Vitamin N – Nature Therapy
A personal testimony:
After spending two days in ICU with my son, and confined
to the hospital setting, the brief but influential experience made a great
impact on me and my dependency of a relationship with Nature. I began to be
flooded with exploratory thoughts in regards to my position as the founder and
facilitator of the Eco Arts Council and it’s mission and it's relation to the
personal thoughts I was feeling from the parent and patient perspective I was
witnessing with my child. I intuitively knew that this stay and visit in the
hospital was going to serve as more than a medical healing treatment for my
son, but also a motivational factor in my professional approach in future goals
as an advocate for “Vitamin Nature”. My son’s sickness was not a positive
experience, but the silver lining in the situation was that it offered an
opportunity to see how I could advocate in making similar experiences of others
better with a dose of Vitamin N.
What is Vitamin N? I first of heard of Vitamin N from
writings by Richard Louv who is a journalist and author of eight books about
the connections between family, nature and community. According to Mr. Louv, It is suggested that Vitamin
N (for nature) can improve our physical and mental health as
“new research suggests that exposure to natural environments enhances our
ability to cope with and recover from stress, illness, and injury. Short, quiet
encounters with natural elements can calm us, and help us feel less alone.
Nature-based therapies have produced good results in some people, and mental
health organizations, particularly in United Kingdom, are beginning to see
nature's value as an antidepressant.” As a parent and arts educator, I was very
pleased to learn through his writings that becoming “nature smart” can help
improve intelligences and creativity through the exposure to the living world,
too. Among one of his theories, he believes that our “senses and sensibilities
are improved through our direct interaction with nature; and a more natural
environment seems to stimulate our ability to pay attention, think clearly, and
be more creative. Nature time helps us feel more attuned to the best of life.
When else do we use all of our senses at the same time, as we do in nature?
Parents and children can become nature smart together.”
Even after one day and evening confined to his room with
off white walls, mechanical devices and a clinical atmosphere, I was driven to
change his environment in order to foster a more peaceful mental image of his
surroundings. From home, I brought an ocean scene poster, which I strategically
placed under the flat screen wall television; an environmental based “Whale and
Krill” game board to accommodate our ocean theme, and provided coloring books
and crayons. The simplicity of nature scenery, induction of color into the
décor and creative activity was not only enjoyed by my son but noticed by his
accommodating staff.
As I walked through the halls, there were fragment images of artworks and two tree multimedia art works. Viewing the two items were significantly the only two positive, reassuring and comforting scenes family members may seek for a peaceful environment among sanitized conditions of hospitals. I stopped to look at the details- colors, textures, and design; forgetting the stress I was experiencing with my son’s condition. At the end of his visit, he was transferred to the pediatrics wing, were intentionally and noticeably, the walls were bright with yellows and reds- members of the “warm colors” family. Internal room walls had opposite but complimentary calming colors such as aqua. That promoted a more peaceful, relaxing atmosphere as opposed to the previous sterilized conditions and barren white walls.
As I walked through the halls, there were fragment images of artworks and two tree multimedia art works. Viewing the two items were significantly the only two positive, reassuring and comforting scenes family members may seek for a peaceful environment among sanitized conditions of hospitals. I stopped to look at the details- colors, textures, and design; forgetting the stress I was experiencing with my son’s condition. At the end of his visit, he was transferred to the pediatrics wing, were intentionally and noticeably, the walls were bright with yellows and reds- members of the “warm colors” family. Internal room walls had opposite but complimentary calming colors such as aqua. That promoted a more peaceful, relaxing atmosphere as opposed to the previous sterilized conditions and barren white walls.
The simple application
of color theory was evident and proved effective in this situation and provided
an opportunity for me to share with the nursing staff the artistic philosophy
of colors and their mood enhancing effects. My son’s favorite colors are shades
of blues and so the aqua was comforting.
The courtyard view from his window with bright green grass reminded him
of his favorite pastime of playing outdoors at home. The creative hallway
decorations in the pediatric unit diverted his attention and provoked
conversation from various photos and pictures festively displayed and served a
reminder of our family’s obsession with photography and documenting happy
moments. The variety of bright colors resembled decorations of a celebratory
nature just like the birthday parties I have given him in the past. As the
hospital staff worked to make my son better physically, I was injecting my
beliefs on the positive power of an artistic holistic approach that positively
enhanced his environment and outlook during his recovery. From this experience,
I believe that art should have an active and symbiotic presence with
traditional medical approaches to help foster a patient’s recovery in body,
mind and spirit.
As a personal thought,
and with some public support, an opportunity may blossom from this experience
in the form of a volunteer program that can be discussed with the hospital
administration. In effect, they would grant us access to their courtyard to
host a few public Eco Art sculptures made of natural materials that
symbolically showcase a nest – a metaphorical representation of comfort, home
and serenity. Or perhaps, a four-seasons tree sculpture in recycled metal
materials celebrating the cycle of life, changes, transitions and the universal
concept that “There is a season for everything”; a topic of exploration many
patients and their families may experience in relation and provoked by issues
of health.
As people may
experience similar or varied experiences in their involvement and communication
with the medical arena and treatments for patient illnesses, it is evident that
all need to find comfort, hope and peace, as this is universal truth for all
people. Art provides a universal feeling of comfort and combined with the need
for nature in our everyday environments (which applies to all humankind) we can
find a perfect marriage in combining the two and to provide a positive catalyst
for this journey and expression of comfort. Art is communication about what we
see and what others see. Art is created and used to extend and expand our
shared common visual language. Nature has always provided a visual language and
now current research is expanding to prove the physiological and physical
health benefits, as well. How naturally, then, that Art and Nature form a
wonderful communion with positive assets.
As with Nature, Art
functions in a range from simple servitude to powerful contributions. Art
conveys an expression of life and life is enriched because of art. Art has
existed in and for: storytelling, interpretation, conveying emotion, creating
beauty, recording visual data, in social commentary, religious rituals and
communication of important events. It is the cliche of “Art from life and life
from art” - a harmonious partnership; and as with Nature, artists derive much
of their inspiration from Nature and their relationship to it.
My son has recovered from his ordeal, and our lives
continue on. But the experience and exploratory thoughts that were a product of
our hospital stay has made an imprint on me and surged a creative driving force
to address the importance of Vitamin N in our communities and most specifically
the medical community. As research based scientists, environmental activists,
artists and educators reach out to the medical community, community developers
and urban landscapers, we can partner to represent and advocate for Eco Arts
and Vitamin N. I hope for a day where medicine, science, art and education will
partner to honor Nature as a sanctuary for humans and engage and practice the
benefits of nature in our everyday lives.
“Culture strength is in our freedom, and as artists, our
strongest art comes out of this freedom. For some, art can be about expressing
beauty, political representation, used for self-discovery and healing, or art
produced by popularity and demand. Regardless of the finished product and it’s
destination, most everyone would agree that in our freedom to create, artists
reap the benefits of cultivating, expression, discovery, reflection,
challenges, projection and rewards. Every artist has the freedom to show us new
ways to see everyday and familiar things in a new interpreted way. The purpose
may be to enlighten, provoke, speak in symbolic shorthand to make a statement,
or simply to wait upon for the audience to show side effects.”
- Glorie
Iaccarino
