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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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, […]
Creative Inner Work and Balance
In November I held my last workshop for 2017. I was honoured to lead one of my Creative Self-Care workshops in my home studio with a full house so to speak. It was exciting to have some new and old faces join me in this self-care series. One of the things that I spoke […]
Gratitude Art: A Free 7 Day Journey
In the beginning of August I asked those in the Virtual Art Circle Facebook group what most interfered with their having art-making time and the response was mainly “not having enough time”. Over the years in my creative work with others this has been an ongoing theme that seems to deter people from creating art […]
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 […]
Creative Mythology
This weekend I had the pleasure of running two arts based workshops where the focus was on self-exploration through creative process. In both the question came up- as often it does at these workshops: how are you able to keep your creative practice going? I must admit one of the reasons I began doing these […]
Creative Process: the Underbelly of Self-Care
When we step into our own creative voice we step into our Self; who we are becomes strengthened by our creative connection through art making. Experimentation, letting go of outcome, and play are all aspects that allow us to come into our own creative voice. This voice is the underbelly of our authentic Self. […]