Veteran combat marine exhibits work at Springs Gallery

In commemoration of Veteran's Day and bringing attention to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, The Springs Art Gallery, 105, E. 54 Highway, El Dorado Springs will host "I am Vietnam" an exhibit of works created through art therapy, by Jon York. Since serving with the United States Marine Corps from 1969 to 1970, York has created paintings, photographs and poetry to help him live with a severe case of PTSD from intense daily combat during 18 months spent in Vietnam.

Against all the odds and an hourly risk to being killed, York returned home to America, a survivor. Creative endeavors have kept York alive and at peace, although he could not figure out what was wrong with him for 35 long years.

York said, "Painting has helped me gain control of my life again and helps me release those demons that controlled my life for so many years. As veterans, we face battles every waking hour of the day. Creative therapy allows us to drag these thoughts out of our head, put them down as words, paintings and sculptures. Art can address potential solutions, reconciliation, and the power of the human spirit to overcome oppression and loss. This exhibition is the Road to Healing, through Art. It is the story of my Vietnam Experience in creativity, through paintings, poetry and photographs. By these paintings I hope to address the issues veterans face, coming back from War, the increased rates of PTSD in returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the increased rates of suicides."

It can be very difficult for a soldier to accept the need for help when suffering from PTSD, indeed it takes a soldier's courage to seek help. York has found the help he needs through his art.

York says, "I need art. It keeps me concentrating on what I am doing and stops my mind from wandering and memories of Vietnam."

Art therapy is a very effective treatment method that reduces Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms even in the most severe cases. Researchers have realized that art not only provides a distraction but it helps veterans deal with traumatic memories at their own pace. When making art we usually use the right hemisphere of our brains. Traumatic and stressful memories are stored in the right hemisphere of the brain, which processes emotions, visual and unconscious information.

The left hemisphere of the brain controls logical thinking and verbal skills, but for therapy to be effective it has to get into the right brain and the emotions stored there. While making art activates the right brain, talking about it and constructing a coherent story about the traumatic experience activates the left hemisphere as well. Integrating the two leads to healing. What is expanded is the interconnectivity of the brain.

The exhibit will be open Nov. 14 through Jan. 16, Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1- 5 p.m. Admission is free. An open reception also will be held Saturday, Nov. 14, 1-5 p.m., at the gallery. The Springs Art Gallery is located at 105, East Highway 54, El Dorado Springs, MO, 64744.

For more information or private views please call (417) 296-3659 and speak to Ruth Cannady.