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,

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

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

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

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

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

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

Art therapists in Israel held a conference in 2024, dedicated to materials.  A lecture, a panel, workshops, and an installation of...

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,...

Neora Zigler, art teacher Medium Characteristics Acrylic paint is a new painting medium that became commercial in the 1950s. It comes in...

The crickets sing a melody that indicates that night is coming. There is a constancy, as if breathing were permanent, keeping the music...

Art connectors, adhesives, and accumulations as a prism of the soul in times of trauma. Joiners, Dividers, and Measuring Tools are a...

In March 2025, I took part in a supervision group for therapists. We were invited to create a container, a three-dimensional structure...

11 years 11-year-old child Medium Characteristics   Powdery pastels are made of color pigments. The chalks come in various degrees of...

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...

Creating a Collage with the “Soul Pages” Method Eleven years ago, one of the most difficult periods of my life, I was just beginning...

When she passed away, we lost ourselves in her art room. Piles of drawings and paintings heaped on top of each other Of all sizes and...

Ashdoda Figurine, Ashdod, Israel, 12th century BCE2, Israel Meuseum, Jerusalem Medium Characteristics Clay is a natural medium...

The Botanisierbüchse my mother gave me (photo by Ami Siano) Found I walked the woodland, A lonesome man To look for nothing- That was my...

My job at Grandma Onyo’s home in Petach Tikva was to open the door to the customers who brought items for “artistic repair.” Grandma sat...