Monday, January 31, 2011

Color & Art Therapy

Did you know that Art is therapeutic?
This comes with no surprise to museum goers, who have an emotional experience when viewing art.

Art Therapists are at the forefront, aware of the importance of art, color and design on people’s health and well being.


With rising health care costs combined with overworked medical staff, there is greater demand to fill the void between medical professionals and patients. Art Therapists are filling the void.


As a mental health profession, Art Therapy can be found in many clinical settings with diverse populations. Its popularity is growing in non-clinical settings, such as art studios and workshops that focus on creative development. Art Therapists work with patients of all ages who are living with cancer, burns, pain, post-surgery, HIV, asthma, emotional trauma and substance abuse. They use a variety of innovative, hands-on activities that involve art materials such as paints, markers and chalk, in order to assess and treat patients.

They help patients gain insight, cope better with stress, work through traumatic experiences, increase cognitive abilities, build better relationships and to enjoy their life’s pleasures through the creative experience.

Technology & Ancient Mysticism Has Merged
Art, color and design carry the potential for very powerful expressions of energy, whether positive or negative. Thanks to equipment, such as Kirlian photography, we can actually capture and evaluate what ancient sages have always believed; the positive flow of energy around us brings a feeling of well-being while stagnant energy causes us to feel physically and emotionally low.

For example, if the artist was going through an emotionally challenging point of his life, the energy of his work would reflect it, as Pablo Picasso did in his Blue Period. Most likely, the viewer would feel somber. In comparison to Picasso’s Rose Period, where he featured comedic characters and circus people dressed cheery orange and pink hues. The energy of his work would feel optimistic.

“Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.”
Pablo Picasso

The Museum of Modern Art is helping Alzheimer’s patients by having art therapy tours. With more than four million Americans suffering with Alzheimer’s disease and no cure in sight, care givers are increasingly exploring art as a way of managing the disease. As a result of Art Therapy, patient’s memories, cognitive thinking and emotional disorders improve and many doctors have lowered their dosage for prescriptions.

Geometric patterns, such as mandalas, have been used in temples across India and the Far East as a physical form that expresses the vibration of meditation. The physical body can actually sense the movement of energy around these forms and experience the benefit without meditating themselves.

Donna Johansen, a health care interior designer of 20 years, trained energy healer and artist, incorporates Evidence-Based design philosophies into her work. She creates healing paintings for health care facilities and spas. Johansen incorporates the vibration of sacred geometric patterns, such as mandalas and healing Sanskrit symbols, to bring positive healing energy into the environment through the artwork.

She has created a beautiful collection of individual scarves with vibrational designs for the US Military and to help improve the current US health care crisis. Examples of Donna Johansen’s work, right side. 

With the aging population, we have more patients and fewer resources than ever before. Alternative energy modalities are gaining acceptance in hospitals, but require trained volunteers. I saw this scarf as an inexpensive way to bring the healing energy experience to people in a more accessible ways. Patients and the medical staff love her work. They are experiencing amazing positive effects, such as a reduction of stress, depression and anxiety. Just think! All those health benefits without a pill or shot.


COLOR TURNERS helps businesses and manufacturers make the best decisions where color choices are critical. We provide accurate and tangible ways to significantly reduce your business and manufacturing risks and turn their knowledge into increased sales and customer satisfaction. http://www.colorturners.com/ denise@colorturners.com


Monday, January 17, 2011

Denise Turner’s Seminar Schedule: Saturday Januarry 22, 2011

Black Belt Business Tactics

Recession-Proof Your Interior Design Business
.1 CEU
The current economy has knocked the wind out of our businesses. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up the fight. Even though money is tight, we have to maintain a strong presence in order to attract new business and maintain our existing. This seminar will give you tips and techniques, to slay this fire breathing economic dragon and win.


Colors Unveiled
What Your Favorite Color Say About Hue
.1 CEU
Everyone has a favorite color. Everyone also has a color they dislike and grimace at the mere thought of it. But do you know why? This seminar will demystify color’s hidden meaning and help you quickly gain insight to your client’s personality, saving you valuable time and money. This seminar is a fusion of Color Physiology, Cultural Color and Color’s physical effects on the body. It will give you a greater understanding of what is going on inside someone’s mind, (including your own) just by studying their color choices.

