Support Mental Health through Art and Connection

Creating a space for art, and mental health counseling - Phase 1

I’m an art therapist and mental health counselor living in Montgomery, Vermont, working toward my LADC and LCMHC licenses. With the closing of the community health center where I’ve worked for the past two years, our region is losing vital mental health resources. My goal is to create a healing space where I can offer art therapy, counseling, and community workshops.

Since moving to Vermont from the Midwest in 2023, I discovered a high need for mental health services, which are dwindling as facilities close throughout the region. There are also few spaces for creativity.

This fundraiser supports Phase 1 of the project: preparing land, moving my historic equipment out of storage, and beginning construction of a small studio space. The total project will cost $24,340 -- I am starting with a more immediate goal of $7,500 to partly cover the foundation, moving expenses, and essential setup.

I operated a letterpress and art studio from my home In St. Louis for 17 years. I planned to set up shop here where I could eventually offer classes, art therapy, and counseling. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the studio space fell through and my equipment is in storage.

I am working toward forming an LLC and building a sustainable counseling and art therapy practice alongside the art studio. This will allow me to accept insurance (including Medicaid once I am fully licensed), offer sliding-scale services, and ensure that the studio can grow as a long-term community resource with workshops and art retreat opportunities.

What is Letterpress?

Letterpress traces to 11th-century China, with the invention of movable type. Centuries later, Johannes Gutenberg adapted the concept in Germany, printing nearly 200 copies of the Gutenberg Bible in under 2 years. Benjamin Franklin later advanced the craft in the United States producing influential newspapers, pamphlets, and almanacs.

Letterpress gave way to offset printing throughout the 1980s and printers left their equipment behind in old warehouses and buildings scattered across the country. A slow revival burned in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

I became obsessed with the craft after taking a class in Portland, Oregon in 2000, and bought my first press, a 6x10 Chandler and Price on eBay. After moving to St. Louis in 2004 and finding a suitable live/work space, I found an 8x12 Chandler and Price treadle press (circa 1890s) in Indiana. I later added a Vandercook Universal III from Chicago, produced in the late 1950s, and a Paragon paper cutter from Pennsylvania, production dates 1885 - 1895. I collected several cabinets of lead and wood type from various eras. Over the years I printed wedding invitations, small run business cards, wine labels, posters, and many many personal projects. I taught friends about the history, how to set type, and run the presses.

In 2023 I packed it up and relocated to Vermont, hoping to establish a shop and share the craft with new friends.

A Brief History of Art Therapy

Adrian Hill, a WWI soldier and artist in Britain was recovering from tuberculosis in a sanatorium which also housed many WWII patients. He worked on art during his recovery and began teaching it to fellow patients. In 1939, occupational therapy was introduced and he was invited to participate. He coined the term “art therapy” in 1942.

Around the same time (1940s - 1960s), Margaret Naumburg and Edith Kramer were independently developing their own approaches to art in therapy in the United States. Together they worked to establish the American Art Therapy Association in 1969.

Art therapy is now practiced in hospitals, schools, private practices, prisons, and community centers to treat mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and promote health and wellbeing. Neuroscience continues to provide evidence of the power of art in healing.

“Art therapy is neither art teaching nor is it a diversion or pastime. At its most basic, art therapy is the making of pictures, drawings or clay models in the context of a safe relationship.” – Joy Schaverien

Project details:

PHASE I:

10’ x 30’ Structure, includes wiring for future electric – $16,000

14’ x 36’ Gravel surface and grading – $4,100

Moving costs:

Moving truck - $500

Forklift rental + operator – $480

Palette jack rental – $100

Straps and tie downs – $70

PHASE II:

Composting toilet facility – $2,450

Boxio wash plus Portable sink -$240

2 × DeWalt Tripod Lights - $400

Total Cost:

$24,340

Breaking Ground

We broke ground last week, and the building (a simple Amish shed) is scheduled to deliver in early October.

More about me:

MA, Art Therapy and Counseling, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville

BA, Fine Art, University of Maryland

Yoga Teacher Training, 200 hours

Working toward LADC and LCMHC licenses

Twenty year career in graphic design, letterpress, and teaching

I have operated as Sensura Studio since the early oughts. My goal is to be up and running by early 2026.

All products and services below will be available and completed in 2026. I am currently on medical leave and working to create the space for when I return to counseling.

If you would like to donate, and would like a piece of art, or my time for custom design, please let me know! Let's make something.

$5 - $50

Tiny art

$50 - $100

Letterpress poster

$100 - $200

Handmade Sock monkey, custom poster, or hand bound journal

$500 and up ….

Custom design / letterpress projects. Business cards, wedding invitations, posters, greeting cards. Letterpress workshop. Art retreat. Time frame, late 2026.

– Or –

Reserve design time for upcoming projects. Let’s discuss. Time frame, late 2026.

Thank you for reading, and considering supporting this project!

*cover photo by Geoff Story, a very very long time ago .....