FORT HOOD, Texas " You’ve survived long days, longer nights, firefights, near-death events and perhaps the loss of friends. You are finally home safe, but now how do you deal with the lingering thoughts and emotions that have begun to unexpectedly creep in?
Coping with the aftermath of deployments can be difficult, and at times it may even seem overwhelming, but some Soldiers have learned to use art to work through persistent and often turbulent feelings and memories.
Their creations are remarkable, thought-provoking, heartbreaking and inspiring, and they deserve recognition.
That’s why the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center’s Behavioral Health Department’s Social Work Service is hosting a Soldier art exhibit titled, “Unspoken: Overcoming the Struggles of Combat through Art,” Teresa McCrary, a CRDAMC licensed clinical social worker and care manager, said.
“The art exhibit is an opportunity for Fort Hood Soldiers to display their personal reactions to war, sharing their intimate and deeply personal perspective of the effects of combat with the greater Fort Hood and surrounding communities,” she said.
Art has long been recognized as a therapeutic activity.
In fact, Pablo Picasso, one of the most well known artists of the 20th century, once said, “Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
This statement may seem terribly poetic, but it is also practical and according to, McCrary, backed by hard scientific evidence.
“Expression is a documented way Soldiers recover from post traumatic stress disorder,” McCrary said. “Art gives the artist some distance from the event to tolerate the intensity, and it allows the Soldier to express some of the unconscious aspects of the trauma which can otherwise take time to come to concrete expressions (talking about experiences).”
In short, art can provide a safety net of sorts for Soldiers.
“The specific medium allows the Soldier to have some control and some limits allowing him or her to work with volatile issues with some containment and less fear of becoming overwhelmed,” McCrary said.
The show is open to all Soldiers who have deployed, and they don’t have to be receiving behavioral health treatment in order to participate.
All submissions will remain anonymous, and although a panel will review all submissions for content, the show is not a competition, Lt. Cmdr. Dana Lee, a CRDAMC social work officer, said.
“This is an opportunity for all Soldiers to share their work with others. Photographs, poetry, drawings, painting, and sculptures will be accepted,” she said. “The art work submitted must be accompanied by the application, which contains a release that needs to be signed, and the service member is also asked to write a brief description of the artwork which will accompany their respective submission. This will help people understand the artwork.”
The upcoming art show has already generated a lot of interest from Soldiers and providers, Lee said.
“I have received calls from providers and hospital staff members who work with Soldiers who have been using art to express their experiences,” she said. “In fact, I received a call from a provider whose client is currently deployed but heard about it downrange and is interested in submitting his work.”
Applications and art submissions will be accepted until June 24. Both can be dropped off Tuesday thru Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Apache Arts and Crafts Center located at 761st Battalion Avenue and 62nd Street on Fort Hood.
The art exhibit is scheduled to make its debut complete with an opening ceremony at the III Corps Headquarters Bldg. July 18 at 3 p.m. It will also be displayed at Darnall Army Medical Center. Other appearances at various locations around post are also being arranged.
All submitted artwork will be returned to the contributing Soldiers and will be available for pick up at the Apache Arts and Crafts Center August 3 to 12.
For more information or questions regarding the Soldier art exhibit please contact Lt. Cmdr. Dana Lee at 618-8601.
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