Statements

Mission

To facilitate expressive emotional healing through art and creative expression for those living in grief, pain, stress, or fear.

Background

Founded in 2012, Your Heart on Art's mission is to facilitate expressive emotional healing through art and creative expression for those who are living in grief, pain, stress and fear. Your Heart on Art facilitates the creative process while encouraging emotional healing and these two paths often intersect when words are not adequate, and pain is too deep. Our mix of artistic development and expression coupled with a creative healing model Art4Healing allow participants to learn a new way of communicating through color that encourages emotional breakthroughs and further enhances the therapy process. Your Heart on Art is proud to feature the original Art4Healing? method in several workshops. The Art4healing guided technique has a 25-year track record of helping people deal with crisis, trauma and the daily grind.

Impact

Last year's accomplishments:
1. We contracted with Jewish Family Services of Nashville to give one on one in home art workshops for cognitively impaired seniors
2. We received our Gold seal of approval from Guidestar.
3. We created and attended college campuses to create permanent art installations for suicide awareness month totally created by their student bodies and hung on the college grounds
4.. We attended the AFSP Out of the Darkness walk designed program to help participants to create Forever Flowers. They made 600 flowers
5.. We provided 14 private workshops for families who lost a loved one to suicide.
6. Provided a organizational wide permanent art canvas partnering with Lentz Health Department.
7. We provided a statewide art program partnering with TSPN for suicide awareness month

Needs

Our most pressing needs are to secure funding from both public and private resources and a corporate sponsor to assure that our programs can continue at no cost to participants in the amount of $20,000: and secure a permanent part time rental space without large increases in rent $15,000

CEO Statement

Art is the technique, but Your Heart on Art is about the transformation. Communicating with colors is like using a new language, and the blank canvas is another outlet for emotions. When we paint, we're able to "see" the negative thoughts preventing us from feeling well and happy. We're all familiar with the toll that stress can take on both physical and emotional health. But, did you know we can create stress right out of the picture? Creating prompts reflection, which inspires relaxation and anxiety reduction. A sense of calm helps us gain clarity and opens our hearts and minds to healing. The comfortable, tranquil environment of our studio invites freedom of expression and exploration without judgment. Imagination, often stifled as we get older, is freed when we make art, so playing with color in all sorts of different forms is highly recommended in all Your Heart on Art workshops. By helping people communicate through art and creativity, each participant experiences a catharsis of relief that benefits them and the community at large. YHOA is dedicated to providing workshops that help children, teens, and adults suffering from abuse, illness, grief or stress process their feelings using the language of art and creative expression.

Board Chair Statement

I was reelected in this past year for another term.
I joined Your Heart On Art (YHOA) Board of Directors in January 2015 and was voted in as Board President for a two year term during the 2019 November board meeting. It is an honor to work alongside Eileen Wallach, the Founder of YHOA and all the other very dedicated board members. Over the last 3 years YHOA has used therapeutic art to assist hundreds of individuals (of all ages) to move towards self-discovery, relaxation and address issues of bereavement, loss, suicide as well as physical and emotional illnesses associated with chronic pain, trauma and abuse. When I volunteer at community events featuring some of our activities for children, I am always amazed at how creative and uninhibited they are in expressing themselves through art. Watching them work side by side on an art project, humbles and inspires me. I have also seen how our art workshops empower individuals to heal, forgive and rejoice. I am a strong believer that art is a powerful "change agent". I encourage you to sign up for an YHOA workshop and experience the change for yourself.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Mental Health & Crisis Intervention  - Single Organization Support
Secondary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  - Arts Services
Tertiary Category:	Arts, Culture & Humanities  -

Areas Served

All of Davidson County and surrounding counties areas to include Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis area

TN