art journaling – creativity in motion

A Happy New Year Gift: Empowering Your Creative Values & Strengths

To celebrate the New Year, I am re-sharing one of my free and favorite e-workshops from a couple of years ago!

CreativeCovenants2017

Creative Covenants

How would you define your creative covenants? Your creative covenants are values that you believe are core to the way you create, practice, and live as a creative and artful being. When you know your own creative values, you can activate them to empower your creative life. In this e-workshop, you are invited to create an inspiring book made from a series of permission tags that honor these promises to our creative self and practice. Content in this workshop will also be nurtured through a series of prompts exploring what celebrates, challenges, and empowers the creative goodness in each of us!

What are your Creative Covenants? | creativity in motion

This free workshop download includes a PDF & video offering and is available here:

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An oldie, but goodie New Year’s creative practice I’ve enjoyed for almost 10 years now:

Ready for Revo’lution Art Journaling

Check out these freebie downloads below from archived Creativity in Motion posts that are still available here:

Creative Goodness with Gluebooks eBook

The Art of Emotional Resilience

Art Journaling’s Visual Voice in Trauma Intervention

Paper House Making with Youth Exposed to Domestic Violence

Best wishes for a great 2018!

Gratitude Round-Up: Creativity, Resilience, & Well-being

I thought today would be a nice time to re-share some of my favorite archived blog posts about gratitude, creativity, resilience, and well-being. I enjoyed re-visiting these and I hope you will enjoy this round-up too:

These posts continue to guide me about the importance of having a gratitude practice and the role of creativity in helping support and express what we are thankful for– especially in times of uncertainty, stress, or conflict. Not just today or when times are tough, but beneficial for our well-being everyday. A wonderful opportunity for us to activate daily creative practices with an attention to gratitude. 🙂

Make & Do Show & Tell

I wanted to offer a quick show & tell of some images from my Make & Do 365 journal.

I have found that this daily creative practice has taken on a new level for activating self-care and creating an opportunity of creative refuge. I’ve worked my way through filling the journal’s pages for plans and wishes… and currently finishing pages dedicated to the section on dreams. I use the valuable creative time I have committed to this journal and to myself as a way to connect to a sense of mindfulness, hope, and peace of mind – a process and act that I continue to have much gratitude for and hold sacred.

Make and Do Show & Tell | creativity in motion

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Make & Do 365

Happy 2017! I hope your year has gotten off on a creative start!

I wanted to introduce the 365 project I decided to work on this year: Make&Do 365. Right now I am using a journal I have had for awhile now, Things to Make and Do by Nikki McClure. My intention is to work in it everyday through art journaling, altered art, doodling, and whatever other creative inspiration happens.

The journal is divided into several themes: plan, wish, dream, build, explore, learn, make, grow, give, and find. Great prompts to help guide me this year. Since January 1 I have been working on the pages dedicated to planning. Seems super appropriate with the beginning of a new year ahead and thinking about & getting ready for what the next 12 months hold! Enjoy!

Make & Do 365 | creativity in motion

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Twenty16 Top Ten Year in Review

As 2016 comes to a close, I wanted to take time to reflect on some of the most read and favorite Creativity in Motion blog posts published over the last 12 months. I am thankful for your ongoing support and interest in this blog and musings! In 2017, it will be 9 years since I first started this blog– I’ve so enjoyed the connection, community, and creativity of the blogosphere and look forward to our future adventures! 🙂

Top Ten Blog Posts on Creativity in Motion:

#10 — Steller: Storytelling Meets Social Media: One of the new social media platforms I have started to experiment with in 2016 is the storytelling site Steller!

#9 –File Folder Art Journal [VIDEO] How to Tutorial: I think this video tutorial from 2011 may be one of the most read/viewed archived posts on this blog! In August I re-blogged the post in celebration its “Top Read” status!

