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?

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

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.

Inspiring, Artsy Link Love- Round Up #1

Not only did I discover Tammy’s awesome Link Love initiative last week, but that she also kindly included Creativity in Motion and my 365 Project on her list of five blogs in her recent post.  Thank you Tammy!   I want to contribute towards her search for fun this April and pay the shout out I received forward to other blogs I am inspired by… and you can too…. Read more about Tammy’s mission to share the link love here and how to get involved!

Every Monday for the rest of April (8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th), I’ll be posting five blogs to help spread some link love … Blogs that I hope inspire you as much as they inspire me!

Here’s my 5 for this week..Check them out:

Link Love for April 8

• {stargardener’s} right brain planner: I’m really drawn to Teresa Robinson’s creative mojo of art journaling, quotes, photo goodness and her doses of beautiful light… I smile when I see Teresa’s stuff pop up in my newsfeeds….

• art evolutions:  For more good vibes, I look forward to seeing posts from Lizzie Bellotto, whether this is her Inspiration Monday or Mid-Week Pondering updates.  I’ve also really enjoyed her recent work of mandalas!

• a big creative yes: I loooove Dan James’ inspirational writing and reflections… it’s one of the few blogs that I go back and re-read past posts from his archives.

• inner canvas: For the art therapist in me, reading Lisa Mitchell’s blog is super nuturing!

• positively creative:  Dale Anne Potter’s blog is a hopeful & lovely online space full of positivity, gratitude, and creativity.  Home of Positively Creative Journaling  and the weekly Gratitude Accordion Book.

My 365 Project: 90 days of revo’lution Art Bits

So here I am with 90 days of revo’lution art bits done for my 365 project– wow!  My revo’lution ring of creative goodness keeps growing…

Here’s a peek at the flipside of March’s revo’lution art bits…I continue to label each one with the day’s number/date, the bit’s core intention in that moment, as well as an inspiring quote, phrase, or words related to the expression.  I found this month’s practice especially valuable: sometimes it was challenging to find time to stop and work on this project, but when I did… the expression for that day surfaced as an important reminder to pay attention to.

Here is a collection of  revo’lution art bits completed this month for Days 60-90:

A lookback at previous months:

February revo’lution art bits:  Days 32-59

January revo’lution art bits: Days 1-31