W. Dundee art therapy studio takes counseling a “step beyond”
Tricia Saviano Hammer has taken her creative and counseling skills and combined them into a downtown West Dundee art therapy business, meant to help her clients deal with their issues beyond traditional means.
Artisticology, which bills itself as living and learning through art, also offers art classes and workshops for the general public.
Hammer, 32, who hails from Schaumburg and lives in East Dundee, holds a master's degree in art therapy and counseling from Southwestern College in Santa Fe and a bachelor of arts degree in studio art from Lewis University, where she also minored in psychology. An art therapy studio she visited in Albuquerque, inspired her to open her own.
“I just wanted a place where people can go and get their creative needs fulfilled,” Hammer said.
The upstairs office is reserved for private art therapy sessions. She's got 15 adult clients coming through every week for hourlong sessions. Some are suffering from development disabilities, anxiety issues and the death of a close friend or loved one.
Hammer's art therapy works like this: if you're in the process of grieving, Hammer will counsel you verbally, but she'll also have you make a memory box in honor of the person who died or find a way to help you express feelings artistically on paper.
Or if you're angry, Hammer will help you get those feelings out with furious brush strokes on paper or by throwing clay.
Expressing your feelings through art is just another avenue of communication. The goal is to increase both the mental and emotional health of her clients.
Hammer calls it a step beyond traditional counseling.
“You can't always verbalize what's going on,” Hammer said. “It's an acceptable environment to ... use art to work with individuals with what they need.”
The downstairs is an open art studio reserved for Hammer's art workshops and for people who just need space to work on their own projects. This is ideal for birthday parties, family gatherings or for scouting groups looking to earn art badges.
The workshops fuse painting your own pottery with learning how to create your own jewelry, acrylic and oil painting.
As well, the married mother of twin girls has her own mixed-media art for sale that celebrates women with wild hair — Hammer is growing her own dreadlocks and identifies with the subjects in her own creations.
Ÿ Artisticology is in West Dundee at 111 W. Main St. For information or hourly rates on the art programs, visit artisticology.com or call (847) 997-1031.