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Silicone in the Crucible, Niva Bar-Shimon
That long, transparent thing with its metamorphic container manages to astonish, every time, again. A squeeze of the trigger producing a bond. The cartridge, unwilling, is forced toward an unknown fate. Most often, it dances its drunken sway, spills out, loses form, builds slowly, then trickles and flows beyond control. Within minutes, it steams with gleaming vapors, slides from here to there and back again, grips everything and releases nothing. Or else, lets go all at once,
3 min read


Studio principals - videos, Nona Orbach
This page features short videos that highlight key points in studio thinking for therapy and education. Since these topics often come up together, I decided to create brief videos and gather them here in this library. Feel free to use and share these videos; they may also be helpful for teaching and supervision. Save this page link for future reference, as more videos are planned to be added here. Nona Orbach nonaorbach@gmail.com
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Needles and Fibers, Niva Bar-Shimon
An entry hole and an exit hole. Wounded fabric. A bleeding path of trailing thread, torn, or lost along the way. Hole after hole. The needle rises and falls, at times brushing close to the face, at times far from it. Sometimes it vanishes behind a screen, and you can only guess from where it will return. A practiced hand finds, through the fabric’s dense weave, the next stopping point. The other hand, less skilled, is startled by the sharp flicker of pain. Stitch upon s
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Drawing a Star, Roberta Pucci
What do you feel, or think, when you look at the stars? In many cultures, the star symbolizes a particular destiny or an individual calling. In dreams and fairy tales, it often represents what makes a person unique. Just as travelers, pilgrims, and sailors have always found their way by reading the night sky, we can imagine a star guiding our own journey, along a path no one has ever walked, meant only for us. Stars are always there, but only visible in the darkness. Perhaps
3 min read


Oil Paint - The Spirit of Matter, Orbach and Galkin, 1997
Medium Characteristics Oil paint is made of color pigments mixed with linseed oil. The paint comes in tubes in rich shades that blend organically and sensually. It can be diluted with more linseed oil and turpentine and used on fabric, wood, and paper surfaces. The paint can be used in transparent or thick, opaque layers, or applied directly from the tube to create a three-dimensional effect. Oil paint has a characteristic odor from its diluents, the classic scent of the pai
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A Case Study of Sand Drawing Therapy, Norio Seki
Ⅰ. Introduction In my previous paper, "Sand Drawing Therapy: A New Approach to Art Therapy," I discussed the characteristics and significance of using sand drawing as a form of therapy, as well as the procedures and precautions for its implementation, citing relevant literature. In this paper, I would like to introduce the practice and specific methods of sand drawing therapy through a case study. The therapist (hereafter Th) stands facing the client (hereafter Cl) and is
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Iran, My Love, Einat Sinai Pasternak
I was born in Israel in 1974, nine months after the Yom Kippur War. I was five years old when my family moved to a new town. My first memory from there was getting out of the truck that was transporting our belongings and meeting a woman who asked me who we were. I told her enthusiastically that we had come to live here and that we were relatives of my aunt, who already lived there. Her response was: "Oh, another family of Farsi miduna..." * It was my first encounter with t
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The Spiritual Blueprint, Nona Orbach
The five-year-old, from the video below, who is interested in symmetry, found Rodha Kellogg's charts in my studio and used them for her artwork. A short video explaining the phenomenological tool I have been using for decades to understand what creators are doing. It helps me be more accurate in my responses in therapy, as they have the space and permission to be who they are. "The spiritual blueprint of the creator derives from the universal archetypes we have inherited from
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Inking My Own Mark, Christine Flint Sato
On Being a Western Contemporary Ink Painter in Japan I am a British ink* painter based in Japan and have been working in ink for many years. I studied calligraphy (Shodo), both ancient Chinese scripts and Abstract Calligraphy (Bokusho), for about 9 years, but I realized that however much I loved the Chinese characters themselves, calligraphy was always going to remain ‘other.’ I was not able to use it to express myself fully as it was not my language. My second stint with i
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Table Settings - Margot Gran
I feel many of us are trying to help each other survive. At some point in my life, I chose to create a family of my own and to place my eyes on beauty. I accepted a deep desire for balance. I chose this over a part of me that was very much in shadow. For decades, I felt tied to a rock. I felt constant discord, loneliness, and anger. I used art to give a voice to my raw emotional world, but I paid a price. My mental health was challenged. I tried to feel better but could not s
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Talking Shapes - Michal Bogin
What Lies Beyond The Shapes I am absolutely mesmerized by the world of primary shapes. My journey began with a love for painting in...
9 min read


Art Therapists Speak Materials - Nona Orbach
Art therapists in Israel held a conference in 2024, dedicated to materials. A lecture, a panel, workshops, and an installation of...
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Needle and paper - Roberta Pucci
Tic-tic-tic-tic-tic-tic… A needle taps over and over on a sheet of paper, each stroke piercing it. The action focuses on a specific area,...
2 min read


Acrylic Paint - The Spirit of Matter - Orbach and Galkin, 1997
Neora Zigler, art teacher Medium Characteristics Acrylic paint is a new painting medium that became commercial in the 1950s. It comes in...
5 min read


This post is not about tomatoes - Jéferson Diogo de Oliveira Santos
The crickets sing a melody that indicates that night is coming. There is a constancy, as if breathing were permanent, keeping the music...
2 min read


Joiners – Dividers in art therapy -Nona Orbach
Art connectors, adhesives, and accumulations as a prism of the soul in times of trauma. Joiners, Dividers, and Measuring Tools are a...
5 min read


Nest in my pocket - Efrat Dekel
In March 2025, I took part in a supervision group for therapists. We were invited to create a container, a three-dimensional structure...
2 min read


Pastels - The Spirit of Matter, Orbach and Galkin, 1997
11 years 11-year-old child Medium Characteristics Powdery pastels are made of color pigments. The chalks come in various degrees of...
4 min read


Michael - 12.5 years-old
There's something magical about a sandbox—you have no limits. When you play in a sandbox, you can create an entire world of princesses...
1 min read


Fusing Images - Rakefet Hadar
Creating a Collage with the “Soul Pages” Method Eleven years ago, one of the most difficult periods of my life, I was just beginning...
6 min read
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