Cindy Milner, Milwaukee Artist and Therapist, Shares Love of Art

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Image: Cindy Milner

"Essential Worker" by Cindy Milner

"Essential Worker" by Cindy Milner

Cindy Milner is a therapist in private practice in Milwaukee, specializing in treating trauma. She is also an artist. While training to become a trauma therapist, she learned that creative expression is one of the top five treatments that assist with healing the effects of trauma. That includes painting, photography, dance and music. “I encourage clients to pursue these outlets because of the healing and rewarding aspects,” she says. Milner answered some questions about her work.

What is your favorite medium?

My favorite medium is pastel, I feel I’m drawing with paint. I do use acrylics and watercolor as under paintings because that creates texture which is the desired effect when painting rock formations and canyon walls. I generally paint a series of different themes. For example, I have pieces depicting the Florida Keys and Lake Michigan and the American Southwest. I created a series regarding immigration, with the intention of demonstrating how we are all related and to dispel our differences.

I have been drawing and painting since I was a kid. As an adult I strayed away from art and felt something was lacking. Thirty years ago, while facilitating a children’s group, in which we did a lot of drawing, it felt so good that I decided to get back into it again and have been painting regularly since then.

You have exhibited your art. Where have you shown it?

Exhibiting my work is exhilarating. I enjoy the energy and motivation as well as talking to customers. Along with the Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, I have exhibited at the Anderson Art Center, the Charles Allis gallery, the Museum of Wisconsin Art, the Cedarburg Cultural Center and the Shauer and Plymouth art centers. I have also shown in some galleries and restaurants. Currently I am a member of the Midwest Artist Collective which is a virtual gallery at this time due to COVID.

Has art changed your life?

Being an artist has broadened my life. Meeting and exhibiting with other artists has allowed friendships to grow, a sharing of ideas and learning new techniques. I have often wondered what my life would have become if I hadn’t pursued art and I think that would have been a huge regret for me.

I was discouraged from pursuing art when I began college due to the belief in which it is a difficult field to make a living. And it is, yet I know artists who have been able to achieve that balance. I encourage people to pursue their dreams because we are adaptive and creative and can discover how to make things work out.

A number of people have told me over the years that they’re not good at art and they can’t even draw a straight line. I can’t either and I don’t know how that became the gold standard of achievement. I believe that the important things in life are to pursue art, practice, take classes, tour the Art Museum and galleries for inspiration and don’t let anyone dissuade you.

Sometimes artists, like many individuals in other professions, experience an emotional block which interferes with their creative process. This can feel very distressing however there are effective therapeutic interventions that can help with this. One of the treatment modalities that I use is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing which can help people work through their barriers.

How does it feel to sell your art?

It is very gratifying when I sell a piece. I recently sold a portrait painting from the Immigration series. The person who bought it said she had adopted a child from Ethiopia and she was drawn to it because it resembled her son’s birth mother.

I hope to continue creating art and exhibiting. It can be frustrating at times, while trying to get a piece just right. However, the rewards heavily outweigh the struggles.