#8 — Cultivating Creativity, Connection, & Community: TEDx Ursuline College: In January, the TEDx talk I was invited to do for Ursuline College went live! What an amazing opportunity to share my love of social media, creativity, and community building….

#7 — Art Bridges: This post from February features the online publication Art Bridges. I was super excited to be included in this resource from the Hildegard Center for the Arts. I contributed my Gratitude Tree activity first published on this blog in 2012. Art Bridges includes 70+ downloadable PDFs– great for art therapists to use with their groups or individuals, as well as teachers or anyone interested in creative enrichment with youth.

#6– 3 Good Things Takeaway: Creative, Messy, Contained Workshop: This post about June’s Mid Atlantic Play Therapy Institute described the fun I had attending Lani Gerity’s Visual Art Journaling Workshop…

#5 — Creative Refuge: Throughout this year, I enjoyed putting together different images with creative quotes- this one was a popular one from July!

#4 — Illuminate 365: Awakening & Renewal Photo Round Up

#3 — My Daily Treasure Hunt for Illumination: Illuminate 365: I ended up documenting my 2016 365 project mostly on Facebook and Instagram this year, but here are some early posts from April and June I was excited to blog about!

#2 — Have Art Supplies, Will Travel: Summer 2016 Mobile Art Stash: As I was gearing up for some summer travel adventures, this post from May gave a quick overview about some of my preparation for art making while on the go!

#1 — Art Therapy: Finding Help, Finding Hope: The most popular post from 2016 was in honor of this year’s Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day and spotlighting the value of art therapy for the teens I work with.

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A few of my favorite creative moments and collaborations from this year also include:

The Random Acts of Art Adventure returning back to 6 Degrees of Creativity Headquarters in March…

Introducing Ursuline College Counseling and Art Therapy students to Peace Paper…

October’s Hope-filled Postcard Art Exchange!

These 2016 published writings:

Online art therapy groups for young adults with cancer (February)

Implications of National Trends in Digital Media Use for Art Therapy Practice (July)

Social Media and Creative Motivation (November)

Here’s to another artful year for us all with lots of creative goodness– Very best wishes to you and yours in 2017! ❤

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3 Good Things Takeaway: Creative, Messy, Contained Workshop

I had a great time at Lani Gerity‘s workshop this past week-end at the Mid Atlantic Play Therapy Institute: Visual Art Journaling for Teens and Adults in Treatment: Creative, Messy, and Contained.

creativity in motion

The day was an artful exploration of resilience building, flourishing, intention setting, strength reflection, and lots of creative goodness to fill our handmade art journals that we made from hanging file folders, basic manila file folders for the signature pages inside, and a simple pamphlet stitch to bind it all together.

3 Good Things Takeaway: Creative, Messy, Contained Workshop | creativity in motion

I really enjoyed using the various supplies I brought in my mobile art stash– as well as sharing them with my tablemates so they could experiment with them in different ways. It was very inspiring to work in this community. We even did a table exchange of mini art in the form of artist trading cards, index cards, and craft tags to honor the concept of art as a gift, one of Lani’s prompts to explore practicing kindness and sharing joy with others through our art. I was lucky to be gifted this art from Mary during our table exchange:

Upon returning home, as I was unpacking my supplies, handouts, and art from the workshop, I reflected on Lani’s teachings from the day prior and the power of art making to help us cope in distressing and challenging times.

This reflection also prompted me to summarize a list of 3 good things (so many to choose from!) from content introduced during the workshop- and ways to help instill hope, gratitude, and self-care into our lives:

Three Blessings Exercise– Dr. Martin Seligman suggests this practice as a way to foster well-being and decrease depression. This exercise encourages us to make note of three things (for one week) what went well throughout our day and to reflect on why they went well (i.e. “why did this happen?”). According to the research of Dr. Seligman, focusing (and dwelling) on our blessings (what is good, going right with life) helps increase our well-being and decreases anxiety, depression that dwelling on bad events can actually make a lot worse. Lani puts an art-based spin to this exercise by suggesting to create art about three good things (collectively in one image or in separate images). In one of Lani’s Happy Artist’s Life Workshops a few years ago for 6 Degrees of Creativity I even made a Pinterest board to collect images and content inspired by things that made me happy. Re-visiting this board made me thankful that I created it— and maybe it is a good time to start adding to it again.

