Setting the Table: Systems of Abundance
By Ven Loetz
5-12-2026
It’s been 3 years since Ven has made an entry here, but they have not been idle! In fact, Ven has been quite occupied with their studies on Earth systems and cultures. The main focus has been on the use of art as both a healing technology and a tool for scientific inquiry. The culmination of these studies was displayed in a university gallery.
Ven’s Artist Statement:
A Systems Approach to Stress and Autoimmune Disease: Fostering Self-Compassion Through Art Therapy
“Your body is an altar to your ancestors.” (Strand, 2021)
In 1979, the same year I was born, Urie Bronfenbrenner published his ecological systems theory of development (Bronfenbrenner, 1986). Psychology textbooks ever since have featured a lovely page of colorful concentric circles with causal arrows pointing in various directions of influence among environments such as school, home, or culture of origin. They serve as the address of development; the fluid context into which a child is born and must learn to swim.
There is growing evidence that these larger systemic structures can impact human health and wellbeing in complex ways across the lifespan through chronic stress. While autoimmune diseases effect roughly 5% of the overall population, marginalized and historically oppressed groups are disproportionately impacted. For example, women make up at least 63% of cases and Black, Latinx, neurodivergent, and LGBTQ+ individuals also have higher incidents.
Through this project, I have been exploring how larger systems impact our internal systems; our bodies, minds, microbiome, cell walls, DNA, hormones, and a whole lot of looping multidirectional causal arrows. Time acts on these inner circles as well; a world of process, repetition of breath, heartbeat, circadian rhythm, age, illness, and the growing of new selves. Even in the earliest hint of life’s beginning, before the story gets underway, we are impacted by the arrows of the larger concentric rings.
In this installation, I used art therapy concepts to contemplate my own ecological development and autoimmune conditions exploring those concentric circles and the many possible causal arrows that hit their mark. The wall hanging is an art-based genogram of my family. It’s a star map sewn from repurposed bedding; a cosmic yet intimate lived history. The tracing of my body is made from retired linens and curtains. On top of this unusual table runner, I’ve arranged personal and found objects, sculptures, and natural findings to relationally converse with my inner systems and bodily heritage. Through this process, I’ve been delighted and surprised to find an abundance of internal and external resources and happy as well as hurtful accidents. My investigations were informed by Bronfennbrenner’s theories, Family Systems Theory, Internal Family Systems (IFS), process philosophy, evolutionary developmental biology, and the installation art of Jennifer Angus.
Having gone through this process myself, I hope to better conceptualize the complexity of clients’ lives to help them navigate stressful systems and foster self-compassion through art.
References
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22(6), 732-742.
Strand, S. (2021, November 16). Your body is an ancestor. Braided Way Magazine. https://braidedway.org/your-body-is-an-ancestor/
A pair of brave and helpful T. Rexes help deliver necessary medication.
Ven’s Research:
A Systems Approach to Minority Stress and Autoimmune Disease: Using Art-Based Genograms, IFS, and Body-mapping to Foster Self-Compassion
Abstract
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of development (Bronfenbrenner, 1986) proposed that many layers of external systems and contexts shape a person’s identity, mental and physical health, and behavior over the course of a lifespan. There is growing evidence that these larger systemic structures can impact human health and wellbeing in complex ways through chronic stress. In the general population, autoimmune diseases effect roughly 5-7%. However, marginalized and historically oppressed groups make up a disproportionate amount of cases (Abend et al., 2025; Buie et al., 2023; Collins et al., 2014; Kim et al., 2022; Logel et al., 2024; and Papaloukas & Williamson, 2025). Using a combined framework of Bronfenbrenner’s theory, complex systems science, and process philosophy this review seeks an integrated model for art therapists working with marginalized populations suffering chronic health conditions. Within this framework, art-based genograms, IFS-informed parts mapping, and therapeutic body mapping may offer a way to help clients visualize and externalize these cross-scale relationships with a therapeutic goal of fostering self-compassion, agency and meaning-making in the presence of complex embodied suffering.
Individuals are biologically complex and are nested within many systems. This tasty appetizer is served on a Bronfenbrenner plate of ecological embeddedness.
A dubious Trachodon peers into the realm of the microbiome, teeming with strange friends and possible foes. Look into your gut and it might look back!
A nest within a nest within a fondu pot with a salt rim. My belly is full of barnacles and frequently demands offerings of melted chocolate and cheese.
The moth aims for the flame. The quest for more knowledge is burning and sometimes it burns.
The periodical cicada needs years underground and the assistance of endosymbionts and tree roots to build its body for flight. We all need each other more than we like to admit.