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 […]
Creating Happiness
This weekend I had a little getaway with some friends. Every year a group of us gather to adventure around different spots in Ontario on our bikes. This time we stayed at someone’s cottage near Georgian Bay. It was lovely to be out in nature though the first day there was still a chill in […]
The Space to Create: Decluttering and Creativity
For the month of August I have been off work: no clinical work, no teaching and no workshops. Every August I take the month to rejuvenate and spend time with family. I get to spend more time in the garden, riding my bike and creating. This time, much of my creative energy has […]
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 […]
Deep Painting
Last weekend I had the pleasure of facilitating another Painting With Your Muse intuitive painting workshop here in Toronto. Each time its a new experience for me as I shift the format with lessons learned in between these workshops. I’m forever a student, taking in new information and layering it, weaving it into each workshop […]
Mindful Clay
This past week I went to a mindful clay workshop called Reclaiming Your Centre: Breath, Movement, Presence at the Gardiner Museum’s Community Clay Studio in Toronto, which I pre-registered for in November 2017! This workshop was highly anticipated by me as it was facilitated by a dear colleague and bright beacon in the Toronto art therapy community, […]
Growing Your Creative Practice
Every spring and summer I spend a lot of time in my garden; in the spring I am planting seeds, nurturing seedlings and watching them grow. In the summer, I watch my garden more closely, with my guard up because of past experiences with pests wiping out what I have created and grown on 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 […]
Create Creative BEing
On Friday I had a relaxing afternoon with colleagues at the Spa. A social worker, psychotherapist, psychiatrist and another art therapist and I went to a Spa for water therapies; relaxing in the sauna, hot tub and salt pool before going for a much-needed and deserved massage. This is the second time we have done this […]
Digging Deep Via Creativity
Digging deep into the unknown crevices of your emotional life can sometimes be daunting, even uncomfortable. Its easier to pretend like it does not exist rather than to explore it through our creativity. Why is it that inner reflection so important? The stuff we ignore can stifle us, and block us from moving forward. […]