Realists are Frowning

Dr. Wyatt Shaffer | 35 | Psychology of Art and Art Therapy Instructor at UAA Hello! I'm Wyatt Shaffer. I teach at UAA, but I'm not a bad sort of guy. Don't let the teacher hat fool you.

[artandkylie-blog]

I’m in some desperate need for help in my art history class… I thought it might be fun, but we’re supposed to memorize 90 pieces of artwork, along with their artists, and the time period they were painted in? This is impossible- utterly improbable- inconceivable, even.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Have you tried flash cards, Kylie? Make little cards with a picture of the painting on one side and the information on the other and drill yourself for some periods of time each night. I’m willing to bet the others in your class would work with you on it.

[badkidlucian-blog]

Nothing Good Can Come Of This || Lucian & Wyatt

[badkidlucian-blog]

Lucian plopped back into his seat, pouting a little when Wyatt put the bottle aside. He let out a sigh when he mentioned his utter failure, glancing up at the ceiling and letting his head hang backwards. This was a bad idea, because the world started to spin, but he didn’t right his head, soaking in the bad feeling that crept up on him. “I guess so, yeah,” he answered, with another sigh, staring at the ceiling so that he didn’t have to meet the professor’s eyes. “I’m just not doing so hot in the guy’s class. I wanted the answers to his final exam,” he explained, sounding like it pained him to utter the words. Lucian shut his eyes, relaxing into the chair, and swallowing thickly.

“This place isn’t cheap and I need to keep my GPA where it is to keep my scholarships. And I’m not an idiot, alright? Don’t think that,” he said eloquently, lifting his head to look seriously at Wyatt, wanting to make sure that he understood. “I didn’t come here to take Biology. It was a stupid core requirement.” It wasn’t his fault that all the words in his textbook were a mess of jumbled letters, making it near impossible to read. He was doing as well as could be expected.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Wyatt listened to the boy’s story, nodding and making little noises of understanding. He understood the pressure, because of course he did. It wasn’t like it was easy going to a school like UAA, especially on scholarship. “And you just happened to have lockpicking tools handy,” he asked casually. He wasn’t about to let the kid go without some actual questioning, even if he wasn’t going to give him any sort of actual punishment. Seemed like he was just misguided. He stood from his chair and walked over to a window, looking down at the street below rather than at the boy because really, someone as on-edge as this kid was might actually take being shown his back as a sign of trust. He looked back over his shoulder.

“So, did you try anything else before jumping straight to illegal activity and breach of academic integrity, Lucian,” he asked, shrugging. “Tutoring, asking your professor for help,” he sighed, “it might not seem like it, but most of us are here because we want to see you succeed, not to trip you up.” He turned fully as he was speaking, leaning against the window and crossing his arms as he leaned against the window. 

[daisy-rhodes-blog]

I made cookies!!

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Daisy, you are a ray of sunshine and hope in this dark and cruel world. Also, your cookies are amazing.

[badkidlucian-blog]

Nothing Good Can Come Of This || Lucian & Wyatt

[badkidlucian-blog]

Lucian’s eyes widened slightly when Wyatt drank from the bottle, giving a lop-sided smile in response. “This is a great idea,” he corrected, happily taking the bottle from him and drinking generously from it. “You may actually be a genius,” he complimented, taking another little sip and handing it back to the man. “Why don’t we finish it off? I did put my hard-earned money into that bottle,” he suggested, raising one eyebrow at the man. It was a stretch, to ask something like this, but he did hope to avoid talking about his real reason for attempting to break into his professor’s office. That would open up an entire can of worms that he never needed to release, and never intended to release on anyone.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Wyatt chuckled a little at the shocked expression on Lucian’s face after he’d finished taking his drink. “Well, thank you for noticing,” he said, leaning back a little in his chair, “I do have all those fancy degrees to show how smart I am and all.” When Lucian suggested they finish off the bottle, Wyatt simply rolled his eyes a little, taking another quick drink before capping the bottle and putting it aside, “I think you’ve had quite enough, to be honest.” He shrugged a little, “I mean, takes a lot of liquid courage to attempt B&E after all. Especially without checking to make sure you weren’t about to get caught.” He pulled a bit on his earlobe, tilting his head a little as he watched the boy, “think you’ve got enough proof I’m not going to turn you in to explain that one now?”

