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Prof. Dr. Art. Jasmina Pacek, Univ. Spec. Art. Therap. is a Croatian-American artist and art therapist. Internationally trained, she holds a BDes in Textile Design from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland, an MFA in Textile Arts and Costume Design from the University of California, and a Doctor of Arts from the University of Osijek, Croatia, in collaboration with Rider University, Princeton, USA. Her art therapy qualifications were earned through the University Specialty Course of Creative Therapies, majoring in the Art Therapy program at the Academy of Arts and Culture and the School of Medicine, University of Osijek, in partnership with George Washington University, USA. Jasmina exhibits textiles and fine arts and works as a costume designer. She has extensive experience in art therapy, working with teenage delinquents, PTSD veterans, trauma survivors, special needs children, members of dysfunctional families, as well as artists and art students.
Jasmina teaches international art and art therapy classes and workshops, integrating her diverse skills and experiences. One of her key interests is using art therapy protocols with professional artists and students, employing the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC). Engaging all levels of ETC—kinesthetic/sensory, perceptual/affective, cognitive/symbolic, and creative—stimulates whole-brain activation and promotes personal growth. This approach fosters stable physical, mental, and emotional well-being, helping artists navigate the mental challenges of contemporary markets. This is particularly true in textile mediums. Participants can express emotions like anger, sorrow, and joy through weaving, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, and sewing. Textiles hold strong feelings, and the time spent creating allows for deeper emotional processing. Working in a community where everyone shares their stories fosters validation, support, and connection as an antidote to isolation, shame, and fear.
BIEN Workshop: Stitching Stories: Finding Your Safe Space
In therapeutic and human rights contexts, narrative textiles reflect culture, time, and purpose. This workshop begins with an introductory lecture about using narrative textiles as a means of expression, aligned with Perry's neurodevelopmental "5 R's" model (2006). Participants will engage in relational, repetitive, relevant, rewarding, and rhythmic textile activities, choosing from various materials to create personal story cloths through weaving, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, or sewing. On the second day, participants will confidentially share their creations, and on the final day, they will take their pieces outdoors to a beautiful garden, finding safe spaces to exhibit their work.
Photos:
1. Story cloth made by Croatian art therapist Krunislav Stojanovski, univ.spec.art.therap.,MFA
2. Students of 3.generation of art therapists from Academy of Arts in Osijek
3. Students of 4. generation of art therapists from Academy of Arts in Osijek, Croatia
