On the Go: Change, Transformation, & Action through Art

I’ve been prepping for some art therapy offerings I’ll be teaching and presenting on this summer that highlight the use of art as a tool for change, transformation, and action:

In June, I’ll be teaching Advocacy and Empowerment: Social Action and Trauma Informed Care as an intensive summer course for graduate students in Ursuline College’s Art Therapy & Counseling Program. This course will introduce students to trauma informed art-based strategies and creative applications that can be implemented into a socially engaged therapeutic practice with individuals, groups, and in the community.  Students will discover how creative expression helps provide a voice for women & youth survivors of domestic violence, families living with homelessness, and learn more about the role of art-making for empowerment, peacemaking, craftivism, and social action.

In July, at The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children (TLC)’s Childhood Trauma Practitioners Assembly in Clinton Township, Michigan I will be presenting the workshop Peace Begins with Me: Creating Peacemakers through Creativity. This offering will focus on strategies important to facilitating group work about peacemaking themes with children who have been exposed to domestic violence, bullying, and relational aggression.  Participants will be introduced to sensory-based interventions, therapeutic books, and art expression that fosters peacemaking concepts, as well as cultivates possibilities for social change. In addition, content presented will help participants gain a trauma informed understanding about how these strategies and interventions promote safety, emotional expression, and coping.

I am looking forward to sharing my work, as well as other inspiring programs, projects, & initiatives with students and professionals interested in these topics. Lots of opportunities to get more involved with social action through art and the creative process!

And on a related note, I’m also thrilled to share this interview I did with Jocelyn Paige Kelly for Realizing Your Creative Life about using art for change and transformation. It includes some reflections on my passion for art therapy, my work with survivors of trauma, the artist trading card exchange Pocket Change, art based socially engaged projects that inspire me, and more.  Check it out! Thanks to Jocelyn for the invitation to contribute to this interview series!

Mail Art & Dictionary Inspiration

I’ve been working on a collection of summer themed art cards for another one of Christine’s mail art exchanges:

I used some sturdy 4 x 6ish cards then cut & paste some paper bits to create suns, as well as added some distressed stain, ink, acrylic paint, sheet music scraps, ink, and of course, one of my collage loves: dictionary page pieces.

Sunshine, sunlight, sunrise, sunbeam, summer….

It always delights me that whatever words I am looking for (depending on the theme, emotion, need) can still be found in my tattered  dictionary dedicated to this art making purpose.  So many of the pages are torn out, missing, previously used- but the right words always seem to be there waiting for me.

This Creative Dictionary Paper Techniques tutorial and video inspired me to experiment some more with not just word bits & pieces from my dictionary, but with the sheets I’ve torn out.  I had fun playing with some Dr. Martin’s concentrated watercolor, which added a nice touch of color to the pages.  Once I get some more gel medium, I’m going to experiment more with its effect as seen in the Joggle‘s video!

Keeping with the dictionary inspiration, I also worked on art for this month’s Creative Pay It Forward recipient: collaging dictionary pages on a large file card with some handstiching around the edges:

Are there fun ways you’ve been inspired to incorporate dictionary pages into your art-making?

Through a Grateful Lens: Love & Light from the Spring Sky Above

I continue to take more light photos, emerging from the spring sky above me:

Spring days have finally arrived here, after a slow, patient wait… and with this comes gratitude for the renewal and growth that continues to unfold…with nurturing energy of love & light…

“Pay attention to the beauty surrounding you.” ~Anne Lamott

120 days of 365 revo’lution bits

365 revo’lution is still going strong— this project focused on my 2013 revo’lution intentions just passed the 4 month mark!  Woo hoo!

When reflecting on my daily practice for this month’s revo’lution bits, I continue to be grateful for the moments I am able to slow down to work on each piece and the perspective & awareness they teach me about the intentions simplicity, honor, stillness, light, service, and trust.  Each are precious gifts.  Simple, but 120 powerful lil’ memos to myself in this visual form.

Reaching 100 revo’lution bits during the month of April and my commitment to this practice was awesome!

Lots of thanks for the encouragement and support received for this effort- I believe sharing these daily intentions is an important part of the manifestation process…for what we all want to invite, have more of, and give in our life, daily practice, relationships, and well-being…

Previous months and 365 activity can be viewed here:

Creative Goodness Continues: Link Love Round Up #4

On this last Monday in April, I have 5 more creative blogs for Daisy Yellow’s Link Love Mission…It’s been lots of fun being a part of this effort this month!  It’s also nice to see the Mission is going to continue in May too if you’re interested in joining.