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Brooklyn is very quiet tonight...

[professor-alexmanning]

Looking back a year ago if someone would have told me I’d be directing a college show I would have told them they were crazy. I originally took this job because I needed something to do while I was on my break but now I’ve become so invested in this and I’ve seen some of these students really grow and get better throughout the semester. I want it to be good for them for than I do for myself. It’s kind of crazy though because I never thought I’d actually enjoy directing. I’ve always been the one taking direction. Thank you, I really appreciate your kind words. 

What about when you’re trying to sleep? Is it still noisy late at night or does it get quieter during the lat hours? Unless I’m really tired it’s hard for me to fall asleep with noise going on. 

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Hey, I don’t think teaching was any of our first career paths, right? But there is something to be said about helping others achieve their dreams. These are good kids and they care about what they’re doing, it helps, I think. 

It does quiet down a bit, but I actually like a little bit of noise when I go to sleep. Probably comes from years of living in shitty walk ups while I was in grad school. If I’d kept having a problem with noise I don’t think I’d have survived if I didn’t get over my need for quiet.

[badkidlucian-blog]

Nothing Good Can Come Of This || Lucian & Wyatt

[badkidlucian-blog]

Lucian’s eyebrows furrowed when Wyatt suggested giving him something to use against him, like trading secrets. He liked the idea, of course, and he did seem genuine about not wanting to use it against him. The information would be more like a backup plan, just in case the guy decided to throw him under the bus one day. But why would he be willing to offer up that information so easily? “That would… help,” he said, nodding minutely, a little uncertain, although he started to relax about potentially getting off easy with his little misadventure. It was too good to be true, really.

He dropped his eyes to the bag when Wyatt mentioned the liquor again, forcing himself to stand and walk over to the man’s desk. He pulled the bag close to him, so that he wouldn’t see inside, and pulled out the almost-empty bottle of Fireball. It wasn’t a huge deal, losing it, because it was too easy to buy his own liquor with his fake idea. “You’re lucky. That’ shit’s expensive,” he said with a smirk, setting the bottle down on the professor’s desk before zipping up the bag. “Think about me when you drink it,” he teased with a wink, leaning slightly into the desk instead of returning to his seat.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Wyatt took the bottle of Fireball from Lucian with a laugh. “Sure, expensive,” he said with a roll of his eyes. This wasn’t exactly what he’d call expensive liquor, but then again, he wasn’t some 18 year old kid in college. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk. He tilted his head to the side and eyed the boy’s face. He wasn’t entirely sure what he could do to give the boy a sense of security without exactly sharing anything too condemning to him. With a sigh, he shook his head.

“This is a terrible idea, but,” he took out the bottle again and took a swig before holding out the bottle to Lucian. “Sit down and have a drink with me,” he said with a hesitant smile, “I can’t very much get you in trouble if I’ve also drank with a student, right?” He raised his eyebrows at the boy and shrugged.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Brooklyn is very quiet tonight...

[professor-alexmanning]

The first show is in 3 weeks so I have been pretty busy running around. There’s so much to do and so little time and this is my first time directing anything I really want it to be great not just for my sake but for the student’s sake. They’ve all worked so hard on this show, their hard work will pay off. 

You’ve gotten used to it. If it was noisy all of the time and it suddenly got quiet I’d be concerned. I need quiet when I’m working I don’t mind the noise any other time though. That’s why I’d never buy an apartment on the lower level of a building near the street. That’s where you get the most noise. 

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Alex, I’m certain it will be fantastic. Both you and your students have worked hard and care and that’ll show. People can tell when someone’s got true enthusiasm and passion for a project and it sounds like you and your students do.

Yeah, my apartment is like on the 3rd floor, so I get a lot of street noise, but that’s the way I like it. I like the bustle. Reminds me that there’s a whole world outside my door.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Brooklyn is very quiet tonight...

