san antonio – Alexis Marie Chute

Through making my art, I discovered art therapy in a natural, organic way. No one told me to try it to help me heal. I wasn’t recommended a set of exercises to do in order to find myself. I just sat down in my studio with a pile of small woodcuts and got started without any direction or even conscious intent. The first wood sculpture I made I named The Quiet Rebuild and it was the beginning of that larger body of work.

Since then I have looked into the theory of art therapy and find it very stimulating and thoughtful for me in my professional art practice. In one of the semesters of my MFA I took an art therapy class as an interdisciplinary option and found it deepened my perspectives on art and healing. It gave me a new dimension in making, reflecting on and contextualizing my work. Since then the wood sculptures in The Quiet Rebuild grew to incorporate portraits of real people sharing their stories of resilience.

Now I am honoured to teach about the restorative potential of creativity. I offer two workshops:

Healing through Visual Art

Healing through the Written Word

This summer and fall I will be presenting these workshops in Chicago Illinois, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Sherwood Park Alberta and San Antonio Texas. If you are interested in having one or both of these presentations at your conference, event or association, please email me at info@alexismariechute.com

I strongly believe that art must say something that matters. Within my work, I wrestle with the ideas of loss, struggle and survival. You can read more about my approach in my Artist Statement.

Have you experienced tragedy, hardship, struggle? Are you rebuilding your life after this event?

The Quiet Rebuild Portraits feature individuals, couples, families and support groups that have been through many types of life challenges but continue to pressing on. I find these people wildly inspiring. I wish to give them a voice and put a face to the often unspoken sorrow and resiliency of the human experience.

Please get in touch if you would like to participate. Being photographed for The Quiet Rebuild can be a healing step in itself and many of the models have told me it was a milestone and moment of pride for them along a challenging road.

The photographs in this body of work are already being exhibited internationally and will, in the not too distant future, be made into a book. This is a great opportunity to be a part of something truly profound.

In 2014 I will be traveling to the following locations and am looking for volunteers in these cities. (If you are from elsewhere, anywhere in the world, please still contact me – I’d love to photograph you. I will soon be booking other locations, specifically based on interest.)

CANADA

Toronto, Ontario

Edmonton, Alberta

Calgary, Alberta

USA

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Boston, Massachusetts

Chicago, Illinois

San Antonio, Texas

Phoenix, Arizona

Scottsdale, Arizona

European locations TBD