Art is a way of knowing / Pat B. Allen ; foreword by M.C. Richards.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-202).

An art therapist and member of the art therapy faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Allen gives excellent instructions on using image-making as a way to understand personal fears, dreams, and identity while giving us a look at her own life and image-making process. Especially useful for nonartists, Allen's text explains which art materials to purchase and how to begin a drawing or sculpture. Led into the field by the mother of art therapy, Margaret Naumburg, Allen tells the story of her life and struggles: coming to terms with her mother's death and her father's alcoholism, finding and understanding her feminine side, dealing with a loss of tenure and a change in professional identity. Through it all, she shows how image-making has helped her to understand herself, her emotions, her relationships, and her dreams. Allen has produced a wonderful book for anyone, artistic or not, who is interested in using art to know more about himself or herself.