Check out more creative inspiration I would like to pass on for others to check out & discover:

• realizing your creative life:  This past week I’ve enjoyed reading Jocelyn Paige Kelly’s blog posts and interviews focusing on wellness, self-care, and meditation’s role in our well being & creativity.

• katarina thorsen art blog: There’s always something amazing going on in the creative world of Kat and her work with Post Street, Drawn Together, Sock Monkey Therapy, and more! Check out Kat’s visioning made visible with right brain business planning and mindmapping… I love the Enid inspiration!

• seth snap: I started following Seth’s blog post links on Twitter this year after being super impressed by his photography- especially photos of light.  Last week Seth’s post, Your Story: Morning Sun and his invitation to write a story about a sunrise he had taken on the way to work really inspired me as a way to further develop the connection & narrative behind the photos of light I’ve been taking or what I’ve been witnessing from others sharing their light seeking ways.

• drawing the self out: Lizzie Bellotto’s blog shared this link love from Petrea Hansen Adamidis and I loved it so much, I had to give it another shout out here!  Read more about Petrea’s musings on vulnerability, creativity, and Brene’s Brown’s daring greatly wisdom here.

• hannah klaus hunter arts: I learned a new term from Hannah: Blogsence and the importance of “taking time to catch up” with ourselves, our work, relationships, and life…. sans blogging…

It’s been great fun blogging about the creative people and spots in the blogosphere where I receive good energy, inspiration, and creative goodness from….and there are many more! Hopefully in May, I’ll be able to share a little more link love!

Here’s a recap of April’s round up:

April 8 | April 15 | April 22

Notes on The Fine Art of Elephant Training & The Happy Artist

Yay!  My copy of Lani Gerity’s Elephant Training and the Happy Artist arrived this week!

I was super excited to re-visit Lani’s Elephant Training lessons from her blog transformed into book form. This time I took notes while reading each chapter! The 24 chapters include lots of Lani’s inspiring art, reflections,  links, and take aways from the teachings of Christine Carter, Christine Arylo, Rick Hanson, Kelly McGonigal and others.

Elephant Training and the Happy Artist focuses on many helpful and encouraging ways to develop or strengthen your creative (or overall well-being) practice from a positive psychology, reward driven and neuroscience lens. Reflections on self-compassion, mindfulness, willpower, and gentle ways to cultivate motivation & change are presented through Lani’s narrative, as well as creative prompts you can use to explore these concepts in your own art-making.

These writings from Lani have been a huge support for my revo’lution manifesting this year, including my 365 project, which continues to focus on the intentions simplicity, stillness, service, trust, honor, light, and simplicity.

Here are only a few of the Elephant Training and The Happy Artist gifts from Lani I found valuable to remember (and re-remember):

• The process of change- i.e. transformation of what we do (or what our brains do) takes time & practice (lots of practice sometimes) to re-wire- and it’s okay if it’s “super hard” and to appreciate that making even the smallest steps toward this change is just as important.  (small change –> leads to big change  (page 12)

• The act of rewarding yourself and creating a reward driven system to keep giving yourself a regular dose of motivation, dopamine and not to underestimate the power of simplicity when trying to create change…  for me, this has become visible in my 365 project… (page 12)

• Value your strengths and incorporate them into your reward system- Yes! (page 17)

• Simplify:  Let go of what creates distraction & spend your focus and energy freely on what contributes to what you love to do (page 36)

• Practice, practice practice: Learn from your mistakes, show patience with yourself, and find small ways to help strengthen your practice towards revo’lution making (page 23).

There is sooo much more!

You can order your own copy of Elephant Training and The Happy Artist here.  It’s available in paperback, as well as in an electronic format (easy to access to all the links!) via lulu.com.

Below is my daily practice of 365 revo’lution making: Day 117…. Dedicated to the fine art of Elephant Training!

Shout Out Of Creative Blog Love – Round Up #3

Here’s my 3rd installment of Link Love-  the mission I’ve accepted for the month of April inspired by Tammy at Daisy Yellow.  I am starting a new week of rounding up with a shout out of love to these blogs:

• cup of creativitea: Another one of my favorite light seekers, Jelena Mrkich’s blog shines with nurturing musings…including creative nudge fridays….

