Art Retreat
What happens when you bring three art therapist friends together at the cottage on a warm and beautiful weekend? Contemplative outdoor art of course! A few weekends ago I was lucky enough to be at a cottage with my 2 dear friends and colleagues who are also art therapists. We had thankfully planned this getaway […]
Discovery Through Art Process
Over the years I have dabbled in this and that when it comes to implementing art-making for my own creative self-care practice. I love to be able to try new modes of expression, pushing my creative edge and make new discoveries about myself. What I notice is that there is always a lesson in the […]
Honoring Your Strengths Through Art
The other week I had the honor of being invited to facilitate a creative self-care workshop as part of a Day Away retreat for the Prevention Staff at Sick Kids Centre for Community Mental Health (CCMH). In the morning they focused on their individual strengths, similarities and differences within their smaller and larger teams. […]
Cultivate your Unique Creative Voice
I have been writing more in my journal as well as in my art journal lately. Play is such an important part of self-care. When I came across the JP Spears video below I was reminded of just how important it is to cultivate one’s own creative voice. When we step away from our […]
Adventures in Art Journaling
Well Spring is finally here in Toronto with warm weather, sunshine and spring showers. Though I am outdoors more, I still turn to my art journaling as my main mode for inner solace. You may be wondering why I am such a big art journaling fan. It all started back even before I was training […]
Creativity Thaw
Winter brings a coldness that is meant to allow things to prepare for the spring, for new beginnings. It is the cycle of life. It is also the cycle of creativity: the deep sleep that creativity sometimes falls into, often when we least want it to, is an essential part of the process. We need […]
Creativity, Vulnerability and Reflection
Here we are in 2018, a new year, a new day, a new outlook, if you choose. The New Year celebrations to me are about reminding ourselves that there is always a new opportunity to start fresh, everyday, every hour, every minute, every second of our lives. We just need to take it. We do […]
Reflections on Doodle Journey Part Two
It has been amazing seeing all the different interpretations and expressions of the Doodle Journey course. Once a year I offer this course free to those willing to take the time to explore through doodles, while setting judgement aside. Because doodling is so process based, it is a simple and easy way to allow […]
Creative Momentum
I’m feeling really inspired after our mountain bike trip to Mount Saint Anne, near Quebec City, where the UCI Mountain-bike World-Cup races were held. Even though the rest of my family are much stronger cross-country mountain bikers, and are into downhill mountain bike riding (unlike myself who will take a climb over a downhill anytime) I really appreciated taking my […]
Renewal Through Creative Re-Purposing
Sometimes we need to look at things differently, with fresh eyes. Doing this allows us to take a new perspective, and opens the door to all the possibilities in life, including ones we may not have known existed. Creating art is a direct way to make this happen. When art-making, there is always the potential […]