Art Therapy Gallery

Art therapy is the process of using art to release emotions and stress.

Art therapy benefits people recovering from cancer as it can be a modality that is calming and soothing as well as get our minds off of our worries and get us into the present moment.

Art Therapy can be scheduled by calling Coborn Healing Center at 320-229-5100.

Through the generous support of CentraCare Foundation, group and private art therapy sessions led by a certified art therapist are available for cancer patients and their caregivers

The focus of art therapy is on self-exploration and healing. A variety of art mediums may be used, and some techniques taught.

No art experience is needed. To register, call 320-229-5100.

“I have had the honor to lead the art therapy groups and provide emotional support for patients and caregivers since Coborn Healing Center opened August 2018.

“I would be lying to say working here has not humbled me in any way. How amazing it is to witness and hold space for all the brave people battling cancer - patients and caregivers alike.

"My goal is to help this population find their light within dark times; perhaps by allowing space to heal, to laugh and to find a source of validation and understanding.

"If someone leaves feeling even just a little better than when they arrived, then the goal was met."

- Katie

“Created from the idea although when someone has cancer or perhaps eventually dies, the loss can be transformative, beautiful even.

“What I have learned from working with cancer is to embrace the day, let go of the unknown, and trust that whatever happens is part of a bigger plan. And in the meantime, continue to love fiercely, daily.

“Practice seeking joy and living your soul's purpose amidst dark times, and your best self slowly will be revealed to you.”

- Katie Kinzer

“I’ve had the opportunity to be an art therapy intern at Coborn Healing Center since May 2021. What I love about our art therapy groups is the range of participants who join each week. Everyone not only brings their personal cancer story, but also a richness of life and experience outside of cancer.

"We make art, play with new materials, and explore themes in our lives. It is also a space to name and explore the challenges and heartache of cancer as well as celebrating and documenting the joys that accompany.

"It’s a safe place to come as you are, to explore your creative self , and to find connection and healing in the process."

- Claire

“This piece started as a prompt to take a magazine image and change it in some way. I was drawn to the image of a staircase and wanted to paint an imagined space beyond the original picture. When I was working on the collage/painting I was thinking about doors and passageways.

“Cancer is a crossroads for many of us. We may not have a choice on the hard things that happen, but we do have a choice in how we respond. I like to think of these different passageways and doorways as the mysterious journey we’re all on.

“Cancer may open the door to a lot of sorrow and pain but there seems to also be glimmers of light and brightness that emerge along the way.”

- Claire Mailefer

"The Coborn Healing Center has made a blessed impact on my life. Just as cancer can affect us in many different ways, art therapy can help relieve some of the unknown we may feel about cancer through creativity and community with others."

"We come together through our art while supporting one another on our separate journeys. Various kinds of resources (acrylic paints, fabric, paper, colored pencils, markers, glass, etc.) are used."

- Nancy

"Letting go is my personal theme and using fabric in my artwork was a challenge that I so enjoyed. The banner depicts two very different scenarios.

• The mountains with the sun shining representing a new day of hope, or the sun is setting, time to let go, especially things that I can not control.
• The bottom half depicts the ocean. Both are beautiful.

"So, it is with cancer – with all the mountains and valleys (ups and downs), or I can live life as a beach, with all it’s splendor and glory, taking each wave (doctor visit, lab work treatment, etc.) as a new adventure, a new part of my journey in my life."

- Nancy

"This piece is telling me to take time for me. To sit upon the swing. To close my eyes, feel the breeze and listen to the birds sing.

"Oh, so freely I swing back and forth.

"Thus, reminding myself to be in the moment, a magical time when I can lose myself in pleasant thoughts and to set aside worries and let them go." 

- Nancy

"I started to attend the art therapy group after being diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer.

"I discovered attending art therapy groups helped me deal with my stress and depression and helped me get my mind off my cancer.

"I grew up watching Bob Ross, The Joy of Painting, and I always said to myself that I wished I could do that. After art therapy group I believe that I can do that (or at least try).

"I’ve learned to try different art techniques in art therapy such as watercolor collages and acrylic painting."

-Ricky

"I started to attend art therapy after going through chemo, double mastectomy and radiation. I was diagnosed with beginning of stage 3 breast cancer.

"I had seen some art projects at Coborn Healing Center and thought it was something I would like to try and be able to get some support.

"I’ve enjoyed coming to art therapy and have found working on the art projects very calming. Also, being able to share what I am going through with others who have gone through it to be very healing.

"I enjoy coming weekly and learning new art methods to calm me and deal with what I am going through."

- Caroline

"We were asked to pick something from our bucket list and make a picture with material.

"I chose to freehand draw the Great Lakes as my goal is to visit each of the Great Lakes after I am done with all my cancer treatments and surgeries.

"I am embroidering the names of the Great Lakes. I hope to eventually put it on a bag or make a picture to hang."

- Caroline

"When I first started the art therapy program, my artistic accomplishments were limited to drawing stick figures. Katie was very patient and encouraged me to try different things. I have progressed somewhat."

- Kevin

"All of us in the group have things in common. We are all cancer patients; we enjoy each others company, and we love to laugh. We laugh a lot.

"I would encourage anyone who has a chance to come to Coborn Healing Center and see if any of the programs interest you."