• 37 days: This “make art“, daily rock post from Patti Digh’s blog was a refreshing reminder to see pop up in my news feed on Friday

• lani puppetmaker: Last week, Lani Gerity announced the release of her new eBook, Elephant Training and the Happy Artist, 24 chapters dedicated to “developing a creative practice, or fine tuning it to make it more inspiring and joy filled.”  I’ve been following Lani’s blog posts featuring her beautiful images and inspiring writings about the art of elephant training and look forward to receiving this book… My order is in and on its way!

• kind over matter:  Word to Jo Anna Rothman’s “be the light” post.

• smash stories: For the smashbook geek in me, I was super excited to discover on the smash stories blog that K&Company has some new smash accessories: including the slimmest scissors in town and a mini SMASH paper cutter!  Yes!

One more round up left for next week on 4/29/13!  Want to catch up on my past Link Love recommendations?  Check them out here.

From My Smashbook: April Inspiration

Thanks to Artsyville’s Glue It Tuesday and the revival of a local Saturday art-making get together I enjoy attending, my smashbook has been filling up with lots of the things I love to stick, collage, and glue down during the month of April:

Here I’ve used magazine photo images sent by Lani in 2013′s Creative Pay It Forward, pages from a vintage Reader’s Digest book I discovered, dictionary pages, and other collage bits & pieces I’ve been collecting.  Looking for to this week’s Glue It Tuesday’s fun!

Book Spine Poetry Challenge: Reflections on Connection, Kindness, & Resiliency

In honor of National Poetry Month, Susanna (thank you!) shared a Book Spine Poetry Challenge posted by Making Books.  This challenge involves creating a poem with the spines of books stacked on top of one another.

As I looked at my books in my creative space last night, I was drawn to arranging my book spine poem as a comforting combination about connection, resiliency, as well as love & empathy for a world that can be scary and in pain:

In an Unspoken Voice: Life Doesn’t Frighten Me

This I Know.

What to Do When You’re Scared & Worried:

A Sky Full of Kindness

Walks in Life’s Sacred Garden.

Born for Love… Drawn Together

On the same day I discovered Susanna’s book spine poetry, it was a nice fit to read this blog post, Healing with Words, Rhythm and Voice published by the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children (TLC), also highlighting National Poetry Month and ways poetry can be used in therapy.

The books I used in the above poem can be found here:

• In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness, Peter A. Levine
• Life Doesn’t Frighten Me, Maya Angelou & Jean Michel Basquiat
• This I Know: Notes on Unraveling the Heart, Susan Conway
• What to Do When You’re Scared & Worried: A Guide For Kids, James J. Crist
• A Sky Full of Kindness, Rob Ryan
• Walks in Life’s Sacred Garden, Don Ionnone
• Born for Love- Why Empathy is Essential-and Endangered, Maia Szalavitz and Bruce D. Perry
• Drawn Together-Maintaining Connections and Life’s Challenges with Art, Roar and Katarina Thorsen

Linking Up More Creative Blog Love: Round Up #2

It’s time for my second round up of Link Love …. a blog sharing love fest started over @ Daisy Yellow….

I share the below blogs with lots of love, appreciation, & admiration. Check out their creative goodness:

Link Love for April 15

• artsyville-  There is always loads & loads of colorful inspiration to discover over at Aimee Myers Dolich’s Artsyville!  There’s a little something for everyone: A doodle shop,  creative experiments, artful sightings, and home of my favorite weekly cut & paste happening, Glue It Tuesday;

• the altered page- For a good dose of all things mixed media, altered, and distressed, check out the work of Seth Apter on his very cool blog The Altered Page.  Here you’ll find lots of Seth’s current projects, ideas, happenings, and more- including the Art Blog Directory, which is the ultimate expression of Link Love with 400+ links to a big chunk of the creative blogosphere!

• bebe butler- Bebe’s art journaling and reflections are sooo good for my revo’lution making soul.

• stitch therapy-  I’m super looking forward to seeing Emma’s new closed book: open book develop!

• jamie ridler studios- So much awesome creative living is always happening over at Jamie Ridler Studios!

Stay connected for two more link love round ups this month (April 22 and 29) where I’ll feature 5 more blogs that inspire me! If you missed last week’s round up, check it out here.