So . . . so . . .so excited to announce that I am now partnering with UGALLERY. 

http://www.ugallery.com/teresa-dirks

Let Love Win, 6x12" MIXED MEDIA Available on http://www.ugallery.com/teresa-dirks

Preparing for an Art Show

Behind the scenes of an art show is documentation... or photographing your new work. This is a difficult task for me even after a great workshop last year at @kcartistscoalition with @jinanqi (who was a wealth of knowledge btw)  So with that said, I am still learning new tricks. And yes! These are the days an assistant would be divine! Frankly my dear, I'd rather be painting...        

 #artbasel #artistlifestyle #artistteresadirks #teresadirksart #instaartist #galleries #artist #selfemployment #largeabstract #abstractpainting #corporateart #teresadirksstudio #artstudio #moderndesign #modernart #paintingmarathon #commission #smallbiz #mixedmedia #kclove #goldenpaints #bekind #ratedmodernart #appreciateyoursupportandlove Follow me on Instagram  @artist.teresadirks, on Facebook  @ artistteresadirks and at 

teresadirks.com

My best,

Teresa Dirks 

Best of Houzz 2016!

Pretty excited about this!
Woohoo!

You won Best of Houzz 2016!

Hi Teresa Dirks' Art and congratulations,

We're writing to let you know that you've been voted by the Houzz community as a winner of our Best of Houzz 2016 award! You can read the full press release here.
Your work won in the Design category, as your portfolio includes some of the most popular images on Houzz in 2015. We have already placed a "Best of Houzz 2016" winner badge on your Houzz profile page; visit your profile page (http://www.houzz.com/pro/teresadirksart) to see it.

From the Huffington Post: Art Isn't Just Good For The Mind, It's Good For The Body Too

Art Isn't Just Good For The Mind, It's Good For The Body Too

And the two are more interconnected than you think.

 01/04/2016 08:29 am ET | Updated Jan 06, 2016

• Priscilla FrankArts Writer, The Huffington Post

PRISCILLA FRANK

My dad was the one who had just had brain surgery, but I also needed to heal.

While he recovered in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center I found myself roaming the halls which, luckily for me, were adorned with a museum-quality art collection, including the work of Paul Klee, Marc Chagall, Helen Frankenthaler and Robert Rauschenberg.

I was particularly glued to a corridor lined with Ellsworth Kelly drawings, simple black-and-white lined depictions of plants. They floated in the white space ever so lightly, like pressed flowers whose insides had faded away. In a time characterized by fatigue, chronic nausea and depression, those fragile black shapes provided me space to breathe. The hospital smells and sounds faded away in their presence as if by magic. 

I was not the sick one, but was nonetheless overwhelmed with gratitude for those humble monochromatic forms, and in awe of their power. To members of the art therapy community, this ostensible miracle is more like science. The effects of art viewing are not just emotional, but physical as well. 

"I have shown art reproductions to very ill patients, even in intensive care," art therapist Irene David, director of therapeutic arts at Bellevue Hospital Center, told The Huffington Post, "and observed calmer states and pleasure elicited -- a kind of life-enhancing lift to neutralize the clinical experience and ambiance of hospitalization."

I reached out to David after reading about a February 2015 study in which researchers from UC Berkeley determined that experiencing wonder during activities like viewing powerful art may lower the levels of certain chemicals, particularly those that cause inflammation and can eventually lead to diabetes, heart attacks and other illnesses. 

In the experiment, 200 young adults detailed how much they experienced wonder and amazement in a given day. Researchers then obtained samples of gum and cheek tissue (oral mucosal transudate), finding that those who claimed to have experienced greater levels of wonder and amazement had the lowest levels of cytokine interleukin 6 -- a marker of inflammation. Cytokine is necessary to the body for fighting infection, but in large quantities, it can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and even Alzheimer's.

How much wonder a person experiences in a given day isn't exactly a measurable quota (and art isn't the only way to experience such an emotion -- being in nature is also cited in the report). But the findings roughly demonstrate that "positive emotions are associated with the markers of good health," Dr. Jennifer Stellar, of University of Toronto, explained. 

"Rather than seeing a walk through the park or a trip to the museum as an indulgence, we hope people will view these kind of experiences as important ways to promote a healthy body in addition to a healthy mind," Stellar continued. "Folding these kinds of positive experiences into your daily routine may be more important for health than we previously realized."

