Words from our Partners

VETART takes pride in its work and we would like to share with you what our partners had to say about their experience. 

The Veterans Initiative in Ceramics and Education

Veterans Initiative In Ceramics and Education The Veterans Initiative in Ceramics and Education was a grant program by Steve Dilley, M.F.A. of the Veterans Art Project. This program was meant to support the creation of arts programs for Veterans with a preference for ceramics and community college locations. Below are a list of the grant recipients and a description of their programs. 

​Lancaster Creative Factory

Art making heals and enables people to transform. The Veterans Arts Initiative is a year-long veterans program that consist of a creative writing component and a ceramic component that will culminate with at least 2 gallery art shows highlighting the artwork produced during the year.  Lancaster Creative Factory is collaborating with Writeface, a veteran’s writing program.  The writing workshops are about idea generation, addressing veterans’ emotional trauma and creating a safe environment for expression.  The visual arts component will follow the writing workshops and utilize the process of clay making and other mediums to connect Veterans with each other and the community they call home.  There will also be abundant open studio time at the Lancaster Creative Factory for veterans to continue to create with clay and other materials outside of the weekly scheduled classes.

Website link: http://lancastercreativefactory.org/

Daytona State College

Hello VETART.ORG, before I begin to describe how I us your generous grant funds, I wanted to take a second to thank you.  As an art educator I often talked about the power of art in our life’s but through this program I have witnessed first hand the therapeutic qualities of the arts, the camaraderie created in a communal studio and physical/mental benefits of the ceramic medium.  Thank you for this wonderful opportunity.

I used my VETART grant to create scholarships for free ceramic classes for veterans and their families with in my general education ceramic courses.  This has increased studio time availability, aided in the socialization of civilian life and created a safe area for self expression.   The veterans have four different ceramic course to choose from depending on skill level and four different class times for both the Fall and Spring semesters. http://www.daytonastate.edu/thearts/studioarts.html

Paradise Valley Community College
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​Arizona Artists Guild and Paradise Valley Community College host a ceramics program for veterans and their family members.   The program is designed with a porous sequence in mind, which builds on skills developed over the course of the program.  Veterans and their family members may register for one or all of the 2-month sessions.

Link to Veterans Art Program, scroll down to ceramics class:  http://www.arizonaartistsguild.net/veteransprogram/
Link to images of the first module:  http://www.arizonaartistsguild.net/images-from-the-ceramic-classes-for-veterans/


Kyrie Holler for the Arts, Wisconsin

"Labor Day Free Arts(LDFA) is a workshop and retreat for veterans and their families to create art while discussing service, art, and post-military family dynamics. Celebrating the labor of veterans and their families, LDFA is a long-weekend art retreat in rural Driftless Wisconsin, about two and a half hours northwest of Chicago. The three day retreat focuses on art-making using mixed-media of ceramics and printmaking. As a residency open to all artistic levels, we use mediums that are accessible to the amateur artist while allowing the experienced artist to engage in more in-depth interpretation.
Twenty-five veterans and family members from baby aged to Vietnam era ventured out of the city to make art and commune together. The artwork created at this workshop will be exhibited November 2018, at the Common Wealth Gallery, in Madison WI.
We ate well, defended ourselves from an errant wasp attack, and made copious amounts of exciting art explorations. 
Here is a link to more images of the event over Labor Day:https://www.dropbox.com/sh/km1gpxayv1i8ed6/AAAWkgPDfuGQvt-zv7N0Z_Cha?dl=0

https://ashkyrie.com/
http://veteranprintproject.com/



Resounding Joy, San Diego

"Music therapy merges science and the arts to achieve the clinical and personal goals of clients.  Studies show that music therapy participants with PTSD experience a greater reduction in symptoms with music therapy than with cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as favorably improve depression.  With an advanced education and certification in music interventions, biology, and psychology, music therapists are equipped with a diverse “toolbox” to tackle even the most difficult diagnoses.

Resounding Joy's Semper Sound program assists in military service member rehabilitation and transition by focusing on warriors’ non-musical goals.   Staff music therapists partner with Naval Medical Center San Diego and Camp Pendleton to provide take-home strategies and give clients the ability to incorporate music as a lifelong strategy for overcoming adversity to achieve their educational, vocational, or personal goals.  The Semper Sound Band, an additional outreach of Semper Sound, performs on a monthly basis and on request throughout San Diego."

www.resoundingjoyinc.org

Operation Revamp, CO. 
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Operation Revamp, Inc – org website www.operationrevamp.org
Veterans Art Center - https://www.facebook.com/VeteransArtCenter

VAMC Huntington

Hello! This is Brent Sturm, the recreation therapist assisting with the Veteran art class at the Veterans hospital in Huntington WV. We are thrilled to have been picked to receive this grant! We have started our conceptual drawings to submit for approval from our hospital administration for our big project, and have purchased materials to expand our class offerings. We are researching info for appropriate paints to encompass the scope of this big but fun project. Our class is meeting weekly at the time being, with plans to meet more often when the specific work starts. We are currently honing our painting   skills while adding new members. I will include some class pics. Thanks again! ​