A painting created by a participant in the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing’s recent “Paint Your Heart Out: Embracing Art and Healing” workshop series.

‘Paint Your Heart Out’ display at CMMC

LEWISTON – “Paint Your Heart Out: Embracing Art and Healing,” a collection of watercolor paintings, will be exhibited at the Central Maine Medical Center Rotating Art Gallery from Nov. 7 through Dec. 1.

Adults from greater Lewiston-Auburn area who recently participated in Paint Your Heart Out, a six-week course jointly offered by Bates College and the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing, created the images.

“Embracing the relationship between art-making and healing, ‘Paint Your Heart Out,’ as customized for the patient population served by the Patrick Dempsey Center, provided participants the opportunity to explore how accessing their creative process through expressive painting can promote personal growth and inner healing,” said co-leader Elaine Tselikis.

The art class was jointly developed and led by teaching artist and educational program designer Elaine Tselikis, originator of “Paint Your Heart Out,” and Cindy Visbaras, RN, a health educator and expressive arts facilitator at Bates College.

The paintings will also be displayed from Dec. 2 through 12 at the Benjamin Mays Gallery at Bates College.

Funding for the program was provided by a Bates College Publicly-Engaged Academic Project grant of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships. Assisting in the program as part of their community service learning project are Bates College students Adam Goodwin, Kelly Gollogly and Brynne Underhill.

The Woman’s Hospital Association, as part of its ongoing effort to support patient care activities, sponsors the CMMC Rotating Art Gallery. For more information about the association, call the gift shop at 795-2295. To learn more about the monthly art exhibits, call Kathleen Cormier at 346-3462. For more information on the Patrick Dempsey Center, visit www.dempseycenter.org or call 1-877-DEMPCTR.