Jamie Daugherty
I was born and raised in West Virginia. I have been creating artwork to express myself since early childhood. My inspiration comes largely from my surroundings, nature, other people, and fiction, with a particular love for real and mythical animals. I often depict my own experiences or interests as a form of self-regulation. I believe that art is an invaluable method of achieving release and self-understanding that aids in reflection, growth, and healing, among other benefits. My art process typically involves a stroke of inspiration followed by near-singular focus on the piece until it it finished. Usually, I use at least two mediums per piece to achieve my vision. I experiment often with my work. Portfolio

Jennifer Johnson
As an art therapist, I find it essential to personally engage with the creative tasks I assign to my clients. The works presented here document my own experiences, illustrating the thoughts, feelings, and images processed through my artistic creations. As an artist, I use photography and drawing to capture what resonates with me, making the act of preserving and savoring meaningful moments my personal form of therapy. Portfolio

Emma Kokotek
My creative expression functions as a tool of exploration, channeling what is deep within and bringing it out into the physical world. My process is intuitive and in constant transformation. I embrace this fluidity. The exploration of material usage is essential to my practice, allowing me the freedom to create in whatever form feels right in the moment. The work often references the everyday, with the inclusion of textiles, personal journal entries, found objects, and domestic materials. Little moments collaged together form a collection. This collection becomes a garden in need of tending. Layering and repurposing are essential to my practice. New thoughts overtaking old ones. No piece is ever truly complete as I will often reuse old art pieces in the creation of new ones. Continuation and accumulation. This method of making functions as a form of release, emotional processing, and regulation. It helps me develop a better understanding of myself and the world around me, giving me the opportunity to reconnect, reflect, and let go. Portfolio

Melinda Russek
My journey as an artist is rooted in resilience, transformation, and the belief that creativity can help us heal. Growing up, I was often homeless, and our extreme poverty taught me to recognize possibility in places others might overlook. Art became a form of therapy, a consistent safe space where I could process difficult experiences, express emotions, and transform struggle into something meaningful. This perspective continues to shape my work today. I am especially drawn to recycled art, using discarded, forgotten, or overlooked materials and ideas to create something new. These materials represent more than sustainability to me; they symbolize the potential for renewal. Something that has been dismissed or considered without value can be reimagined, given purpose, and appreciated again. After losing my job during the economic downturn in 2008, I faced another period of uncertainty and reinvention. That experience ultimately redirected my life toward teaching art and discovering a deeper purpose for my creativity. As an educator, I now have the opportunity to encourage others to explore their own voices through art. My continued interest in learning about art therapy reflects my desire to help others experience creativity as I have—as a powerful pathway toward expression, resilience, connection, and healing. Portfolio

Sara Solomonik
I grew up in St. Petersburg, Russia, where I began drawing before I even knew how to write. At five years old, I started attending Sunday art classes, and by the age of seven, I was so captivated by art that I asked my parents to enroll me in an art school. Coming from a large family, my parents could only afford to pay for one year of tuition. At the end of that year, however, the school held a competition in which two students from each class were selected to continue their studies tuition-free. I was fortunate to be one of those students, and my parents wholeheartedly encouraged me to continue. For the next nine years, art became an essential part of my life. I immersed myself in painting, drawing, sculpture, landscape, still life, and decorative arts while experimenting with watercolor, colored pencils, markers, pastels, pen and ink, and other media. I also studied art history, developing not only technical skills but a deep appreciation for the history, meaning, and emotional power of art. I was, in every sense, living and breathing art. When it was time for college, I moved to the United States and initially pursued graphic design. Although I enjoyed aspects of the field, I quickly realized that it did not provide the same sense of connection and aliveness that I had always experienced through traditional art. I felt lost and disappointed until I discovered that I could fill my undergraduate experience with the art courses that had always inspired me. I studied sculpture, painting, drawing, book illustration, and art history, allowing myself to reconnect with the creative process that had always felt like home. At the same time, I began sharing my passion for art with others. I taught art classes in schools and gave lessons to friends, and through these experiences, I discovered something even more meaningful: art could be a way to connect with people and support them. I realized that I needed both the creative expression of art and the depth of human experience in order to feel truly fulfilled. This realization led me to pursue a master’s degree in Art Therapy and Counseling. Art therapy became a natural meeting point between two passions that had shaped my life from childhood: art and helping others. Today, I continue to create art not only as a form of self- expression, but also as a way of exploring emotions, experiences, identity, growth, and connection. The artworks in this portfolio represent different chapters of my artistic journey—from the child who first discovered the joy of drawing to the artist and future art therapist I am today. Together, they reflect my growth, curiosity, resilience, and lifelong relationship with art. Portfolio

T’Andre Tyre
Art has been one of the lights in my life. No matter what mood I’m in, art is always appropriate. Art has saved my life more than I give it credit for. Whether it’s the endless photos I take, the thousands of songs that explain my life, dancing at parties or at home alone, writing poems and raps, or singing. My chosen mediums are poetry and photography. A variety of art forms gives birth to new forms of expression. At West Liberty University, I was challenged with other art mediums, choosing mainly drawing and digital art. Over these two years, I’ve had a variety of experiences, but little time to express them fully. Through grief, mourning, joy, frustration, and other emotions, I channel these emotions through a series of drawings, digital collages, and poetry. I wanted my experiences and raw emotions to convey my internal world while giving myself time to process, understand, and reflect on them. Portfolio

Katrina Valentine
Art has always been a part of my life, but when I started my undergraduate degree, I stopped creating for almost ten years. Returning to art has felt like returning to myself. Choosing to pursue a master’s degree in Art Therapy and Counseling wasn’t only about wanting to help people heal through creative expression, it was also a commitment to living a more creative life of my own. Right now, I’m still discovering my artistic voice and learning what feels true to me. I love experimenting with different mediums and letting myself play and make mistakes. Painting is where I feel most at home, and I’m excited to begin learning oil painting next. I’m also drawn to anything involving clay, especially figure sculpting, where form and emotion can be held in three-dimensional space. My artmaking process is both grounding and expressive. It allows me to reconnect with imagination and emotion! Through texture, color, and movement, I explore themes of identity, healing, and the complexity of being human. Creating art again has opened space for joy, and it continues to shape both my personal journey and my work as a future art therapist. Portfolio

Em Williams
My name is Em Williams and I’m a second-year graduate student pursuing my Master’s in Art Therapy and Counseling from West Liberty University. This field of art therapy has opened many doors to new experiences, cultural perspectives, interpretive understandings of graphic diagnostic indicators, and applicable techniques and assessments to add to my toolbox. Because of art therapy education, I am not the same artist or person as before. The knowledge and insight I have gained from art therapy have helped me become a better person and strengthened my growing hunger for helping others. My portfolio reflects the beginning of my art therapy journey this semester and contains many pieces from beneficial directives to multi-media work. This experience in the graduate program has allowed me to explore and further add pieces to my expansive therapeutic perspective. As I continue to embark on this journey through the world of art therapy, I am passionate about working with children and plan to someday work in the education and foster systems with children and adolescents. Children are the future of the world and one day I aspire to set an example of how art can help them grow into the people they dream of becoming and exemplifying their voices. Art is a powerful tool of expression that inspires others to create positive change in the communities around them. My future doesn’t appear to be as clear as where I am, but whatever comes, I am ready to navigate and share my knowledge with those around me. Portfolio