[heyhihalim-blog]

I’ve had some pretty dull and old teachers in my day, I’d say you’re leagues ahead of them by comparison. It helps that you teach pretty fascinating subjects, but even if you didn’t I think you’d know how to spin the material to keep our interests.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Flattery will get you everywhere, Nathan. 

[badkidlucian-blog]

Nothing Good Can Come Of This || Lucian & Wyatt

[badkidlucian-blog]

Lucian eyed the bag before turning his gaze back to meet Wyatt’s eyes. What should have been comforting words were everything but. He began shaking his head, too nervous to sit although he remained in the chair, fidgeting his feet and playing with his hands. A laugh burst from his lips, completely unintentionally. “C’mon, don’t say that. Don’t do this to me. I don’t need you holding this over me,” he said, almost pleading, his voice deeply serious. He hadn’t made any enemies at this place yet and he really didn’t need one to be a professor. “Just call the cops or something. I’ll do anything for you to just… not blackmail me with this…” He trailed off for a moment before saying, “Please,” in a soft voice, wringing his wrists.

His back was ramrod straight and he swallowed hard at Wyatt’s request. “That’s not all you want. What else do you want from me? I don’t have much,” he said disbelievingly. Lucian didn’t understand why the man hadn’t already picked up the phone and started dialing, or had at least suggested some sort of punishment. Simply talking about the actual reason for him trying to break in was nothing, although he didn’t particularly want to talk about it.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Wyatt fought the urge to stand and go over to Lucian when the younger man started fidgeting and speaking in a panicked voice. He bit his lip instead and let him ramble until he hit the real fear. "Ah," Wyatt said slowly, "you're worried that I'll use this against you, right?" He tilted his head down and sighed out a breath. "I swear to you I'm not going to do that, but you don't seem the type to find that overly comforting," he said, looking back into the younger man's eyes."What would make you feel more comfortable? Having something you can use against me, perhaps?" When the young man started talking about not having much, Wyatt just shook his head. "I truly do not want anything from you, kid," he said before peering at the bag for a moment. "Except the rest of the liquor in there," he nodded to indicate the bag and then pushed it towards Lucian. "How's about you take it out and give it to me, alright," he smiled just a little as he looked back up from the bag and towards his young companion. He wasn't sure what had happened to this kid, but he obviously had some deep seated trust issues. Going into his stuff wasn't going to particularly engender any amount of goodwill from the kid and probably wouldn't be easily forgotten.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Brooklyn is very quiet tonight...

[heyhihalim-blog]

I’d hardly call you boring or old. Though, it concerns me how much recharging you need. Do we wear you out that much, professor?

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Well I appreciate your saying that, Nathan. No, you guys don’t wear me out as long as I don’t bore you. You keep me young, and on my toes. Couldn’t ask for better.

[badkidlucian-blog]

Nothing Good Can Come Of This || Lucian & Wyatt

[badkidlucian-blog]

Lucian wasn’t used to the comforting hand on his shoulder and he felt a little intimidated by the constant touch. A corner of his mouth twitched up in a slight smile, when the professor called him ‘uh Lucian’. As he tried to focus on remaining upright, he realized he was definitely drunker than he previously thought he was. He shouldn’t have had so much Fireball. “Absolutely wonderful to meet you. Especially under these great circumstances,” he said, trying to force his voice to stop wavering so much, wiping at his eyes to wipe away the tears.

