Puget Sound-area veterans engaged in art therapy are encouraged to submit entries for the upcoming “Painting Away the Trauma II” art exhibition presented by WA AmeriCorps Vet Corps and Shoreline Community College on Wednesday, April 26. Free and open to the public, the event is hosted by Shoreline Community College’s Veteran & Military Student Services (VMSS) and will be held at the college’s Pagoda Union Building (PUB, Building 9000) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The event will feature the talents of veterans displaying their paintings, sculptures and metalwork.   Veterans engaged in art therapy are encouraged to submit entries. There is no entry fee, and artists can email vcn@shoreline.edu for registration and submittal information.

Those attending the exhibition will have an opportunity to speak directly with veterans about the relationship between art therapy, mental health care and post-traumatic healing.

“Recent combat veterans returning home from their time in active duty, including conflicts in the Middle East, have found art therapy helps them overcome their traumas,” said Morgan Davis, Shoreline CC Vet Corps Navigator. “These programs have provided pathways for many veterans to express themselves through an artistic process.”

Shoreline Community College, www.shoreline.edu, is located at 16101 Greenwood Ave N. in Shoreline.

“Painting Away the Trauma II” is a visual history project that will result in a collection of art works (painting, sculptures, ironworks,) detailing the experiences of veterans while preserving the value of art therapy.   Veterans often return home with acute psychological or medical conditions and art therapy can be an effective form of treatment in concert with other therapies, or through individual or group psychology.

Shoreline Community College’s goal is to provide a space where veterans can share their artistic talents and experiences. The exhibit will spotlight their work while raising awareness of the benefits of art therapy and its ability to heal pain and trauma.