Daily Creative Practice– Citing the work and practice of art therapy pioneer Edith Kramer, Lani shared that creating art everyday helps guide skillfulness (mastery). This type of practice has a direct connection to nurturing our resilience, regulation, and inspiring us to be and do the best that we can. I love that this reminder was included as part of the day’s offerings- and very much agree with these findings!

Sensory Relief Art- This prompt (originally to create an image representing a mini vacation and to incorporate the senses) inspired a collage that was connected to the importance of self-care, focusing on the here & now, and finding refuge & breathe in this space. I used a photograph of an old collage I created, pieces of torn (blue) magazine pages, distressed ink, and paint pens. Lots of relief in this image!

3 Good Things Takeaway: Creative, Messy, Contained Workshop | creativity in motion — Self-Care © 2016 gretchen miller

Thanks to the Lani, all the participants I met at the workshop, and the small group of fellow art journalers that I worked with throughout the day. I look forward to incorporating content we learned into my groupwork and adding it to my art journaling ideas and inspiration.

The Art of Emotional Resilience

Journey to Resilience: Takeaways and Creative Offerings

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Have Art Supplies, Will Travel: Summer 2016 Mobile Art Stash

I am starting to put together some supplies that I want to take with me as I prep for an upcoming workshop I am attending soon and other on the go adventures. It’s been awhile since I really assessed my traveling art stash situation. This was a good excuse to restock materials, get some new ones, and organize/re-discover existing creative goodies I can use while on the go.

This month Lisa Sonara also shared this inspiring post about art supplies and journals she packs when traveling and it gave me some great ideas and new suggestions to consider.

In June I am looking forward to attending an art journaling Master Class facilitated by Lani Gerity. I was excited to receive her list of suggested art supplies to bring to compliment the basic supplies that we’ll be using.

Have Art Supplies: Will Travel | creativity in motion

I took one of the tips that Lisa offered about using a cosmetic bag for art supply storage. I usually pack my art supplies in my carry on so I tend to use pouches and organizers that can easily go in my bag, won’t weigh a ton, and I can use in the airport or on the plane. I was super surprised what I was able to put into the little black pouch above!

Have Art Supplies: Will Travel | creativity in motion

During the workshop we’ll be creating our art journal from basic office supplies, so I tried to include some of favorite materials also in this same category. I also included some materials that I use in my art therapy groups with teens and adults or in my own creative work. Here’s what I got in the bag (with a little room to spare!)

-Crayola’s Glitter and Metallic Markers (a favorite material of choice in my groups- available at Target!)

– Various blank artist trading cards, index cards, craft tags, smash pad papers

– Alcohol prep pads (love to use these for smudging and distressing)

– Double sided tape dispenser, glue sticks (of course!), liquid glue tube, mini wite out dispenser

– Glitter glue, plastic junk mail card (for spreading paint, glue)

– Various colored ink pens, MÅLA felt markers, white ink pens

– Black cotton cord and twine, thread & needle

– TSA approved scissors (important!), jet black StazOn ink pad (must have!)

– Washi tape

Have Art Supplies: Will Travel | creativity in motion

I also re-discovered a collection of mini ink pads that are perfect to bring along (one of my most favorite materials to use in my own art journaling), but will probably put them in their own small ziploc bag that will go into my suitcase!

I am still working on gathering collage material that I want to bring. I have a ton of magazine photo collage stuff and different textures and patterns of paper that I could choose from. It was suggested by Lani to look for images that are connected to the population we work with. Of course I’ll also be bringing my stash of dictionary pages and rub on transfer letters to use as well…..

