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Creative Arts for Veterans

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Authors 
LAUREN DAUGHERTY Arts-based Wellness Experiences Manager,  
TODD BURKHARDT Director of Campus  Partnerships at Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement

keywords:

art therapy, veterans, rural, wellness, museums, 

outreach 
 
abstract
This paper discusses Creative Arts for Veterans 
(CAV), a program launched in 2021 to connect 
veterans across the state of Indiana with the 
healing power of the arts. A collaboration 
between the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum 
of Art, the Indiana University Center for Rural 
Engagement, and various community veteran and 
arts partners, Creative Arts for Veterans utilizes 
therapeutically informed arts-based approaches 
to assist veterans and their families in promoting 
general health and wellbeing. The origins of the 
pilot project, new adaptations and directions 
for programming, the overall approach to the 
program, program goals, and specific examples of 
programming are discussed.  
 

introduction 
Transitioning from almost 30 years of active-
duty military service to becoming a civilian, Todd 
Burkhardt, Director of Campus Partnerships at the 
Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement, 
struggled with finding a sense of purpose and 
in many ways felt alienated. During this time 

of transition, Lauren Daugherty, Arts-based 
Wellness Experiences manager and art therapist 
at the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art 
at Indiana University Bloomington, invited Todd 
and a group of Center for Rural Engagement staff 
to an open studio wellness experience (Figure 1). 
Todd had not engaged with art since high school 
but was drawn to the intentionality of artmaking 
because of this experience. He found it was a way 
he could express himself through nonverbal means 
and lessened some of the difficult feelings he was 
experiencing during this time of transition. He 
thought, “if art can somehow assist me, maybe it 
could also assist other veterans who are struggling.”  
 
Indiana ranks 16th in the nation in veteran 
population size, and many veterans in the state 
 reside in rural communities that may not have 
adequate access to mental health care or other 
forms of support in promoting their well-being. 
Managing the mental and emotional stress of a 
demanding workload, deployments, uncertainty, 
combat experiences, and the commonly upheld 
values of stoicism, stability, and endurance present 
in the military profession, with that of new and 
changing career and family dynamics upon 
returning to civilian life can be overwhelming. 
Veterans and their families need tools to address  
these concerns.  
 



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The arts are one way to support veterans who are 
dealing with these and other stressors.  

Art therapy has been found to effectively assist 
veterans in identifying and expressing internal 
thoughts and emotions, developing a sense of 
safety, and fostering improved communication  

 
 
 
leading to improved interpersonal relationships 
(Jones, Drass & Kaimal, 2019). With these 
benefits of art therapy in mind, Lauren and Todd 
developed Creative Arts for Veterans (CAV), a 
program promoting general health and wellbeing 
for veterans and their families across the state 
by connecting them with the healing power of 
the arts. In early 2021, the program launched 
with a pilot 8-week virtual art therapy group held 
synchronously with an in-person location at the 
Elks Lodge in Rushville, Indiana, for those with 
limited internet access. Participants ranged from 
heir mid-thirties to early fifties and had served 
in the Army or Marines. They were all veterans 
of either the war in Iraq or Afghanistan or both. 

Seventy percent of those that participated were 
women.

Participants were mailed art kits with all art 
supplies necessary to successfully participate in the 
group. Participants engaged in thinking routine 
exercises with works of art from the Eskenazi 
Museum collection, created their own works of art  
using art supplies such as air-dry clay, oil pastels, 
and colored pencils and shared their experiences 
with one another verbally. The group served as a  

 
 
way to expose veterans to different art mediums 
they may not have used before. Some veterans 
favored certain art materials and reported they 
bought more of those specific materials to use 

Figure 1. Todd Burkhardt, Director of Campus Partner-
ships at the Indiana University Center for Rural Engage-
ment uses a purple marker to fill in a pre-drawn mandala 
during a wellness workshop at the Eskenazi Museum of 
Art. 

Figure 2. Lauren Daugherty cuts out a magazine image 
to use as collage material for an affirmation trading 
card. 



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on their own in between sessions and after the 
conclusion of the group experience. Regardless 
of location, participants in this pilot program 
reported a decrease in isolation and an increase 
in their ability to identify and regulate emotions 
following the series. Participants also reported 
strong desires to meet in person and to have fewer 
sessions with longer time frames for artmaking and 
discussion.  

