Expressing Feelings Through Art (EFTA) is an arts and literacy program delivered to public high school students of L.A. County. Students in 9th through 12th grade are challenged to create art pieces that tell stories that hold personal meanings for them. Topics run the gamut of subject matter and emotional tone and are often as moving as they are original. The students must also engage in an exercise of mind mapping & writing that sheds light on their visual imagery, provoking a thoughtful articulation of the stories they were artistically driven to tell and emotions they explored.