A Word from Dr. Nancy Jo Cardillo

May 16, 2020

Dear Visitor,

 

The Capstone is a palpable moment in the journey of Expressive Art Therapy (EAT) and Art Therapy (AT) majors. It represents the culmination of the course Arts-Based Research and Performance in Expressive Arts Therapy or Studio-based Art Therapy. In these courses, the student dons the hat of artist, researcher, clinician, exhibiter or performer.

 

Regardless of whether or not a student continues in the AT and EAT fields, it is the fluid interchange of hats that makes these two majors so advantageous. Along with practical application of therapeutic modalities, the major prioritizes self-awareness, compassionate leadership, mindful presence, and creative problem solving. Students learn firsthand how to give and receive as part of a group and the value of vulnerability in personal growth.

 

Spring 2020 was unprecedented in capstone history. Halfway in, students had to abruptly leave campus when ordered to shelter-in-place due to COVID 19. Many had to leave behind unfinished work, art materials, or the woodshop, ceramic, or dance studio they were using. As such, several were forced to switch gears, materials, or arts modality. The view from quarantine also brought a change in perspective; for some students, this meant their original theme and project no longer felt genuine. Others seized an opportunity to begin to capture this unique time of life that hopefully, one day, we will look back on and try to understand. In other words, this exhibit is a labor of commitment and resilience by a remarkable group of young artists.

 

Each student has designed their own page honoring their unique style. Their artist statement gives insight into their personal and artistic process—what, why, and how. Each creation embodies and communicates an inner experience beyond words through dance, drama, music, poetry, song, theatre, visual art, and/or woodworking. Each work represents a dynamic interaction that has been characterized as:

 

[Art is] a type of learning process

where the teacher and the pupil are located in the same individual.

~Arthur Koestler

 

This is the gift they offer…

Where will you go in yourself as you witness their art?

How might you know yourself and them better because of the work they dared to show?

And how will their future clients, students, and colleagues in the workplace benefit from their research through the arts, with the arts, and about the arts?

 

As their faculty guide, I learned much about what it means to be there for another. These students showed their maturity as seniors and their goodness a people in the unselfish support and hours of time they gave each other. It was thrilling to be in their company—online and person to person; I always left inspired. I hope you feel the same!

 

College cannot be completed alone. Thank you, family, friends, partners, faculty, and mentors who have supported these students along their way!

 

Sincerely,

Nancy Jo Cardillo Ph.D., BC-DMT, LMHC