A major success of this pilot program was its ability 
to reach women veterans. Women make up 7% 
of Indiana’s veteran population and account for 
20% of current U.S. military members. Women 
veterans in rural communities are often even 
more isolated and marginalized than their male 
counterparts, making reaching women veterans 
a necessary component of CAV programming. 
According to Military Times magazine, “Four 
out of five wounded women veterans reported 
feelings of loneliness, isolation, and disconnect 
from their peers.” (Shane, 2021). Several factors 
can account for this isolation and disconnect in 
disabled female veterans and non-disabled female 
veterans as well. Social Work Today reports female 
veterans can struggle with their mental health due 
to sexual assaults that occur during their time in 
the service, can experience social bias about being 
away from the home for deployments, and other 
traumas (Dripchak, n.d.). While conceptualizing 
the pilot art therapy group, Todd and Lauren 
were connected to Melissa Bellanceau, a retired 
Marine who recently completed her master's 
degree in social work and found peace in creating 
art following her military retirement. Utilizing 
a grassroots approach, Melissa was able to help 
Todd and Lauren recruit women veterans in her 
community for this initial program. 

Based on feedback from participants in the pilot 
group, Todd and Lauren began to think about how 
they could shift from an art therapy approach to 

an arts-based wellness model with more emphasis 
on community engagement with local veteran and 
arts organizations. The changes made following 
the initial art therapy pilot group reflect participant 
feedback and observations from Todd and 
Lauren. Moving away from the telehealth model 
and prioritizing in-person programming was a 
major change made in the program, reflecting 
participants' strong desire to meet in person. In 
addition, Lauren noticed the members of the group 
that met in person at the Elks Lodge in Rushville, 
Indiana, for this pilot group due to lack of internet 
access at their home appeared to have a stronger 
bond as evidenced by the amount of support they 
gave one another verbally before, during, and after 
each group. In-person programming would allow 
all members of a group to develop stronger bonds 
and support one another in ways that telehealth 
does not allow. Another major change was the 
shift from an 8-week group model to one-day 
experiences. Following the pilot group, Todd 
and Lauren discussed possible reasons for a few 
participants not attending more than one group 
meeting or coming for a portion of the 8-week 
group and not returning. While these participants 
did not provide feedback about this, other group 
members reported they had a desire to meet less 
often but for longer periods of time. Because of 
this feedback, Todd and Lauren speculated that 
the 8-week group model could have been too much 
of a commitment for participants. A workshop 
model would allow participants an introduction to 
art-based approaches to support their mental well-
being without too much of a time commitment. 

The initial program has grown into a catalog 
of options that include one-day or partial-day 
workshops, presentations, and family-focused 
events to support reintegration with a holistic 
approach. All events utilize therapeutically 
informed arts-based approaches in community-
based settings that are co-developed with partner 



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organizations. Considering the interests of 
each community organization and information 
the organizations know about the veterans in 
their communities, Lauren tailors art-making 
experiences to fit specific needs, making each 
iteration of a CAV program unique. While Lauren 
facilitates the artmaking experiences, Todd attends 
each CAV program as a participant, providing 
feedback that allows for continual improvement 
in the overall program, methodologies, and art-
based wellness experiences. Todd also believes 
that artmaking plays a vital role in his mental 
health and wellbeing and can provide a firsthand 
account of his experiences with various art media 
to veterans that might be hesitant to engage fully 
in the artmaking processes offered. Art-making 
experiences use a variety of art materials to meet 
the specific needs of each group. 

In the fall of 2021, CAV partnered with the Center 
for Veteran and Military Students at Indiana 
University Bloomington to provide an arts-based 
experience. Participants ranged in age from early 
twenties to early thirties and had served in the 
Army or were currently serving in the Indiana 
National Guard. Some participants had multiple 
combat deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan, and a 
few had not deployed yet. Participants in this group 
were mostly male. The art-based wellness event 
focused on the Japanese art of Kintsugi. Kintsugi is 
the art of repairing broken pottery with gold. The 
philosophy and process treat breakage and repair 
as part of the history of an object and something 
that should be celebrated rather than something 
to disguise. Participants in the program broke a 
ceramic object and glued the pieces back together 
with epoxy and gold mica powder to replicate the 
gold used in the traditional Japanese art form. 
During artmaking, the group shared military 
stories and experiences, engaged in discussion 
about visible and hidden wounds, and connected 
their experiences as veterans with the Kintsugi 

process and philosophy.  Each veteran's experience 
is unique, containing specific struggles, setbacks, 
challenges, and triumphs. The process of Kintsugi 
epitomizes this by bringing awareness to and 
celebrating the beauty in imperfection. 

