I attended Newcomb College, a small liberal arts women’s school pendant to Tulane University, New Orleans, 1959 – 1963. I loved New Orleans, and my time at Newcomb. Those college years gave me confidence and skills to pursue my scholarly passions. I graduated from Newcomb with a BA in Sociology, and returned to my family home in Lubbock, Texas. There I earned an MA in Sociology from Texas Tech University. My education at Newcomb and Texas Tech equipped me to develop a meaningful career as an Art Therapist, utilizing my education in social sciences, creative art expression, teaching, and writing.
 
While a graduate student at Tech, I worked in The Southwest Collection, an archive of materials from pioneers and settlers of the Texas Panhandle. This experience taught me the importance of preserving the books and papers of ordinary people as well as those of notable historical figures.
 
I learned about the Newcomb Archives through an alumna publication. Their mission is to collect materials of Newcomb graduates and others to document the lives and concerns of Southern women. Over the years I have given several batches of books and papers to Newcomb Archives. Most recently, in January 2021, CM Team Member Susan Johnson packed three of my 30 lb. boxes in her car when she drove her daughter back to Tulane for her spring semester. Susan generously dropped my boxes off with staff at Newcomb Archives. (Thank you, Susan!)

The collection of materials I have donated is available to researchers. Here’s some of the highlights:

• Documents related to the Atlanta Art Therapy Institute, the first training program in the Southeast for Art Therapy, established by Susanne and operating 1979-1983
• Listing of graduates of the Atlanta Art Therapy Institute
• Scrapbook of the Georgia Art Therapy Association, of which Susanne is a founding member
• Correspondence with Joan Kellogg, Art Therapist, Susanne’s teacher and mentor
• Newspaper clippings from Susanne’s tenure as a Council Member in Conyers, Georgia 1987 - 1994
• Susanne’s books, manuscripts, journals, and sketch diaries of her travels
• Information about Creating Mandalas, the team of experienced guides assembled by Susanne in 1986 to share the transformative qualities of mandalas (sacred circles). The group offers curated retreat experiences for personal growth.
• Files of the Creating Mandalas Certificate Program (CMCP), begun in 2008 by Susanne and the Creating Mandalas Team
• Listing of graduates of the Creating Mandalas Certificate Program

For information or to schedule an appointment to research: http://www.newcomb.tulane.edu
newcombarchives@tulane.edu

​Coloring Mandalas Lowers Anxiety
Improves Attention and Creative Thinking
 
I follow emerging research about mandalas, and I’m happy to report that more and more benefits of creating and coloring mandalas are being discovered. A new study finds coloring mandalas not only reduces anxiety but also improves attention and creative thinking.

A paper published in Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association (December 2019), describes results from an experiment conducted by English researchers with undergraduates. Participants colored mandalas, then took tests that measured mood, attention, and divergent thinking. A control group that did not color mandalas also took the tests. Researchers found that when test results for the group coloring mandalas were compared with those of the control group, the coloring mandalas group had lower levels of anxiety. The study confirms other research reports. Moreover, the English study’s authors reported that after coloring mandalas, participants “scored significantly higher on selective attention and original ideation.”

​Coloring mandalas reduces anxiety, improves attention, and sparks original thinking—such a simple, enjoyable, cost effective intervention for people who feel anxious, lack focus, or have other problems to solve. I wish I could gift every student with a mandala coloring book and good quality pencils for coloring! And while I’m waving my magic wand, I would place mandala coloring books in hospitals, nursing homes, senior centers, churches, doctors’ offices, and waiting rooms everywhere. 

My friends at Creating Mandalas have their favorite times and places for using our mandala coloring books. Marilyn likes to color mandalas when waiting for doctors, trains, planes, and even jury duty. Paige likes to offer mandalas to color when working with cancer patients and families during treatments as a creative process for relaxation, release, and connection. Susan likes to color with homeless men, in response to scripture, and as a break during the day. I like to color in a group at her local senior center. It is so easy to take a coloring book and a few pencils anywhere.
 
I hear often from family members that their loved ones with memory problems enjoy coloring mandalas. And coloring mandalas is good for elders, too. The structured nature of the activity is both soothing and stimulating. Choosing a design to color gives expression to personal agency. Having a design provided eliminates the anxiety provoking challenge of creating a design from scratch. Creativity is expressed in the choice of color combinations to complete the mandala design and make each mandala unique. As colors are added to the design a colorist has the pleasure of seeing different aspects of the design highlighted so that the mandala appears to change and evolve. The satisfaction of completion and accomplishment comes when there are no more empty spaces to color. And coloring is exercise for the hand that supports good hand/eye coordination. 
 
A number of studies by Art Therapists and Counselors have shown that coloring mandalas reduces anxiety, one of the chronic problems of our age. The designs in my coloring books have open spaces that invite personal expression using techniques such as shading or Zentangle. Coloring the designs in my Mandala Coloring Books gives people the opportunity to choose and connect with the pre-existing symbolism of the designs in a way that fosters self-awareness, promotes wholeness, and supports verbal sharing with others. 
 
Creating Mandala coloring books are available at local bookstores and through Amazon.com. 
 
Enjoy!