Tory F.

Move, transform, make, play
Credit: Tory F. Artist Bio

Tory Fenrick is a Portland-based art therapy graduate student with a passion for all things creative, playful, and introspective. They have worn many hats including middle and high school language arts teacher, martial arts instructor, comics creator, podcast host, one-on-one aide for children with disabilities, poet, punk, and preschool teacher. A gymnast for 12 years and martial artist for over 20, movement has always been a central focus in their life. Their current focus in art lies along a somatic trajectory, attempting to both embody and communicate the sensory and kinesthetic qualities of creation. Through their experience at Lewis and Clark, they have learned that process can be more important than product.

Tory’s goal as a burgeoning art therapist is to work with children ages 1-100, engaging with narrative as a form of play and play as a form of narrative. They believe that everyone has the ability to let go of their inner critic and engage in the joy of communication, creation, and discovery. This may not come quickly, easily, or frequently but sometimes one moment is all it takes to regulate or have a revelation. When moments stack on moments, a greater picture is created. As they often say to incoming clients (and to themself), “This is just step one.”

Artist Statement

This piece, entitled “Move, transform, make, play!” consists of 24 9”x11” “puzzle pieces” with accompanying text boxes and dialogue bubbles. The individual pieces are each parts of 6 larger images created taped to the wall of the studio, which allowed the artist to get messy and explore negative space. These images were made week by week as an exploration of the feelings of becoming a burgeoning art therapist at an ecotherapies and experiential orientated internship site, as well as response art to the developing relationships with individual clients.

Some of the structure of the piece comes from my background as a fiction writer and comics creator–what I consider to be a synthesis of visual and verbal storytelling. However, participants are invited to move the pieces in whatever way feels natural to them. One thing that has been reinforced to me in my time studying art therapy, and working as an art therapist intern, is that there is no “right way” to create, just as there is no right way to be a human. Something I consistently tell my clients is that there are no mistakes in art.

My personal journey in this program has led me to discover the importance of the art process. Just as in comics, what happens in the gutters (spaces between panels) can be just as, if not more, important than the panels themselves, what happens emotionally, cognitively, and somatically during creation can be the most important part of making art. During the process of making this piece, there was much left behind, both paints, ink, chalk, and charcoal on the wall but also feelings, thoughts, and impressions.

My intention with this piece is to invite opportunities for participants to engage with the multiple modalities of creation that I experienced when making it. Sometimes I worked on fine details and thought cognitively about the image, other times I made broad, kinesthetic movements, sometimes the sensory feel of the media was the most prescient thing about the process, and other times I spent 20 minutes looking for leaves. I hope that you will join me in this collaborative approach to art and meaning-making, engaging with your body, thoughts, feelings, and senses as needed and giving, receiving, taking, and/or leaving behind as you feel in the moment.

Most of all, I hope you will play!