In January of 2022, CAV partnered with Vet2Vet, 
a nonprofit organization based in Vigo County to 
host an initial arts-based experience for members 
of a monthly veteran support group.

Participants were all male and ranged in age from 
late thirties to late seventies. They had served in 
the Army, Marines, or Air Force and many had 
deployments to Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan. 
Others had deployments to Kuwait. The group 
began by looking at and talking about a work of 

art by a veteran artist in the Eskenazi Museum’s 
collection, Bird Watcher (1941) by John Graham. 
An image of the work of art can be found using the 
Eskenazi Museum’s Collections Online resource. 
Graham was a veteran of World War I where he 
served as a cavalry officer for the Russian Imperial 
Army.  Several participants responded to the colors 
in the image stating they reflected feelings of anger, 
anxiety, and turmoil, while other participants more 
generally related the image to their experiences 
seeing injured soldiers in combat or other 
components of their time deployed overseas. Some 
responded to the flatness of the figure depicted 
in the image connecting the flat facial features to 

Each veteran's experience 
is unique, containing specific 

struggles, setbacks, challenges, and 
triumphs. The process of Kintsugi epit-

omizes this by bringing awareness to and 
celebrating the beauty in imperfection.



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numbness or voids present in their current lives. 
Participants questioned the intention of the artist 
stating they wondered if this image was reflective 
of his internal state because of his time in the 
service. Following the looking exercise, participants 
created affirmation trading cards using collage and 
other 2D materials (Figure 2). The cards consisted 
of positive messages of support they could share 
with another veteran or keep for themselves. Using 
collage in therapeutically informed art-based 
groups can be especially beneficial when working 
with a wide range of ages and abilities. “The art 
materials of glue, magazine images, and scrap 
paper are generally accessible, and many people 
are able to cut, tear, and adhere selected images to 
complete a collage” (Chilton & Scotti, 2014, p.163). 
Working in collage also allows for the creation of 
metaphors through the imagery selected, often 
leading to new insights or discoveries about a 
certain situation or experience (Chilton & Scotti, 
2014).

After this art wellness event, Stacy Birk, M.S.W., 
Vet2Vet Director stated, "CAV provided an 
inspiring art activity that opened up the thinking 
process of how we deal with trauma. This program 
provides another outlet for our Veteran population 
to learn coping skills when dealing with trauma 
from the past alongside current stressors in 
their life. It was amazing to see the interaction 
between the creative arts team and the veterans 
who attended the Coffee and Chat Peer Group. 
It was a positive experience that focuses on how 
to use art as an outlet for emotional issues." Art 
materials and instructions on how to replicate 
this activity were left with Vet2Vet facilitators to 
use in additional support groups forming in other 
counties across the state. Todd and Lauren are 
currently working to connect Vet2Vet with a local 
arts organization that can provide additional arts-
based programming. 
 

In April of 2022, CAV partnered with the Indiana 
Department of Veterans Affairs for its Women 
Veterans Wellness Retreat which was held at the 
Abe Martin Lodge at Brown County State Park. 
Participants were all female and ranged in age 
from early thirties to late sixties. They served in 
the Army, Navy, Marines, or Air Force and many 
had combat deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan. 
Katy Wagner, an art therapy graduate student at 
Herron School of Art and Design developed and 
led this program alongside Todd. The group used 
an array of textiles, embellishments, and military-
inspired materials to create personalized mixed-
media collages. The surface used was a 14 inch 
cardboard round chosen to represent wholeness. 
The art experience was an opportunity to play, 
explore, and create in a supportive group setting. 
A study conducted in 2011 by Ann Futterman 
Collier found that women that worked often in 
textiles such as fiber making, sewing, or quilting, 
reported improved moods. While the group 
did not sew or quilt, this activity served as an 
introduction to working with textiles, a new art 
medium that many had not worked with before. 
The goal of each CAV program is not only to serve 
as a point of connection amongst participants 
but to introduce different forms of art-making 
in hopes that participants will continue making 
art after the events conclude. There was a lot of 
positive feedback from veterans about this event 
that ranged from: "It was wonderful being with 
fellow women veterans," to "I needed a getaway, 
some time to quiet my mind from the issues and 
concerns at home and the world. I could go to my/a 
happy place!,” and “Connected to my inner peace. 
Thank you.”

