Art as therapy for daily life

 

Art as therapy is one thing I do. It is important to consider to be as a process. As you know  I work in hospital in the pediatric oncology department for Istituto dei Tumori di Milano with the Fondazione Lene Thun Onlus. I am the leader of the “Ceramic Therapy” labotatory together with a group of volunteers. Every week I see the effect that creative activity generates in those who sit around the table to work the clay. During the permanent and stable laboratory children and families find a precious support to face the period of illness. Children often long term residents meet the clay, create an artwork for themselves that they will take home or partecipate in collective social works that will be exhibited  in the hospital. The modeling of clay dissolves the tensions and brings back the smile on the faces of adults and children. The central point is the therapeutic  aspect that art always exerts, in extreme cases such as illness but also in everyday life. Creativity is part of us, it is life itself;  carving out a space dedicated to cultivate it is of vital importance. This principle, art as therapy, as fundamental as simple, fits particularly  well with critical situations, and can be expressed in infinite nuances, such as working life. Loss of meaning, situation of strong tension, loss of creativity, stress, anxiety are areas in which art makes the difference.