BeelZan: Contemporary Art of New Relationships
Herzel Yerushalmi Ph.D

Academia, as I mentioned, would do the unthinkable to artistic freedom of creativity.  It will confine, control, and mold artistic creativity alongside pre-determined conceptions and perceptions. Artistic expression thrives at its deepest and most profound within a cosmic spirit of liberation. A liberated soul creating liberating and meaningful art, on a cotton canvas or a life canvas.
Is it not what healing is about? Through therapy or any other healing action. Feeling liberated and breathing liberation?

Why art, healing, and therapeutic, are interconnected. Art, in its many forms, has the potential of healing the observer, the participant, and the artist.   Creativity is embedded in every aspect of our life, be it at work, at home, with our children, with our loved ones, or in our studio with our loved objects.  We need to express ourselves in a real way with others and with ourselves. An experience, artistic or else, would be healing so long as we are honest and not scared to express our real feelings and thoughts.  When we can wipe away our inhibitions and make us look at things in a new way. 

Art, and for that matter anything done artfully or artistically is an avenue for tapping on deep personal needs and dreams, some we are aware of and some we are not. Artistic expression helps our awareness of self, of others, and of the world around us. Awareness is the cornerstone of personal-psychological-emotional health. It is also at the core of any therapeutic work and healing process. If one is neglected the other is hindered. The artistic expression could lead to feelings of liberation, internal freedom, sharing, being meaningful, and making a difference in your and people’s life.



I have had three guiding principles throughout my living struggle: Love, Beauty, Knowledge. In that order. I pursued History and Classical Studies, at Tel-Aviv University while I cherished the joy of freely learning and intuitively expressing in non-traditional, non-conventional art workshops and retreats, focusing mainly on drawing and oil painting. 
With a Doctorate in clinical psychology and an innovative non-technical biographic-therapeutic approach (published as a book), I have been helping people heal and live a life creatively; Artfully. Art is therapeutic. Therapy is art; rather than a technique, as art is. Art could be a conduit for a New Relationships Paradigm. Human beings are relationship oriented. From very early on and all along the course of our life we search for relationships.
Through art, we relate. Art is a transformative experience in relatedness, to the self, other and the surroundings.
Therapy is a relationship, an interpersonal one, A new relationship that never happened before, that challenges the boundaries of our self and world perceptions and thus may give birth to new growth experiences. Therapy may be a transformative experience. 
The artist and the artful therapist both serve one core purpose or IDEAL: To make the world a better place. That is why BeelZan labors to paint and Dr. Herzel Yerushalmi co-founded Footprint New Jersey LLC, 

With such a dual-existence, BeelZan strives to attain the freedom of expression, free from monetary constraints, from market tyranny, that an artist deeply needs when approaching the canvas to be worked on. 

In Between ALL lies Art.

All relationships are made into "things" and it is becoming apparent that not only another world is possible but necessary. A world which will give birth to New Relationships: with nature, between men and women, between men, women, and God; a new economy, a new technology; new ethics; new relationship to science, to knowledge; and a new relationship to state boundaries, race, and class.

By challenging the boundaries of our conventional aesthetic-visual perceptions, an artist becomes a midwife giving birth to new relationships, the tools being brush and paint and the paintings the vision.

 

I will take this opportunity to make some observations on art and emotional health and why therapy, therapeutic, and art are interconnected. Art, in its many forms, has the potential of healing for the observer, the participant and the artist.   Creativity is embedded in every aspect of our life, be it at work, at home, with our children, with our loved ones or in our studio with our loved objects.  We need to express ourselves in a real way with others and with ourselves. An experience, artistic or else, would be healing so long as we are honest and not scared expressing our real feelings and thoughts.  When we can wipe away our inhibitions and make us look at things in a new way. 

Art, and for that matter anything done artfully or artistically—is an avenue for tapping on deep personal needs and dreams some we are aware of and some we are not. Artistic expression helps our awareness of self, others and the world around us. Awareness is the cornerstone of personal-psychological-emotional health. It is also at the core of any therapeutic work and healing process. If one is neglected the other is hindered. Artistic expression could lead to feelings of liberation, of internal freedom, of sharing, being meaningful and making a difference in yours and people’s life.