This work was  created by women residents of an intensive addictions treatment center over the course of several months when I taught a weekly class there under a women's services grant. It was featured at the 2009 International Society for the Arts in Healthcare Conference  in Buffalo, New York. 

 I like for the women to take their work with them.  Some of it is used to decorate their rooms or the walls of the women's wing.  Much of it is given as gifts- to counselors and loved ones.  

 These pieces wound up in my hands because they weren't wanted or because they were given to me as gifts.  One of the most remarkable things about teaching is when students can't see the beauty in their own work. In cases like this, the art is sometimes overwhelming in a way that makes it hard to live with.  But for whatever the reasons, I am pleased to be the keeper of this collection. Many of these titles are of my creation, either based on conversation with the artists or on what I see in their work. 

They are:

1. I Am Part of God's Creation
2. Kimmie Overcoming Temptation
3. Tara's Hard Road
4. A Sprouting Seed- New Growth
5. Under the Shade of a Summer Tree
6. Stars
7. The Serenity Prayer
8. Niagara Falls
9. Blooming- An Allium