About Patti Anastasi

Patti L. Anastasi’s early years in the suburbs north of Philadelphia with proximity to museums and galleries in both Philadelphia and New York, provided inspiration and fueled her imagination for becoming a visual artist. Working with paint and mixed media, her subject matter leans towards the conventional but with a twist – something unexpected, slightly skewed, exaggerated, maybe humorous. “ I want the viewer to see common objects in an uncommon, not obvious, context.”  She uses the creative process in a trusting manner, i.e. without a concrete goal, allowing images to unfold naturally, after which she discovers narrative in her work. 

Patti holds a B.A. in Humanities and Art from Cedar Crest College, Graduate Certification in Healthcare Administration from University of San Francisco, and a Master’s degree in Psychology/Art Therapy from Notre Dame de Namur University, San Francisco, CA.  After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, she became active in promoting the arts in San Francisco and Marin County through The Imagine Bus Project, an outreach program for children in underserved neighborhoods. As a school-based therapist, she developed an art therapy program in a culturally diverse SF Bay Area school.  She has also led expressive arts workshops for adults in Marin County. 

As an art therapist in private practice, Patti works individually with children and adults on issues including anxiety, depression, grief/loss, difficult life changes, trauma, anger and aggression, and those seeking new life meaning and personal development. She has worked extensively with young people to encourage healthy self-esteem and self-compassion, make positive life choices and foster healthy emotional growth and development.

She uses a positive psychology approach to therapy that is based on the client’s strengths, concerns, and interests and she believes that we are all creative in our own way.  Patti is also a professional studio artist and art instructor, a registered yoga teacher, and former healthcare administrator.

Her work has been shown in various locations in California, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Denmark, Grand Cayman Islands, and the U.K. She currently lives and works in Asheville, North Carolina.