He chewed on his lip when Wyatt opened the door, gesturing for him to go in, and plopping down in the seat when Wyatt told him to. He carefully watched the man, carrying his backpack, feeling extremely apprehensive. Of course, there was nothing incriminating in there aside from the alcohol, but it was his ‘go bag’; he tended to carry around the bare necessities that he would need to book it, if the time ever came that required him to immediately leave. He had an extra set of clothes, a heavy jacket, a decent amount of cash, and a passport. Wyatt seemed nice enough, but people could easily seem like anything that they wanted to, and Lucian didn’t know what he planned on doing. “Okay,” he said apprehensively, trying to force his brain to work faster because he had no idea what Wyatt could mean by that. “I’m just- what are you going to do with me?” he asked, fear lacing his voice. The paranoia he would have felt, sober, was tripled by the alcohol, and he watched every move the man made. Wyatt appeared to be fairly muscular and Lucian was too drunk to defend himself, but he supposed the door would make for an easy enough escape.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

As soon as Lucian entered Wyatt's office, Wyatt released his grip on the younger man's shoulder and moved to his own chair behind the desk, leaving the door open. He could tell Lucian was nervous and he didn't particularly blame him. In this moment Wyatt had the power, even if he didn't particularly like that view of things. He nodded slowly, "i wish we'd met under different circumstances too, kid." He placed Lucian's bag on top of his desk. He kept his eyes on Lucian's, not letting himself look into the bag, even though he was curious. "I'm not going to do anything with you," he said in response to Lucian's question, tilting his head to the side and searching Lucian's face, "I'm not going to say anything to anyone." He folded his hands together on the desk in front of him and wet his lips. "I just want to know what you were doing trying to get into my colleague's office so late in the evening, that's all," he shifted a little in his seat. Something was going on with the kid, and maybe with a little luck he could stop him from trying again without having to actually go through any kind of official channels.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Brooklyn is very quiet tonight...

[malcolmanimates]

I started watching Orphan Black and now I can’t stop.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

I’ve heard that one’s good. I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s on my list. I just finished the most recent House of Cards season, to be honest.

Binge watching is probably the best way to watch a TV snow. How many episodes deep are you on your binge?

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Brooklyn is very quiet tonight...

[heyhihalim-blog]

I didn’t know anything in this city could get quiet. There always seem to be something going on somewhere. I’m enjoying mine pretty well though, how about yourself?

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

The quiet was relative, my friend. Very relative. But it was quiet for what I’m used to, is all. I’m terribly boring and old, I’m afraid, I don’t go out and do any of the fun somethings happening around the city. I can’t really complain about anything at this point, though. Sometimes a quiet night is exactly what you need to recharge.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Brooklyn is very quiet tonight...

[ava-reeves-blog]

Most of the time I don’t but I didn’t have anything due too soon that I needed to worry about it now and my wrist has been acting up a little bit so I figured resting it wouldn’t hurt.

That could definitely be taken the wrong way.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

You should try and make a habit of it, kiddo. I can’t stress enough how horrible carpal tunnel is. It’s awful. You should see about correcting your posture now if your wrist is acting up. I’d hate to see a lovely lady such as yourself dealing with any kind of discomfort.

I do try to keep it classy, Ava.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Brooklyn is very quiet tonight...

[brandon-taylorxx-deactivated201]

I’m sure you will survive the coming years. But they do say getting older isn’t for the faint of heart.

That’s sort of what I thought it was, the expression of yourself through art and something else entirely while trying to figure out the right words to everything going on inside. If you don’t mind me asking, what got you into that sort of medium for psychology? It’s different and sounds like a wonderful way of helping people.

It was so very unfair, watch tomorrow you’ll ask me again and I’ll be very Top 40 with Maroon 5, Gwen Stefani, Pink. Or I might be back to my first love, Disney classics. It really just depends. I saw it back home on the US tour and I didn’t stop laughing the entire time.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

But how will I survive without my pretty, pretty face?

I like art. It helps. Sorry, I just don’t really have much of a reason. I just always wanted to use art to help people. Painting helped me through some difficult times in the past so I wanted to share that feeling with others.

Oh I realize the unfair nature of the question. And I don’t think I stopped laughing from like the first number until the very very end. It’s probably my favorite show that I’ve seen while living here in the city. Disney, huh? You’ll probably laugh but my favorite Disney movie is Treasure Planet, and that came out well after I was an age where Disney was appropriate. I’m not going to make the mistake of asking you for a favorite, kid, that’s just as dangerous as kind of music.

