American Artscape Notable Quotable: Catherine Game of Brushwood Center

Catherine Game, Executive Director, Brushwood Center. Photo by Rafael Santiago, In Life Photography

"There's actually research that shows people are more compassionate and more open-minded when they're in natural settings. It's why these spaces are so conducive to creative expression. Nature creates this space where you can let go, you can feel safe, and you can let your mind do what human brains have this incredible ability to do, which is to create new ideas and to translate that into artistic expression. [At Brushwood,] we strongly believe that everyone has the ability to do that."

Catherine Game is the executive director of Brushwood Center, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing health equity and promoting accessibility to nature throughout Lake County, Illinois. In the new issue of American Artscape, Game spoke with us about At Ease: Art and Nature for Veterans and the Military Community, an initiative between Brushwood and the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center's recreational therapy department that provides free nature-based painting and drawing classes, music sessions, and photography workshops to approximately 400 veterans grappling with post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety.