Artist & Author

I have been an artist all my life. I have to create. In the course of my education I realized that art is more than a fun hobby. It is actually a tension reliever, a great centering device, a wonderful healing modality and work that can speak to me years after it is created.

My book, Heal Abuse and Trauma Through Art: Increasing Self-worth, Healing of Initial Wounds, and Creating a Sense of Connectivity, is the result of doctoral research that explores the connection between the expression of creativity and one's physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

I have been in the business world for many years and you can find me listed in:

Who's Who of Professional & Business Women,

Who's Who International,

Who's Who of Intellectuals, and 2000 Notable American Women,

AMERICAN ART COLLECTOR 7/07.

I am a Member of The National League of American Pen Women, Washington D.C

National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C.

HOW DOES ART HEAL?

Art's power to evoke emotion reveals art's healing properties. Bringing forth our images - regardless of their ability to unnerve us - and trusting that the process will allow us to transcend the mundane visually connects us with our inner core, a place of wholeness that remains intact. Furthermore, any person can reap the benefits of art; the content or quality of the product is secondary to the feelings and insights obtained through the processes of self-expression or through visual observations.

Art is a natural process for learning transformational thinking. The artist begins with some medium and creates something. As the artist works the image, he or she transforms it by adding to it or subtracting from it. Artistic expression is a way of taming the impulsive drives and promoting the development of higher ego functions. Expressing feelings onto paper, canvas or clay vents feelings symbolically and negates the necessity to act out hostile emotions; the symbol gives conscious expression to unconscious mental content. Also, art therapy is an effective treatment modality because falsification is difficult.

INTERVIEW WITH ALEX PEOPLES, FROM A PAPER CALLED THE MUSE.

ALEX: How does the healing actually work?

LINDA: Subject matter an artist may have difficulty confronting often appears in their artwork disguised in symbolic form. For instance, in my book I recount the story of how one of the artists used her artwork to confront childhood sexual abuse issues. When she began the art process her symbolism was disguised. Now it is blatant! As her acceptance of the past grows, the need for disguised symbolism diminished. Art therapy can also be less frightening than talk therapy.

ALEX: Can one do this for themselves?

LINDA: Yes, in fact I did it without planning on doing it. I belonged to a group of women called Women on the Edge. We decided it may be fun to each bring an item to our meeting, and one by one we'd take all the items home so each of us would have a chance to paint/create a piece from all 6 of these items. They were, a scarf, a big rooster, a little lion, a paper weight, a little animal cage you'd find on a cracker jacks box, and I can't recall the last piece.

I made a couple of drawings from the items and then fixed my mind on one and created it. My painting made the cage big, the lion large bird was made small enough to fit in the cage, the lion became larger and the scarf was the base. The paperweight had little relevance. It was a small piece of background.

After it was almost finished I put it back about 10 foot and took a look to see how it was going. I got this huge wave of recognition of my then current life. There I was, the bird, feeling trapped in my beautiful home screaming and complaining my head off to the lion (my husband) who just layed there watching me rant and rave. Boy was that ever my life. I titled the piece "Bird in a Gilded Cage."

ALEX: How do you begin a painting?

LINDA: I start with an empty canvass and put a few lines on it. Then I let the painting lead me. I don't try to manipulate the results. I go with the flow. In my research for my doctorate I wrote a book about the two types of artists, the realistic artists and the abstract artists. Although I can do either I get a lot more pleasure from the expressionistic rather than the realistic art. For me, if it already exists, there's no point painting it. I like to create things that don't exist yet at all. I like to add something new to the world.