DATE: Saturday, January 22, 2011

LOCATION: Hilton: Los Angeles North/ Glendale
100 West Glenoaks Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91202
818.956.5466

TIME: 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
REGISTRATION FEE: $40.00

These seminars are open to interior design professionals, students and general public. Course credits are 2 hours (.2 CEU) approved by IDCEC. For further information or to register online, visit http://www.ccidc.org/register-ceu.html.

Color Isn’t Just Another Pretty Face

Color Branding Affects YOUR Bottom Line

Part 6 Black, Gray & White
North American color associations

Black: night, sophistication, bad luck, evil, power, classic
Internationally black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be formal elegance. It creates drama and suggests sophistication. Black is good for higher-end products.

White: calm, purity, sterile, blank canvas, modern
White reflects and amplifies all colors. The human eye views white as a brilliant color, so it immediately catches the eye in signage. White is associated with sterility and the medical field, as well as weight loss, low-fat foods, and dairy products

Gray: boredom, neutrality, ashes, conservative, status quo
Gray is the color of indecision and uncertainty. It carries the connotation of lack of strong feeling. In nature gray provides camouflage, for gray wolves, gray elephants and gray whales. It’s also a camouflage in the business world, for gray suit, individuals who wish to remain noncommittal while keeping things status quo. If you don’t want your business to fade into the shadows, consider another color other than gray as the dominate color.

COLOR TURNERS helps businesses and manufacturers make the best decisions where color choices are critical. We provide accurate and tangible ways to significantly reduce your business and manufacturing risks and turn their knowledge into increased sales and customer satisfaction.http://www.colorturners.com/%20denise@colorturners.com

Color Isn’t Just Another Pretty Face

Color Branding Affects YOUR Bottom Line
Part 5 Purple & Brown

North American color associations
Purple: Purple-royalty, spirituality, creativity, sensitivity
Purple is the shortest color light wave, which helps us tap into spirituality and creativity. For this reason it’s favored by artists and religious leaders. Purple symbolizes bravery, in the US military; the “purple heart”, which signifies injury in battle. Sadly, purple is the most loved and sadly, the most hated color.

 
Brown: dependable, earth, grounding, stabile, harmony, hearth & home
Brown connects us to the earth; it suggests simplicity and stability. Brown is as comforting as a plate of warm chocolate chip cookies. It’s the perfect color to ground more vibrant hues. It’s a timeless classic and is a favored color family because it adds longevity to products.

 
COLOR TURNERS helps businesses and manufacturers make the best decisions where color choices are critical. We provide accurate and tangible ways to significantly reduce your business and manufacturing risks and turn their knowledge into increased sales and customer satisfaction. http://www.colorturners.com/%20denise@colorturners.com



Color Isn’t Just Another Pretty Face

Color Branding Affects YOUR Bottom Line
Part 4 Blue & Green
North American color associations



Blue: water, sky, mystery, heaven, loyalty, trust, sadness
Blue is American’s favorite color. It’s an ideal color for financial institutions, as its message of stability inspires trust.
 
Green: nature, balance, healing, spring, growth environment
Green lowers your blood pressure and meaning differs with its many hues. Dark greens are associated with wealth, prestige and US currency. Brown-influenced greens are associated with ecology, making it an ideal color for eco-based businesses.

COLOR TURNERS helps businesses and manufacturers make the best decisions where color choices are critical. We provide accurate and tangible ways to significantly reduce your business and manufacturing risks and turn their knowledge into increased sales and customer satisfaction. http://www.colorturners.com/denise@colorturners.com

Color Isn’t Just Another Pretty Face

Color Branding Affects YOUR Bottom Line

Part 3 Orange & Yellow
North American color associations


Orange: adventure, extroversion, celebration, inexpensive
Orange has positive associations, as in Halloween, fall foliage and Thanks Giving. Orange is the color of affordability and makes us eat faster, which is why it’s the principal color of fast food restaurants. Pure orange is not a favored color in North America; they prefer brown-based oranges like terracotta.


Yellow: sunshine, joy, creativity, optimism
Yellow is the fastest color light wave; the most visible color making it a great color for point-of-purchase displays. Lighter hues help with memory recall, which is why legal pads are yellow.

COLOR TURNERS helps businesses and manufacturers make the best decisions where color choices are critical. We provide accurate and tangible ways to significantly reduce your business and manufacturing risks and turn their knowledge into increased sales and customer satisfaction. http://www.colorturners.com/denise@colorturners.com