifacts in a blog/virtual library, Nona metaphorically revives the great Alexandrian library that burnt down with its million scrolls in the first century BCE. Tel-Nona preserves its spirit of sharing knowledge in an international humanistic project. She also leads a social movement to change the Israeli education system through the learning and understanding afforded by the studio and the language of materials. Her online learning community includes over 7,000 participants from the fields of education and therapy. She has created an English blog and a study group with the title of this book to circulate her ideas internationally. Her previous book, The Spirit of Matter, co-authored with Lilach Gelkin, has been an immensely useful tool for therapists and educators for many years. Published in Israel in 1977, the PDF English version of the book is sold on her website.

Packed with joyful and educational art experiences for kids, Play, Make, Create offers fun and engaging imaginative activities focused on the fun and reward of creating, not just producing a final project. Founded in a process-based philosophy, this unique book includes more than 40 activities set up as invitations, or thoughtfully designed prompts to explore, create, and play. Author Meri Cherry has more than 20 years of teaching experience, and her blog (mericherry.com) has set the standard for meaningful and enriching process art experiences that are both manageable for parents, and appealing and fun for kids. Play, Make, Create begins with a guide for parents, teachers, and facilitators that discusses how to set up materials in an inviting way, how to present an activity and talk to kids about art, and how to stock the right materials for ongoing creativity. Also included are best-practice tips for clean-up, answers to frequently asked questions, and more. The book offers four types of creative invitations: Invitations to Explore (easy ideas for fun and play), Invitations to Create (open-ended, craft-based activities), Invitations to Play (sensory-based activities), and Big Projects (ongoing process-art activities). Most feature basic materials and tools (paper, inexpensive paints, pencils, glue) that require little setup. Among the projects and activities you’ll find: A collage project that takes a no-rules approach to creating with cut-out drawings and pictures. Ideas for building a science station that allow kids to experiment with kitchen cabinet supplies such as soap, measuring spoons, cotton balls, and baking soda. A prompt to draw a self-portrait, using a mirror (parents can draw themselves, too). Instructions for making homemade colored playdough. The activities in Play, Make, Create promote active, meaningful, and socially interactive learning. Children are encouraged to wonder, experiment, and use critical thinking—and most of all, enjoy the process. By following their own inclinations and making their own choices, children gain self-confidence and hone their problem-solving skills. Get Play, Make, Create and give children the gift of creativity!

Learn to find inspiration, plan your approach, and create stunning watercolour paintings inspired by the natural world. Anna’s vibrant, detailed and uplifting watercolours have earned her worldwide recognition. In this, her second book, she goes beyond flowers to explore her inspirations from across the natural world, including fruit, birds and animals. The book gives you a very personal insight into Anna’s way of working; with clarity and warmth she will help you find inspiration, choose scale and composition, see things correctly and work with discipline and flow until you produce fabulous work of your own. Packed with advice and inspiring finished pieces, this gorgeous book guides the reader through Anna’s method of working with a variety of beautiful step-by-step projects and exercises. It is suitable for beginners or for more experienced artists looking to refine their style or try some new techniques. “This book is glorious in every sense, from the beautiful cover to the absolutely stunning paintings throughout the book, this is something to bring joy on the dullest of days. . . . This beautiful book is packed full of helpful advice, how to garden, how to photograph, and how to paint from those photographs, how to understand colour, form and texture.” —My Creative Notebook “This engaging guide to painting a wide variety of natural subjects is packed with information and inspiration. . . . This is an intriguing, enthralling and thoroughly enjoyable book.” —The SAA Catalogue

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Paula Yoo scores big in her hilarious debut novel about an overachiever who longs to fit in and strives to stand out. The pressure is on! How to make your Korean parents happy: 1. Get a perfect score on the SATs. 2. Get into HarvardYalePrinceton. 3. Don't talk to boys.* Patti's parents expect nothing less than the best from their Korean-American daughter. Everything she does affects her chances of getting into an Ivy League school. So winning assistant concertmaster in her All-State violin competition and earning less than 2300 on her SATs is simply not good enough. But Patti's discovering that there's more to life than the Ivy League. To start with, there's Cute Trumpet Guy. He's funny, he's talented, and he looks exactly like the lead singer of Patti's favorite band. Then, of course, there's her love of the violin. Not to mention cool rock concerts. And anyway, what if Patti doesn't want to go to HarvardYalePrinceton after all? *Boys will distract you from your studies.

