CHARLOTTE REZNICK, PhD
Art is in my DNA. My grandfather painted murals in churches in Russia, and several family members are artists of varying sorts. Although discouraged for decades by critical statements from my painting professor at university, I started painting a few years ago for fun. Like one of my child client’s might, I found the experience freeing and cathartic. As a playful meditation, I get lost in the colors I’m mixing and creating. Now I incorporate my passion for travel and am inspired to paint from photos I’ve taken that touch my heart. My love of art, meditation, travel, and psychology mesh here. With children and teens, we delve into the mystical world of imagination and intuition. Using tools of art, meditation, and imagery, my kids connect to their true self, not the mask they often show the world. Our goal is to heal the damage that has been inflicted upon them by their inner and outer worlds. Within the safe heart-felt space of my office (and now during the coronavirus pandemic, through tele- therapy) kids develop self-compassion, empathy, and intuition, helping to create a more positive future. Seeing from the heart’s eye brings out the artist in most. Whether in drawing, painting, or writing, art has a significant presence in our sessions – as it does in my personal life for my own health and healing.
Carlota en Menorca: Imagination During Covid-19
(Gouache on Hot Pressed Watercolor Pad, 10” x 14”)
My imagination and painting have saved my soul during the coronavirus pandemic. Although sequestered at home for months, I am free to fly anywhere through my imagination. My child and adolescent clients the same. We can create and enjoy the world we want to live in. Carlota en Menorca represents where I’d like to be...in the aqua waters of my magical Mediterranean Spanish island that I’ve been traveling to for summers since 1992. It’s a place of respite, rejuvenation, and my heart family. No better place to heal...