Savren M.

Exhibit A
Credit: Savren M.Artist Bio

In 2022, Savren McConnell (she/they) moved across the country from Indianapolis, Indiana to Portland, Oregon with their partner and two cats - Obi and Basil to pursue her Master of Arts degree in Art Therapy at Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling. They will graduate in Spring of 2025.

Savren McConnell received their Bachelor of Fine Arts in Integrative Studio Practice (with focuses in Photography and Drawing/Illustration and a minor in Psychology) as well as a Pre-Art Therapy Certificate from Herron School of Art and Design at Indiana University Indianapolis.

Currently, Savren is an intern at a hospital in an adult inpatient psychiatry unit. There, they provide art therapy groups and individual sessions for adults experiencing mental health crises. Witnessing the creativity, resilience, and determination of the patients who come from many diTerent backgrounds makes Savren feel inspired and incredibly privileged to be working in this setting.

Savren is a mixed-media artist who enjoys exploring and combining different mediums. They have spent much of their life using art as a way to cope and express their emotions. Recently, Savren has been working with acrylic paint, oil pastels, colored pencil, watercolor, and ink. Additionally, they have been using writing in the form of journaling and poems to process their experience at their internship.

Artist Statement

Materials: pre-stretched canvas, mixed-media paper, cardboard, acrylic paint, acrylic medium, hot glue, colored pencil, small mirrors, permanent marker

My pieces began with a need for free expression. I had sat down with collage materials and began flipping through the magazines. While I typically enjoy using collage materials, I felt as though something was missing. I pivoted, putting a canvas on the wall, and I gave myself permission to throw paint. There was something so satisfying and freeing about working this way. I later realized that this is likely what I needed in the moment, as it contrasts the great amount of structure that I experience at my internship site.

My project began as a form of self-care, providing myself with what I needed to self-soothe. As I spent more time at my internship site, my project developed further to discuss the experience of perceiving others and being perceived by others. Both paintings include the use of eyes and mirrors, incorporating the viewer in the experience. Additionally, I used permanent marker to write on the back of each canvas, using a technique called black-out journaling, to ensure that the words cannot be read. The viewer sees bits of the writing peeking through around each eye where the canvas has been cut and torn.

Exhibit A allows the viewer to see themself/their eyes alongside the other eyes included in the painting.

Exhibit B pushes the viewer to see themself/their eyes within the other eyes included in the painting.

While I completed this project as a way to care for myself while completing work at a highly acute internship site, I hope to continue to explore this experience of perceiving and being perceived in the therapeutic relationship between client and therapist as I continue my journey towards becoming an art therapist and counselor.