Art Therapy Gallery

I have had the honor to lead the art therapy groups and provide emotional support for patients and caregivers since Coborn Healing Center opened August 2018.

I would be lying to say working here has not humbled me in any way. How amazing it is to witness and hold space for all the brave people battling cancer - patients and caregivers alike.

My goal is to help this population find their light within dark times; perhaps by allowing space to heal, to laugh and to find a source of validation and understanding.

If someone leaves feeling even just a little better than when they arrived, then the goal was met.

I’ve had the opportunity to be an art therapy intern at Coborn Healing Center since May 2021. What I love about our art therapy groups is the range of participants who join each week. Everyone not only brings their personal cancer story, but also a richness of life and experience outside of cancer.

We make art, play with new materials, and explore themes in our lives. It is also a space to name and explore the challenges and heartache of cancer as well as celebrating and documenting the joys that accompany.

It’s a safe place to come as you are, to explore your creative self , and to find connection and healing in the process.

The Coborn Healing Center has made a blessed impact on my life. Just as cancer can affect us in many different ways, art therapy can help relieve some of the unknown we may feel about cancer through creativity and community with others. We come together through our art while supporting one another on our separate journeys. Various kinds of resources (acrylic paints, fabric, paper, colored pencils, markers, glass, etc.) are used.

I started to attend the art therapy group after being diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. I discovered attending art therapy groups helped me deal with my stress and depression and helped me get my mind off my cancer. I grew up watching Bob Ross, The Joy of Painting, and I always said to myself that I wished I could do that. After art therapy group I believe that I can do that (or at least try). I’ve learned to try different art techniques in art therapy such as watercolor collages and acrylic painting.

I started to attend art therapy after going through chemo, double mastectomy and radiation. I was diagnosed with beginning of stage 3 breast cancer. I had seen some art projects at Coborn Healing Center and thought it was something I would like to try and be able to get some support. I’ve enjoyed coming to art therapy and have found working on the art projects very calming. Also, being able to share what I am going through with others who have gone through it to be very healing. I enjoy coming weekly and learning new art methods to calm me and deal with what I am going through.

When I first started the art therapy program, my artistic accomplishments were limited to drawing stick figures. Katie was very patient and encouraged me to try different things. I have progressed somewhat.

So apparently, I need to eat more apples!

I grew up on a farm that had an orchard that provided our large family with tasty treats from July until October.

After her husband's cancer diagnosis in December 2015, Sharon's world turned upside down. Instead of enjoying each day with positive pursuits and travel, life was consumed with fear, darkness, uncertainty and medical appointments. "Suddenly, I was a cancer caregiver and my world was totally changed," she said.

Once Sharon discovered the art therapy classes available at Coborn Healing Center, she immediately felt drawn to pursue and reignite this passion. She had done some painting years ago and had always wanted to dive back in. Here was her open door to enjoy some personal and therapeutic time away from the focus surrounding medical problems.

I started attending this group about a year after my wife was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. At first it was a way to just do something different. And I do mean DIFFERENT. Doing "art" is so outside my box it's hard to describe. What I realized early on was that it really isn't about the art. I am lucky enough to be in a group of extra ordinary people. They all give me more than I could ever give back.

And a big plus, something that everyone in our group needs, we laugh a lot. I mean a lot!!!