Between birth and death, many of life's most critical moments occur in hospital, and they deserve to take place in surroundings that match their significance. In this spirit, from the early Renaissance through to the modern period, artists have made immensely powerful work in hospitals across the western world, enhancing the environments where patients and medical staff strive towards better health. Distinguished art historian Richard Cork became fascinated by the extraordinary richness of art produced in hospitals, encompassing work by many of the great masters - Piero della Francesca, Rogier van der Weyden, El Greco, William Hogarth, Jacques-Louis David, Vincent van Gogh, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Fernand Leger, Marc Chagall and Naum Gabo. Cork's brilliant survey discovers the astonishing variety of images found in medical settings, ranging from dramatic confrontations with suffering (Matthias Grunewald at Isenheim) to the most sublime celebrations of heavenly ecstasy (Giovanni Battista Tiepolo in Venice).In the process, he reveals art's prodigious ability to humanize our hospitals, alleviate their clinical bleakness and leave a profound, lasting impression on patients, staff and visitors. -- Publisher's blurb.

Jim Miller teamed with hospice chaplain Susan Cutshall to create a book about how to be with others in a way that's compassionate, nurturing, healing, and potentially even transforming. The foundational ideas are laid out in 15 short chapters: "There's only one place to begin-with yourself." "Healing presence is most effective when it's least active." Whole pages of engaging quotations and artistic drawings are interwoven with insightful observations and practical suggestions. Ideal for both professional and lay caregivers

Do images heal? Yes they do. That is the thesis of renowned photographer A. J. Meek with these photographs of the clouds paired with children’s perceptions of hope. “The feeling of freedom is exhilarating,” Meek says in his photographer’s comments for the work contained within. “The total package of sky and children’s perception is designed to evoke a positive healing attitude within the viewer. When studied and meditated upon, the audience cannot maintain a negative thought.” Heavily influenced by Native American culture, these pictures, which were made in New Mexico and Louisiana, promote a feeling of well-being and inspiration. To be in the world but not of it is certainly the road less traveled and the most challenging for there are no earthly rewards for this choice¾only peace.

Leanne Payne explains the basis of her counseling ministry--Christ's indwelling presence that brings the power of the incarnation into wounded lives.

The Art of Listening in a Healing Way" is Jim Miller's sequel to his popular book, "The Art of Being a Healing Presence." He describes what healing listening is and how it differs from other kinds of listening. Then 27 short chapters provide helpful insights in how to do this special kind of listening. Examples: "A healing listener listens with the eyes." "A healing listener cleaves to silence." Interspersed throughout are intriguing quotations from the ages, as well as the author's floral photography.

Drawing on her extensive experience as a creative arts therapist, Martina Schnetz puts forward a new approach to the process of art in healing. She explores the dialogue between the internal world, external images, and words, shaping a new vocabulary for creative arts therapists. The Healing Flow: Artistic Expression in Therapy is a theoretical and experiential account of the author's work with survivors of childhood trauma and post traumatic stress. Case studies are presented in this model. Through providing deeper insight into the creative processes, participants recover meaningful patterns in their lives, and restore connectedness between themselves and the world.

From a world-renowned painter, an exploration of creativity’s quintessential—and often overlooked—role in the spiritual life “Makoto Fujimura’s art and writings have been a true inspiration to me. In this luminous book, he addresses the question of art and faith and their reconciliation with a quiet and moving eloquence.”—Martin Scorsese “[An] elegant treatise . . . Fujimura’s sensitive, evocative theology will appeal to believers interested in the role religion can play in the creation of art.”—Publishers Weekly Conceived over thirty years of painting and creating in his studio, this book is Makoto Fujimura’s broad and deep exploration of creativity and the spiritual aspects of “making.” What he does in the studio is theological work as much as it is aesthetic work. In between pouring precious, pulverized minerals onto handmade paper to create the prismatic, refractive surfaces of his art, he comes into the quiet space in the studio, in a discipline of awareness, waiting, prayer, and praise. Ranging from the Bible to T. S. Eliot, and from Mark Rothko to Japanese Kintsugi technique, he shows how unless we are making something, we cannot know the depth of God’s being and God’s grace permeating our lives. This poignant and beautiful book offers the perspective of, in Christian Wiman’s words, “an accidental theologian,” one who comes to spiritual questions always through the prism of art.

What are the basic attitudes, values, and practices that are essential for effective work with the expressive arts? This book explores the answer to that question. The authors examine in depth the concepts of 'presence' - a way of 'being' - and 'process' - an open and trusting way of working - in the professional helping relationship and in the making of art. They introduce readers to the premise of the 'uniqueness of persons' that underpins these ideas, and look at how to realize them in practice. Diverse experiences are also shared of using the arts in group and individual work in a variety of settings, from team building and education to counseling, psychotherapy and supervision. This book is a comprehensive, foundational guide for all practitioners who use the expressive arts as a way of facilitating learning, growth, healing, and change, including expressive arts therapists and students, counsellors, coaches, and other helping professionals. With its clear structure and straight forward style, the book is appropriate also for beginners in these professional fields.

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