Making Art for Sale Or For Art Therapy

Art therapy is different from making art to sale. The intention in art therapy is to make a piece that represents the inner world of a client. Making art to sale is making a piece that is appealing to another person so that the person would like to buy it. At times, these two ideas are at odds. At other times, there is an intersection and it can be beneficial to an art therapy program.

In one of my internships, we were directed, at certain times of the year, to get the clients to make items to sale in the lobby of the hospital. This was a way for the program to raise funds for outings to benefit the group members.

In my experience of selling artwork when clients are involved, most of it has caused harm to the clients. In doing my internship, I saw three incidents that were concerning. Also, in my own practice, I saw one incident that stood out in regard to selling artwork.

One of the experiences I had at the internship was a group who refused to attend sessions after a sale that benefited the program. The program would raise funds for better socializing amongst the group participants. This particular participant had planned out and organized the group to make coin banks. I also made one although I was disinterested. I didn’t feel like I could say no at the time. At the sale, the coin banks didn’t sell. The group member was devastated and didn’t return to the group for a few months.

Knowing this now, I would prepare my clients for frustration and setbacks. There would be at least one session dedicated to what to do if their artwork didn’t sell– and that we could process the feelings of that one might feel in such a situation.

The supervisor at this internship placement would make comment that the self-esteem of the participants would be uplifted if an item sold. “Imagine that a woman buys the scarf. Our group member will have such a wonderful feeling…. imagine that a man buys the scarf for a wife or girlfriend; this empowers our group member to know that he did something to improve someone’s relationship, considering that he has issues with socializing himself.” She did a sort of waltz around the room and said this in a distant singing voice. I felt that she was jumping to too many conclusions for my tastes, especially with the group members involved in the group.

A similar situation happened in private practice. A client put some artwork up in a gallery that had an open call for artwork and everything would be accepted. He hadn’t talked to me directly about his expectations of the show but he ended up having high expectations. He was upset that his artwork didn’t sell. However, we were able to talk about this afterward and it seemed like he was able to see the situation in a different light. Since the gallery was not connected to me or the group practice, he was able to attend sessions, without embarrassment and turned it into a productive therapy session in processing his feelings.

In another incident at the internship, a woman started hustling for money at the sale. Being an intern, this put me in an awkward position. I didn’t have the confidence or know-how to speak up. The issue was turned over to the director of the program and she was able to delicately address the situation. It was a matter of saying that the group participant could ask for donations if she saw someone she knew and the person didn’t find anything they wanted at the sale. Having a sale brought this woman back to a habit that was unhealthy for her and had to be guided in a better way. For me, I would rather have avoided the whole situation, unless I could speak to her privately before such a show to see if she was ready to attend a sale.

The third issue is more of an overall observation. Creating art to sale took away from the group’s therapeutic process. Interns were encouraged to get clients to make art for sale. To be fair, some of these clients might not have had an idea ready when the session began but that’s up to the person to problem solve; not for interns to recommend and nearly force a client to make a piece of artwork to sale.

Making artwork for sale takes away many of the therapeutic values of it. It takes away the ugliness of change. It takes away the intention to make a piece that is truly representative of the person’s feelings. It puts value on the artwork, which the person might connect with their own self-worth. Creating art in art therapy is an opportunity for a client to represent what’s inside and that isn’t always going to make a good piece for someone’s wall.