Art Therapy
The New York Cancer Foundation is pleased to provide patients and others an opportunity to participate in a unique, highly effective program to help cancer survivors express and cope with their experiences, thoughts and emotions through creative arts workshops. Art is introduced as an agent of promoting health and positivity through focus and relaxation in overcoming the trauma and stress associated with living with cancer. Our creative art program provides a high qualified leader who is associated with the Wallkill River School of Art in the Hudson Valley. Students will be supplied with all materials in a comfortable studio setting maximizing a calm and supportive setting.
About the Artist
Coming to the realization that she had a natural talent for painting did not come easy for Nancy Reed-Jones. It was only after losing a child and spending many months in a deep depression did her first painting emerge. "I had never taken any painting lessons nor did I know the art of color mixing very well." Her first painting was of a serene seascape with the sun coming through the clouds (symbolizing the storm of life) and illuminating the water and beach as if to say, "The worst is over". So taken back by the ability she never knew she possessed, she took her new found talent to the hospital where her mother and sister worked as nurses. She wanted to use the God given talent to help the patients somehow. In 1993, in South Nassau Communities Hospital on Long Island she did her first mural for the cancer patients. "I was allowed to paint directly on the walls in their rooms so they could see the scenes from their beds." Later the murals were used for "guided imagery" to help alleviate some of the pain the patients were having. Nancy is still working with cancer patients by helping them relieve stress through painting. For each class, Nancy creates a relaxing environment using soothing music and sound while artists create their work.