After multiple iterations of art programming for 
and with veterans, the sense of connectedness and 
community across veterans cannot be overstated. 
Conversations were light-hearted, often about  
 



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family or learning about each other's time in the 
service. These wellness experiences provided 
a venue not only to engage with various art 
modalities but to connect with their veteran 
brothers and sisters. Commonalities were easily 
found with other veterans. Regardless of their 
military occupational skill (job), where they were 
stationed, or what branch of service or years they 
had served in, they have shared lived experience.  
Because of this experience, there is implicit trust 
and veterans share war stories, triumphs, and 
struggles with other veterans.  Our hope is that 
through these events, those veterans share contact 
information with each other to remain connected 
and continue developing bonds with each other 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Upcoming programs in the late spring and summer 
of 2022 include several partnerships with horse 
stables, including Anam Cara Stables in LaPorte, 
Indiana, and People and Animal Learning Services  
and Lauren will be co-facilitating programs with  

 
 

 
 
equine-assisted psychotherapists to connect arts-
based wellness activities like the ones mentioned 
previously with the healing presence of horses 
to promote a sense of safety, connection, and 
resiliency among the veterans who participate. 

Regardless of their military oc-
cupational skill (job), where they 

were stationed, or what branch of ser-
vice or years they had served in, they have 

shared lived experience. Because of this ex-
perience, there is implicit trust and veterans 

share war stories, triumphs, and struggles with 
other veterans. Our hope is that through these 
events, those veterans share contact information 
with each other to remain connected and contin-
ue developing bonds with each other. 

Figure 3. Veterans design various personalized textile, mixed-media collages.



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Working with horses in a therapeutic way with 
trained facilitators "heals and integrates the brain, 
develops self-awareness and self-regulation, 
and empowers people to build the kinds of 
relationships we all need" (Doran, 2021). By 
working with horses, individuals gain knowledge 
of how to build relationships that they can then 
transfer to their daily lives (Doran, 2021). 

The artmaking portion of these experiences will 
focus on using tactile 3D materials like recycled 
military uniforms to create large-scale weavings 
and natural materials to create mandalas focusing 
on ideas of transformation, impermanence, and 
letting go. Mandalas have been found to improve 
mood, specifically drawing or creating within the 
circle shape. Rather than using pre-drawn mandala 
patterns, participants in these programs will be 
creating their own patterns within a circle using 
natural materials (sticks, rocks, flowers, leaves, 
etc.) to form their mandalas (Campenni and 
Hartman, 2019). Utilizing these tactile materials 
as well as having other tactile experiences such 
as using fabric to weave or create collages has the 
ability to stimulate specific regions of the brain that 
can help treat trauma (Homer, 2015)

While Lauren will lead these initial arts-based 
wellness experiences, the goal of CAV is to 
connect interested organizations like Vet2Vet 
with community arts organizations or other arts 
professionals in their communities to continue 
arts-based programming. These arts organizations 
will provide programming based on their area of 
expertise, which could include music, visual art, 
drama, creative writing, and other artistic media, 
to expose veterans to different art modalities, 
providing a sense of connection, and establishing 
a supportive environment where veterans can 
express themselves. Since future programs will 
not always be led by a trained art therapist or 
other mental health professionals, it is also a goal 

to provide toolkits to community organizations 
hosting programs with mental health resources 
and guidance on what to do should a veteran need 
to seek additional professional help. As Creative 
Arts for Veteran programming expands, Lauren 
and Todd plan to utilize the resources at Indiana 
University to allow graduate art therapy students 
or students in other disciplines to lead arts-based 
groups, find community partner connections, and 
provide other general program support. 
 

 
Creative Arts for Veterans is a notable example of 
the ways we can activate resources shared across 
Indiana—including higher education, state and 
local programs, and nonprofits—to improve the 
lives of rural residents who have dedicated their 
service to our country. 



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References

"Bird Watcher | Collections On-
line." Collections Online. Sidney 
and Lois Eskenazi Museum of 
Art, Indiana University, 2020. 
https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/
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Campenni, C. E., & Hartman, A. 
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Chilton,G., & Scotti, V. (2011).
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Doran, S. (2021, December 
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https://www.socialworktoday.
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