International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (ieata)
March 4, 2005
Kate T. Donohue, Ph.D., REAT
57 Post Street, Suite 602
San Francisco, CA 94104
Dear Kate:
On behalf of the Board of Directors and the membership of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association, it is our honor to award you with the Shining Star Award at this sixth international conference here in San Francisco. In giving you this award, we offer our heartfelt appreciation for your creative energy and your contribution to the field of expressive arts.
The Shining Star award honors someone who has made outstanding contributions to the expressive arts field, to the larger community, and who has contributed by educating others about the power of the arts to heal, enliven and deepen our life experience.
You have given tireless and loving energy as co-founder of IEATA, as a mentor to your students at CIIS and as a dedicated, caring and thoughtful advisor to the IEATA Board of Directors. Your Ripening Seeds column in the newsletter has become a beacon for those newer on this path. Your ability to combine knowledge, wisdom and compassion has made you an important elder for the expressive arts community.
We applaud you today, Kate, as a teacher and guide in our field of expressive arts and as an inspiring model to our members. Thank you for being our Shining Star.
With love and gratitude,
The Membership of IEATA
Maria Gonzalez-Blue
Executive Co-Chair
Margie Pulmano Torres
Executive Co-Chair
P. O. Box 32039 • San Francisco, CA, 94132 • 415-522-8959
Award Presentation
Good Evening Everyone!
One of our favorite traditions at our biannual IEATA conference, certainly one of mine, is to present the Shining Star Award. The Shining Star award goes to an individual who has been selected by the board as someone who has contributed greatly to the field of Expressive Arts over the years. This year, I have the great pleasure and honor of being the one to hand out this award.
This person will join the royal ranks of prior recipients: Natalie Rogers, Anna Halprin and Paolo Knill. Indeed, an impressive list. But, before asking this person to come forward, I would like to share with you a few things about this individual.
This individual has been an invaluable, guiding force for IEATA and the field as a whole for many years now. They have been a voice of passion for our organization from the get go and have clearly helped legitimize the field of expressive arts therapy through action, word, wisdom and professionalism. When the fire needs to be stoked, this individual is always there to help out. When the fire is too hot and veering on being out of control, this individual is again there – to help calm our rattled minds and offer rational words and guidance. In the midst of artists who aren’t always organized or skilled with left-brain tasks, this person, miraculously, seems comfortable in both arenas, and brings practicality and organized thought to the table with creative ingenuity and flair. They are a great problem-solver, and seem to have an abundance of resources available to them at the drop of a hat. Our organization has benefited greatly by having this individual involved in the initial structure, design and philosophy of IEATA. Ensuring that IEATA was a professional membership run organization that we could all be proud of. There have been rough rides along the way but this person never abandoned ship, never swayed, never lost hope for what we all deeply believe in – they have been there from the start and continue to be there. An anchor to keep our ship from floating away, a fire-tender to keep the hearth and flame aglow.
Some words that come to mind when I think of this person are:
passion, beauty, power and empowered, dedication, reliable, a battery that never dies, intelligence and wisdom, worldly, colorful, mentor, big heart, professional, do not get into a dispute with this person for you will not win, sage and crone, red
And so the gift comes full circle. We would like to present this award to the very person who first envisioned and created The Shining Star Award, our own lovely, goddess: Kate Donohue.