- Kevin

"I was given a brochure from the person I see at Coborn Cancer Center. She thought I might find services offered by Coborn Healing Center helpful to me.

"I stopped by Coborn Healing Center and talked with some of the staff and decided I wanted to try both the art and music programs. I have been attending both weekly and they have been wonderful."

- Kevin

"So apparently, I need to eat more apples!

"I grew up on a farm that had an orchard that provided our large family with tasty treats from July until October."

- Margaret

"I love apple picking season. I love apples.

• But like life sometimes that first bite is crisp, flavorful and the juices explode in your mouth with amazing sweetness.
• And other times it is soft and mushy, and you can’t spit it out fast enough.
• In cancer treatment we are faced with a choice of fear or courage; strength or vulnerability; optimism or defeat; or all of the above.

"We can accept what is our journey or spit it out in defeat. I am an apple eating warrior. I have many apples to eat before the day is done."

- Margaret

"This project of decorating a mask in art therapy was a powerful activity. I realized that once you have received that cancer diagnosis the first thing we do is put on the mask of hope, strength and perseverance. Behind the mask we are filled with anticipation, fear and dread of when will the next bits of bad news fill the room.

"But we have family and friends that we love, and they are counting on us to survive. So, we wear the mask of courage, strength and optimism. In cancer treatment we are faced with a choice of fear or courage; strength or vulnerability; optimism or defeat; or all of the above.

"Hard mask but soft flesh. How can we be strong and powerful in treatment yet graceful and peaceful in life? We put on the mask and welcome the new day. I am a cancer warrior and I have things to do and miles to go…"

- Margaret

Springtime and kite building and flying on Good Fridays with my father when I was young were magical times.

"Every year we would set out to build a bigger and better kite to go higher and further than the previous year, we were reaching for the clouds.

"When I was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer, triple negative almost eight years ago, my brother sent me a card with a picture of a kite and this message, 'I made this kite for you so you’d have a reason to keep looking up-things will get better.'

"Optimism, hope and the love support from family and friends to fight the cancer and fly kites even higher is a powerful healing agent despite the odds.

"So we continue to build kites-some can fly and some are just fun to have floating from the ceiling. Whatever it takes to give us hope and courage.

"I am a cancer warrior and kite flyer, holding strings from my past as I fly thru the present, always looking up."

- Margaret

After her husband's cancer diagnosis in December 2015, Sharon's world turned upside down. Instead of enjoying each day with positive pursuits and travel, life was consumed with fear, darkness, uncertainty and medical appointments.

"Suddenly, I was a cancer caregiver and my world was totally changed," she said.

Once Sharon discovered the art therapy classes available at Coborn Healing Center, she immediately felt drawn to pursue and reignite this passion. She had done some painting years ago and had always wanted to dive back in. Here was her open door to enjoy some personal and therapeutic time away from the focus surrounding medical problems.

"The art therapist, Katie Kinzer, gently drew me out by listening to my fears, dreams and interests. She encouraged and sometimes pushed me to stretch and look at things differently by focusing on a variety of art expressions," Sharon said.

At that time, Sharon struggled with thinking about anything beyond cancer because it dominated her thoughts and time. "Art helped my brain refocus on new, creative and sometimes uncomfortable things," Sharon explained, "At the beginning, my attempts were dark because my life was dark. Then I started using my favorite bright colors and found myself painting trees and water because these are things I love. It helped me feel more positive, like life was coming back to me."

In order to face her fears head on, Sharon discovered the first and most challenging step was to simply start a project. From there, it developed into something big, bold and beautiful. Her husband has been her biggest supporter and at times had to push her out the door. Sharon is very thankful this opportunity was available to her. It not only reawakened her desire to create art, but more importantly, gave her a place and time to focus on herself. "I believe God led me to this place. When I think of the changes that have happened to me since starting, I realize I have grown in my ability to look at life in a broader way, and with God's help, I can handle anything that comes my way," she said.

Sharon has discovered a new way to find peace in the midst of uncertainty and chaos. Her husband's diagnosis of an additional type of cancer is adding more caregiver responsibilities to her plate. "I now feel that even though life is hard, there is a way to meet every challenge," she said

"This piece reminded me of my growing up years in 4-H and high school sewing class.

"It was exciting picking out fun, pretty fabrics and patterns.

"I learned how to follow a pattern and how important it was to be exact, or the pieces couldn’t fit together. The results could always be quite varied!"

- Sharon

"I started attending this group about a year after my wife was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

"At first it was a way to just do something different. And I do mean DIFFERENT. Doing "art" is so outside my box it's hard to describe.

"What I realized early on was that it really isn't about the art. I am lucky enough to be in a group of extra ordinary people. They all give me more than I could ever give back.

"And a big plus, something that everyone in our group needs, we laugh a lot. I mean a lot!!!"

- Tom

"I would very much like to explain how I was inspired by some grand thing in nature that I saw or experienced. Or an emotional response that I experienced of something in my life.

"The truth, however, is... There was 5 minutes left in the class, so I took a bunch of cloth pieces in my hand, globbed a bunch of glue in my hands, rubbed it all together, flopped it on the canvas, saw the bird and decided it was a nest."

- Tom