Expressive Sketchbooks shares a host of creative ideas and prompts, tools and techniques, methods for working around obstacles and barriers, and tons of visual inspiration to help you grow in your sketchbooking practice. An expressive sketchbook is a place for you to explore, express, and enjoy your own innate creativity on your own terms. It is a safe playground for the imagination—a place to mess about, play, and experiment—and to gain confidence in your abilities as you develop your skills. Expressive Sketchbooks offers techniques and creative exercises that incorporate mark making, watercolor, mixed media, collage, words and text, and more. It unpacks some of the obstacles and barriers that you may face along the way and offers wisdom and encouragement to help you decide why and how to start your sketchbook and how to develop and expand your artistic practice. This book is packed with ideas and exercises, including: Exploratory drawing exercises How to utilize color in your sketchbook How to create dynamic and varied sketchbook pages How to find inspiration in nature and in your everyday life Ways to mix media and art supplies Ways to kickstart your creativity How to find and develop a process that feels personal to you Through this book, you'll find out what lights you up, what makes you curious and fascinated, and what makes you expansive. Discover how to magnify your creativity and enliven your art skills by using an expressive sketchbook as your daily companion.

A young girl with an eating disorder must find the strength to recover in this moving middle-grade novel from Jen Petro-Roy Before she had an eating disorder, twelve-year-old Riley was many things: an aspiring artist, a runner, a sister, and a friend. But now, from inside the inpatient treatment center where she's receiving treatment for anorexia, it's easy to forget all of that. Especially since under the influence of her eating disorder, Riley alienated her friends, abandoned her art, turned running into something harmful, and destroyed her family's trust. If Riley wants her life back, she has to recover. Part of her wants to get better. As she goes to therapy, makes friends in the hospital, and starts to draw again, things begin to look up. But when her roommate starts to break the rules, triggering Riley's old behaviors and blackmailing her into silence, Riley realizes that recovery will be even harder than she thought. She starts to think that even if she does "recover," there's no way she'll stay recovered once she leaves the hospital and is faced with her dieting mom, the school bully, and her gymnastics-star sister. Written by an eating disorder survivor and activist, Good Enough is a realistic depiction of inpatient eating disorder treatment, and a moving story about a girl who has to fight herself to survive.

Everywhere you look, the messages are there. 10 days to drop 20 pounds. Gluten is making you fat. 12 minutes a day can get you a bikini-ready body by summer. It sounds exciting, but the real message you’re getting is this: your body doesn’t measure up - in fact, you don’t either - so you better do something about it…and quick! What if the solution isn’t a new diet or another fitness program? In The Elephant in the Gym, award-winning Personal Trainer and Health Coach Gillian Goerzen gives you a healthy and kind way to approach your fitness and well-being. Grounded in science, self-compassion and Goerzen’s personal journey through the ‘body hatred battleground,’ you’ll learn to ditch the diet, reclaim an empowered relationship with your body, and become healthier as a result. With The Elephant in the Gym, you’ll discover: • No gym membership is required to be fit. • Why traditional goal-setting is tripping you up. • The one thing you need to set the foundation for success. • What you can do to get started today. • Practical strategies, tools and tips to help you be fit and healthy – for life! Deeply personal, backed by detailed studies and real-life stories, you’ll design a lifestyle fit for you and no one else (it’s not one size fits all – and it never should be). The Elephant in the Gym takes your eyes off of the scale and puts the power of creating a healthy life in your hands.