FRACTAL EXPRESSIONISM AS ART THERAPY

     Fractal Expressionist Art is just one of the many legacies of Benoit Mandelbrot (1924-2010) and his discovery of Fractal Geometry in the late 1970's. His work on "self-similarity" and the intrinsic order that can be found in what was once considered to be nothing but chaos have been applied to everything from CGI movie effects, to innovative and non-invasive "micro-modeling" techniques used today by cardiologists and oncologists to model microscopic details within the human body.
   The creation of Fractal Art, which requires almost no particular artistic skill or ability and is a completely intuitive activity of mind and eye can also be utilized as a therapy for those afflicted with certain mental illnesses or developmental disabilities just as music, art and dance have been for decades. "Fractal Generators" can be found on the web free of charge and a patient could be "painting" images almost immediately after downloading one to a hard drive. I know from my own experience that the relaxation, sudden increase of self esteem and downright fun can be an invaluable distraction from many symptoms of clinical depression, some of which I myself have struggled with
in my own life.

                        Here are a few examples of my work.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FRACTAL ART:  http://www.fractovia.org/

     

STOP AND WAIT FOR THE LIGHT

   On this, the tenth anniversary of the September eleventh attacks on our country we might pause to reflect on the dark, diabolistic forces that have inhabited this world almost since it's creation and the light that can obliterate it.
   When Our Lord said, "I am the light of the world" I feel He was telling us that only when we confront evil with the light of his teachings can we overcome it. He also said, "Without me, you can do nothing." Certainly we can make no lasting impression on the world without Him and defeat would be inevitable. We can't face the dark forces of the world alone. But we can ask the creator Himself to stand between us and the depravity that exists all around us as a shield and a kind of, "protective bubble." Then we can get on with life and try to do some good, serving Him with great humility.

   This darkness also exists within us and as as we try to cling to the good and reject evil, we gradually shine light into our own souls. Light always dispels darkness, never the other way around, so we can be sure that if we trust in Him to illuminate our inner being we will be able to see clearly the things that need to be rooted out and replaced with His presence.

   On 9/11 we Americans, and the entire Western world, were shaken awake and forced to face an evil that was there all along. It seemed to be highlighted all around us in those days of crisis. Buildings were coming down, anthrax was in people's mailboxes and we all had the uneasy feeling that anything could happen now. Ours was a country reeling from a series of punches by an enemy we were hardly aware of. We got back on our feet, brushed off the dust, and over the past ten years the fight has continued.

   Remembering the dead, the building of memorials and the increase of security are all well and good but must not be done simply as a matter of course. Vigilance must be maintained. We must always remain alert. Memorials and Museums will not protect us. History can not protect us. Only the light can protect us from within and from without and we must mount a constant search for that evil, which if ignored, could rise up in an instant again to destroy us. Anthony Hopkins in the film, "The Rite" says, "Not believing in the devil won't save you from him."

   You might feel that you're safety is assured by stopping at a stop sign. But the important action is not in the stopping. It is the looking both ways for traffic that could save your life.