Claire is a third-year art therapy and counseling graduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently working as an art therapy extern at New Connection Academy and South Campus therapeutic day schools. Previously, she interned at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital. Claire loves sipping on her morning matcha, saying hi to dogs on the street, and dancing in random (often unexpected) locations.
I fancy myself a fox. Ok… now I realize that sounds bad, but it’s not what you think. Back in the day, Archilochus, the ancient Greek poet wrote about two animals stating, “the fox knows many things, the hedgehog one big one.” Many writers over the years including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Isaiah Berlin have used this metaphor to make inferences about knowledge and judgements about the moral and appropriate ways to pursue it. To be honest, I don’t have much interest in this debate. All I know is that the fox and I, we are pals.
Growing up, my dad used to cut out small pieces of foam board, set up a still life of random fruit for our school lunches the next day, squeeze out dollar store acrylic paints, and say “paint.” From then on, I was hooked. Any and all artmaking has been my bloodline ever since. From tap dancing to embroidery and watercolor painting to printmaking, my life has been a long string of multidisciplinary expeditions and explorations. Expanding into indoor gardening and wheel throwing, my artistic pursuits became wider and my definition of art all encompassing.
I don’t really care that I don’t know “one big thing.” Art, to me, is many things: it parallels existence – it is a part of me, it nurtures me, it has and continues to heal me. My artistic exploration is vast and messy, and I like it that way.
Succulent Symbiosis: a little guidebook for how you can use succulents in art therapy (2022, pen and paper)
Cultivating Care (2022, glazed stoneware and various succulents)