July 26, 2018
Children’s book author and illustrator Michael Boyce is leaving California to move back to Ohio and pursue a master’s degree in Counseling and Art Therapy at Ursuline College. We look forward to welcoming him. Below he talks about ways he is already using his art to promote wellness and healing.
Please give us a very brief summary of your career up until now.
My educational career started with San Diego City College, where I earned my associate of arts degree in visual and performing arts, and two-dimensional art with high honors. I was then accepted to the California College of the Arts in San Francisco and got my bachelor’s degree in graphic illustration. Since then I have created and published a children’s book called “homeless,” that is available on Amazon and at www.mikeboyce.com. It is an educational children’s book that tells the story of a family that becomes homeless. The San Francisco School Board bought a copy for each school in the district. My follow-up book, a children’s book to explain sickness, is crowd funding at www.gofundme.com/sickbook and I am working with UH hospitals on this book.
What made you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
I decided to pursue a graduate degree because I have been told by many former professors and colleagues that I should go into art therapy. I have a super hero complex and I want to assist people by combining art and therapy to better illustrate and help navigate their lives.
How did you hear about Ursuline's Counseling and Art Therapy grad program and what made you choose it?
I heard about Ursuline when I did an investigation into the top graduate schools for art therapy. I chose Ursuline because it is a female centered school, and as a queer male, I have always gotten along with women much better than men, I also like the fact that there are nuns. I was looking for a change from California, and coming home to Ohio to go to this grad school seemed like the right choice for me.
What are you hoping to get out of your Ursuline graduate school experience?
I am hoping to get the tools necessary to successfully transition from a designer to a psychotherapist, using self-expression through creation to do my part to help in this complicated world. As Erik Erikson would say, generatively, or making my mark on the world through creating or nurturing in ways that will outlast me.
