Joan Drescher with Liz Innis
This article, co-created by Joan Drescher and Liz Ennis, explores Joan’s personal journey, the circumstances that brought forth her book, “The Moon Balloon,” as well as the Moon Balloon Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children and caregivers communicate through the arts. The article also reveals the process through which Joan gets inspired with the subject matter of her murals. In this article, she says, “Because art had empowered me as a child, I wanted to bring this gift to others as an adult.” Joan recounts how she has used that gift as a means to bring comfort to ill, grieving or distressed families, including those in the community of Dunblane after the massacre of sixteen children.
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Author bios |
Joan Drescher is a pioneer in bringing beauty into dark places. Her healing art is found in major hospitals and health care facilities throughout the U. S. and Canada. The author/ illustrator of 25 children’s books Joan has also co-created with Joan Borysenko, “On Wings of Light.” Her entertaining and educational workshops, based on her new book “The Moon Balloon” have helped many through change, transition and loss. Presently she is working at Mass General Hospital for Children as an Artist in Residence, where she developed “The Friendship Balloon” a cultural exchange between the pediatric patients and professionals at the Gaslini Hospital for Children in Genoa, Italy. Joan is a recipient of a grant from the Elizabeth Whiteside Charitable Trust and IBMS Fellow. Liz Ennis is the Co-Director of the Moon Balloon Project. Liz is interested in deepening the connection to self and others. She worked for Outward Bound for many years both as Assistant to the President and as a co-instructor on kayaking courses for teens and women. Liz holds a Master’s degree in Expressive Arts Therapy from Lesley University and leads groups using intermodal expressive arts. Liz is a member of the Society for Arts in Healthcare, the American Art Therapy Association and the International Expressive Arts Association.
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