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 […]
Creating Joy
This time of year can be daunting for many. Surrounded by invitations to find joy through consumerism. Giving, getting and satisfaction outside of ourselves can often become the focus, even when we do not want it to be. The arbitrary year-end sometimes is also a factor that contributes to a year in review, followed by […]
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 […]
Arts Based Super Vision
Last weekend I went to a wonderful workshop sponsored by the Ontario Art Therapy Association (OATA) on Arts-based and Positive Supervision. It was a workshop designed for supervisors but open to all including students and supervisees. Aside from the sharing of pertinent information around supervision issues, we explored our character strengths as supervisors and supervisees […]
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 […]
Self-Care Through Elemental Art
This week is children’s mental health week here in Canada. With many events promoting awareness about children’s mental health and the importance of supporting services. As an art therapists who primarily works with children and youth I see the need for more understanding and compassion towards children who often become labeled as “difficult” due to […]
Making Room for Creative Expression
One of the main things that I hear over and over that gets in the way of maintaining a creative practice is not having the space. First there is the literal and practical question of a physical environment for art making. And then there is the question of motivation, or perhaps more accurately put, what may be […]
The Inner Wilderness of Creativity
Canoe camping in the backcountry is always an adventure. We had been away from it for a few years as our kids no longer fit with us in the canoe and it meant taking a second canoe and portaging it- with two kids who at that point were starting to say they were not interested. […]