RANKEN JORDAN PEDIATRIC BRIDGE HOSPITAL/FLICKR

Donna Betts, president of the American Art Therapy Association, was far from shocked by the findings.

"Stellar and her team’s results do not surprise me in the least," she wrote to HuffPost. "I’m thrilled to learn of some good research on the benefits of viewing artwork. I would love to see some robust research on the benefits of art making and art therapy in increasing immune system functioning."

While Betts was unfamiliar with other studies involving levels of cytokine interleukin, she mentioned an ongoing study with Drexel University's Girija Kaimal researching the effects of art-making classes on family caregivers of patients with cancer. Specifically, Kaimal is looking at art's ability to lower cortisol levels, which are associated with stress and anxiety. 

Through my previous conversations with art therapists, I'd been made aware of art's ability to bolster mental and emotional health. But the physical aspect was new to me. Betts referenced a slew of studies chronicling art's ability to reduce pain, counter fatigue and promote general physical wellness. 

Most of all, Betts stressed the fluidity of the boundary separating the physical from mental. "There is increasing awareness on a global scale of the mind-body connection and the implications for psychological and physical health," she said. "It’s the idea that the mind and the body are interconnected, the health of one affecting the other."

David also commented on the ability of physical health to bleed into mental health, and vice versa. "Physical illness invariably brings a host of emotion -- typically anxiety and/or depression. Hence, there is particular therapeutic gain in externalizing or dissipating these states through artistic expression. Ultimately, this externalization can help people cope with prognoses, treatment and overall adaption."

Both David and Betts also agreed that, while viewing art is beneficial, the effects of making art are even stronger. As David put it: "I think there is a particular sensation in the actual creation of art, especially the tactile use of materials -- using one’s hands and implements in relation to inner thoughts, feelings and perceptions brings forth all at once a spectrum of reward. Even in the case of disability necessitating adaptive items, there is [a] direct and immediate giving of oneself. Making art is giving to oneself in both the process and the validating product."

Whether or not you're an aspiring artist, this kind of encouragement is vital. If you have a day off, why not head to a museum, where a motionless image made in another time and place could in some way speak to you, make you smile or gasp? Why not test out the way clay feels expanding inside your grip? According to art therapy, seeing art isn't just a luxury, a social outing or fodder for your next Instagram upload. It's medicine for the eyes, the mind, the heart and possibly even the body. And it's so much more pleasurable than swallowing a pill. 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! No resolutions here, but wishes for a new year filled with more love, more understanding, more peace, more joy and more kindness. 

For the past year, I have spent many nights awake, wondering how I can make my art and my world correspond and create a better world a better place for us all. With that said aloud, I have not figured that out yet, but I will. I encourage you to share if you have ideas. I would love to collaborate and make a difference. 

In the meantime, keep thinking those good thoughts!

Sending my best,

Teresa Dirks

Featured Artist for KCAC Artist Lifestyle Project on Instagram

Happy. Happy. Happy.

Happy to announce that I will be the featured artist for KCAC Artist Lifestyle Project on Instagram. Please follow me starting October 29, 2015, for six days on Instagram @kcartistscoalition and see a week in the life of this KC artist. My hopes are to share some of my inspiration, along with a few works in progress and possibly the process of a commission in the works. If time allows, (it is Halloween you know,) you might even witness a painting marathon of sorts. Who knows what the week holds? 

Also important, please join me @artist.teresadirks on Instagram and follow me everyday on my journey. Super excited be a part of Kansas City's Renaissance; It is a great time to be in KC, and so wonderful to have you along on the ride  . . . 

Here is a link to KCAC's blog. http://kansascityartistscoalition.org/artists/teresa-dirks/

Please let me know what you think, I love feedback and inspiration . . .

Sending you my best,

Teresa Dirks 

teresadirks.com

Recently I redesigned my website at teresadirks.com Please take a look and sign up for emails regarding shows and events on my contact page. I look forward to hearing from you!

In the meantime, I am debating whether to use the blog included on the squarespace site. Honestly, this blog platform is so much more efficient. Here is a link to a recently post on my October First Friday in the KC, MO Crossroads Art District.

Let me know what you think.

plus-modern-design-for-october-first-friday-in-kcmo

Cheers and Happy Monday,
Teresa