Bring a pen and paper to this episode with Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, new co-host of Arts for the Health of It! Andrea is a San Antonio native and the first Black Poet Laureate of San Antonio, 2020-2023. Her dynamic style is a fusion of poetry, hip hop, and R&B. She is an award-winning poet and a teaching artist who enjoys facilitating workshops nationwide.

Learn more about Andrea:

Watch the episode on YouTube.

'𝕿𝖎𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖔𝖓!  

Today, we present to you "𝔸 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕤 ℕ𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝔸𝕣𝕥 ℍ𝕠𝕝𝕚𝕕𝕒𝕪"  

You'll hear classic holiday songs, be able to create art with your loved one, listen to stories, and have the chance to help bring arts-in-health services to more hospital beds next year.  

PLUS  

Watch a dream come true for one cancer patient, thanks to the San Antonio Symphony (no spoilers!)

If you enjoy the show, please consider going to heartsneedart.org to help us continue providing moments of joy, self-expression, and connection for those facing life-altering health challenges through arts engagement, advocacy, and innovation.  You can also text SIX to 53-555!  

𝓔𝓷𝓳𝓸𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝔀!

Rita Ezenwa-Okoro is a Creative Culturist, Performance Activist, & Communications Expert who believes in creative arts as a force for human development. She uses the arts to navigate the journey of difficult emotions in times of challenging events. In this episode, you'll hear about

Links:

Our guest this week believes anything is possible when we come together as a community. Jason Sotiris is the creator of Supertee, a medical garment designed for children that is functional in its ease of use during medical treatment and in its ability to help kids feel empowered while facing major health challenges. He’ll share how his daughter’s cancer diagnosis and treatment transformed his life as a parent, person, and professional, and how imaginative play + creativity in the face of adversity can drive meaningful change.

About Jason:

Learn more: http://supertee.au.org/

One of our big, birthday wishes is that arts in health becomes part of the standard of care. As you'll hear in this episode, Gracie told Constanza years ago, "We need to remember the reasons WHY we're alive as much as we need the things that keep us alive." Your support ensures more joy, self-expression, and connection with patients and caregivers. Text SIX to 53-555, or visit givebutter.com/hna-birthday to wish us a Happy Birthday! 

Visit with Constanza Roeder, Hearts Need Art Founder and Chief Visionary Officer, Richard Wilmore, CEO, and Catherine Particini, Director of Marketing. Hear about some of their most memorable interactions with patients and caregivers; marvel at one of Constanza's original, hand-made display boards; find out what they're looking forward to in the coming months and years, and more! Thank you for 6 incredible years! We wouldn't be here without your love and support.  givebutter.com/hna-birthday

Kate Powell is the Executive Director of Tidewater Arts Outreach (TAO) in Norfolk, VA. Their mission is to bring joy to older adults and those living in isolating circumstances and enhance their well-being through creative engagement with the arts. Key topics Kate discusses include the following:

Learn more at tidewaterartsoutreach.org

Amy Latta is an artist and author who is passionate about helping others to discover and express their creativity. She has written five books on hand lettering, a creativity journal, and a book all about how to doodle. In this episode, Amy walks us through some of her doodle tutorials from her Doodle Everything book, shares about her creative process and how her books evolved, and where you might find some secretly autographed copies of her books. Learn more about Amy and purchase her new book at www.amylattacreations.com. Connect with her on social media: @amylattacreations.

A longtime advocate for comics as a medium for serious storytelling, Sam Hester is a contributor to comics journalism, comics in academia and the graphic medicine movement. She writes and draws comics about life in her hometown of Calgary, in the Treaty 7 region of Alberta, Canada.Particularly special about this episode is Sam sharing about her experience as a caregiver for her mother. Sam uses her artistry with images and words to communicate effectively with healthcare providers so that her mom's preferences and health conditions are at the forefront of her quality of care.

Lisa is a proud wife and mother of two boys, ages 7 and 5, who lives just north of Boston, Massachusetts. She is an almost four-year Triple Negative Breast Cancer survivor and a former elementary school teacher who now devotes her time to helping other young adults who are facing a cancer diagnosis. She does this through her work as the Marketing and Communications Manager for the Steven G. Cancer Foundation and Elephants and Tea Magazine, and through her podcast the "Don't Call it a Journey Podcast" (streaming on Apple Podcasts and Spotify). In her free time, she loves to write, cook, and travel and enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Connect with Lisa:

@lisaorr714

@elephantsandteamagazine

elephantsandtea.com

We're visiting with Hannah Garrison, one of our artists-in-residence. Hannah works both virtually and in-person with patients at their bedsides. Using the arts as meditation and a very general form of physical therapy helped her not only cope with a diagnosis of MS, but to also become a better caregiver. Being honest about her diagnosis to herself and to complete strangers is not only effective medicine for her but for them as well. Inside hospitals, she creates large window paintings for patients at their bedside and has witnessed the life-changing effects of art combined with an empathetic ear.

Hannah's also teaching you how to make one-line butterflies!

Connect with and support Hannah:

Hearts Need Art

Instagram

Her Website