Illustration by N.J. Vallone
Healing can take many forms. Sometimes it begins with shaping molten glass, looking through a camera lens or working with clay alongside someone who understands your journey.
That’s the idea behind Operation: Art of Valor, a community-based program that has been bringing veterans together through hands-on art experiences since 2018. Created in partnership with the Morean Arts Center, the program offers something that can be difficult to find after military service: a place to create, connect and simply spend time with others who understand the experience.
For Chris Stowe, a retired U.S. Marine who left active duty in 2016 after 24 years, that sense of connection was central to creating the program. Working with the Morean, he saw an opportunity to address one of the challenges faced by many military and veteran participants — isolation.
The veteran-created, veteran-led program is one of only two no-cost, community-based art programs in the nation that uses glass as both a medium and a way to spark creativity and reduce loneliness among military and veteran participants.
Creative arts therapists from the James A. Haley VA network refer patients to Operation: Art of Valor, where participants can explore basic, advanced and group projects in classes ranging from four to 12 artists. The emphasis is on the experience as much as the finished work, giving participants the chance to learn something new while working alongside others.
“This program has been found to reduce isolation and increase confidence, communication, sociability and hand-eye coordination, as well as foster a more positive sense of self, among a host of other benefits,” Stowe says.
Classes are held Sundays from 8am to noon.
Visit moreanartscenter.org/operationartofvalor for more information.
