Cara Anne Treu is an artist and an emerging art therapist, who was born in Omaha, NE, and now calls Chicago home. Her art practice ranges from graphite drawings to film photography to monoprints and more; recently, she has developed a love for papermaking and bookbinding techniques. She makes art as a reflective practice, using art as a form of expression and communication, and also to become absorbed in the process of creating. Treu’s current arts-based research explores endings in therapy, what it means to grieve this goodbye, and how to make art as a sustained self-care practice.
‘In These Pages’ is a personal investigation of endings and goodbyes tied to termination. I explored artmaking that has allowed me to grieve the relationships I have built with past clients. This project has given me the opportunity to introduce rest and artmaking as a ritual to create my own space for reflection and development.
I used shredded process notes from previous clients and response artwork from fieldwork supervision to create the handmade paper. Narratives are inherently tied to this choice of material, and my experience processing these experiences are within the pages. As art therapists, it is an honor to witness and hold such rich life stories, and it is our responsibility to maintain privacy in this work.
Although my papermaking and bookbinding journey has been short (and sweet), it has been instrumental in creating the foundation of my future practice. I find solace and respite in this work, which is powerful in itself and especially during a time while the world continues to experience compounded grieving through the pandemic, systemic oppression and violence, climate crises, and genocide around us.
In These Pages, 2023. Handmade paper.
What Went in Those Pages, 2023. Shredded process notes and response artwork.