[badkidlucian-blog]

Nothing Good Can Come Of This || Lucian & Wyatt

[badkidlucian-blog]

Lucian felt panic clutch at his heart when the Wyatt definitely didn’t believe him, the situation becoming a looming mountain in his mind. He knew that he could figure a way out of this, but that would require keeping his cool. And he was drunk. Any array of emotions he experienced were heightened when he got drunk and the panic was quickly leaning towards upset. He stumbled, reaching to try and pick up the backpack before Wyatt, but his reflexes were totally off, and he was far too slow. “Talk in your office? How scandalous,” he tried to joke, tried to be flippant, but his voice was getting shaky. He hoped the slur to his words hid it well enough.

He bit his lip, stumbling just slightly from the unexpected push, but he eagerly walked a step in front of Wyatt so that he couldn’t see the water in his eyes. It was so stupid to get drunk and spontaneously decide to break into his professor’s office; even something so small, compared to what else he had done, required an amount of planning. And now he was getting much more upset than he would have if he had been sober. But this was truly awful and his mind was racing with a variety of different solutions, trying to figure out which would work; his thoughts we so loud he almost missed out on his question. He cleared his throat. “My name? Uh, Lucian,” he replied, hesitating only because he considered giving a false name for about two seconds. It wouldn’t help his present situation, though, seeing as how easy it would be to find out. He winced, trying to give himself a pep talk about how he really needed to pull himself together; he needed this to be in his control.

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Wyatt just rolled his eyes when the younger man started talking about scandal. "You don't know what a scandal is, kid," he said under his breath. Really? What else was he supposed to do? Let the boy get taken away by the cops and lose his place at the school and probably worse? He wasn't anywhere near that cruel. He didn't know this kid's deal and wasn't about to ruin things for him like that. He noticed the shake in the boy's voice and gave his shoulder a slight squeeze. He led the boy towards his office, going slow as not to trip him up again. When he tripped over his name, Wyatt laughed a little, "well uh Lucian, my name is Wyatt." He kept his voice even and casual, not wanting to scare Lucian more than he was obviously already scared. When they made it to his office, he unlocked the door and held it open, gesturing for Lucian to proceed him inside before entering himself. "Have a seat and take a breath, you're fine," he said with a smile, "you're lucky it was me that caught you, kiddo."

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Brooklyn is very quiet tonight...

[brandon-taylorxx-deactivated201]

Well not as old as a dinosaur. I’m kidding of course. See we all find our own thing and what works. For me, the thought of sitting still bugs me and I usually end up strumming my guitar or pulling out the keyboard to work on things in that moment. I’m curious what exactly does an art therapist do? I mean I know what I think it is in my head, but it’s probably not as simple as the way as I’m making it out to be. I’ve done a few karaoke nights. I sing along at the open mic nights at the local coffee houses. Oh, no, no! Don’t ask me that, haha. I hate that questions just because I truly do appreciate all kinds of music and it just kind of depends on what day it is and what I’m in the mood for. Like the other day ‘Hello’ from Book of Mormon was stuck in my head the entire day. But then today Pitbull and Meghan Trainor made the top list. I could even listen to bagpipes on a Scottish Moore if the mood called for it

[dr-wyatt-shaffer-blog]

Oh sure, laugh at the old man. I’m not at all hurt by the incoming rush of death and the lost of my gorgeous features.

 Art therapy is a way to use creative mediums as a way of communicating with patients. Art is a very personal kind of communication and often people will open up more when talking about art or creating art than they would otherwise. They can use the artwork as a way to create separation between themselves and the subject. Before I taught I mostly worked with people suffering from PTSD. Some people feel more comfortable telling their stories in images than in words. They can abstract more and eventually through explaining their art they can become comfortable talking about the traumatic events. It also helps depression and a myriad of other illnesses. I mean, it’s not a cure all, but no treatment works in a vacuum..

I will admit that that question was wholly unfair. I listen to a lot of other music and I’m not even a musical person. I apologize it was wholly unfair to ask you to explain something that complex succinctly. I can’t say I’m a Pitbull or Megahn Trainor fan, but I did see Book of Mormon a few years ago and enjoyed it immensely.