Seven veterans complete salisbury va whole health’s first introduction to sculpting workshop | va salisbury health care | veterans affairs

Through the doors of the North Charlotte VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), a group of Veterans take their seats in the clinic’s Whole Health activity room. The instructor,

standing before the Veterans, lays out seven sets of tools and placemats around the room, preparing for his final session of the inaugural sculpting workshop.  Peter Rubino, a U.S. Navy

Veteran and Brooklyn, New York, native with over 50 years of professional clay sculpting and teaching experience, decided to focus on sharing his skills with Veterans through hands-on

training opportunities for his fellow Veterans at the Charlotte CBOC. Through personal experience, he found that doing art helped with managing his stress and anxiety. After his service in

the Navy, Rubino used his G.I. Bill to take art classes in New York. As he works toward his personal goal, to find a permanent space for his nonprofit Rubino’s Veterans Art Center, Rubino

completed the process to be an art instructor and VA volunteer.  “From a technical standpoint, I wanted Veterans to learn fundamental skills to create a sculptural form using clay,”

explained Rubino. “You can either add clay or subtract clay, not embracing whether it looks right or wrong.” Rubino emphasized the art process starts in the mind, “So we have to think

positively about the things we are doing.”  “You don’t make mistakes. You just make adjustments,” explained Rubino.  Steven Gerald, a class participant and Navy Veteran from Lexington, North

Carolina, felt like this course was only touching the surface of what Whole Health can offer Veterans and is looking forward to learning more.  “Peter is personable and easy going. I never

felt like I had to make something that looked like something. I felt like I was playing the whole time, so it was therapeutic to not have that pressure.” Gerald said he spent each week more

excited for the next class, wondering what they would learn and do next.  Besides the first sculpture workshop, Whole Health at VA provides many different resources to Veterans. As a Whole

Health Coach, Katie Dalton is responsible for connecting Veterans with many Whole Health offerings to support each individual Veteran’s personal health journey.  “We have classes relating to

sleep, diabetes, nutrition, yoga, Tai chi, a handful of resources for pain management, and more,” said Dalton. One class participant, a Veteran who already takes yoga classes, decided to

join the workshop “just to play with clay” but realized she could do so much more. Synergy Malcom, a Navy and Operation Desert Storm Veteran from Charlotte, North Carolina, learned clay

sculpture techniques and completed three pieces of work. She was especially proud of “Earl.” “I can do it,” Synergy expressed. “And I’m okay with what is considered making mistakes knowing

that I am not alone in my thinking when it comes to art. It’s not a mistake, it’s just a variation.”  To learn more about what Whole Health may have to offer you, please be sure to visit 

https://www.va.gov/wholehealth/. At the Salisbury VA Health Care System, our mission is to fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and

for their families, caregivers, and survivors.