Excited to discover what develops from this workshop! 🙂

Twentythirteen Creating on the Go: My Mobile Art Stash

Spectrum 2016 Give-Away Blog Hop!

I have some exciting news to share today: I am going to be a returning contributor in Spectrum 2016 this year – and I have 1 spot to give-away here at my blog as part of Spectrum’s Give-Away Blog-Hop!

If you’ll remember from last year, Spectrum is an online Holistic-Creative workshop– now going on its third year, and organized by Hali Karla of Hali Karla Arts. Spectrum 2016 will be guided by 20 NEW featured teachers and more than 20 returning contributors offering a variety of workshops, inspiration and invitations – all intended to empower, nurture and celebrate your innate creative expression, healing journey, and personal development!

There will be weekly inspiration & reflective activities related to mixed-media art-making and journaling, guidance on integrating your creative process and holistic awareness into your day-to-day life, and a variety of opportunities to connect, support and share with others in the growing Holistic-Creative online community.

The themes that will loosely guide our 2016 Spectrum experience are Forgiveness, Shifting Perspective, Navigating Uncertainty, Integration, Alchemy, Connecting with Nature, Honoring Body, Trusting Joy, and Expressing One’s Truth! You can expect a variety of perspectives on these – and so much more.

To learn more about the details, including all of the contributors and workshop offerings for this course GO RIGHT HERE.

As a returning contributor of this year’s Spectrum, I am looking forward to participating in an exclusive interview with Hali around a topic I am super passionate about: Creative Motivation: The Gifts of Online Community Participation that will be offered as a bonus during the first month of Spectrum!

Pre-registration for Spectrum 2016 officially opens on February 1, 2016 (and the program will begin on May 2). So be sure to bookmark this blog post so that you can check back to see if you win the giveaway here or sign up just as soon as it goes on sale.

About the Give-Away:

I have one spot for Spectrum 2016 to give-away to a lucky winner in our January blog-hop – but if you follow the awesome blog-hop list below, you will have an even better chance of winning a spot by entering the other giveaways as well. All of the new teachers are playing along – and quite a few of the returning contributors volunteered to join in the fun, too – so there are over 30 chances to win a free pass!

Here is how to enter my give-away:

It’s simple! Leave me a creative hello below in the comments section between now and January 30, 2016. I’ll randomly pull a name from this group and will announce the winner of my free Spectrum pass via this post on February 1, 2016 – the same day pre-registration opens for Spectrum 2016!

Just below is a list of the other amazing, inspiring teachers who are playing along in the Spectrum 2016 blog-hop, with the dates their giveway goes live – be sure to visit their site and enter there, as well- all giveaways are open until the end of the month:

13 January:
Hali Karla http://www.halikarla.com/blog

14 January:
Andrea Schroeder http://www.creativedreamincubator.com/blog
Angelique Arroyo http://schoolformedicinewomyn.com

15 January:
Bebe Butler http://www.bebebutler.com
Beth Morey http://www.sheofthewild.com

16 January:
Briana Goetzen http://www.orangespiralarts.com
Carissa Paige http://carissapaige.blogspot.com

17 January:
Cat Caracelo http://catcaracelo.com
Catherine Anderson http://catherineandersonstudio.blogspot.com

18 January:
Chris Zydel http://creativejuicesarts.com
Effy Wild http://effybird.com

19 January:
Elloa Atkinson http://www.elloaatkinson.com
Grace Howes http://www.redbarn-studios.com

20 January:
Kara LC Jones http://motherhenna.blogspot.com

21 January:
Kelly Johnson http://www.wingswormsandwonder.com
Kitty Oppegard http://handoverheartstudios.blogspot.com

22 January:
Kristal Norton http://kristalnorton.com
Lisa Hofmann http://dandelionseedsanddreams.blogspot.com

23 January:
Lisa Wilson http://www.beingbreath.com
Lucy Pearce http://dreamingaloud.net

24 January:
Malini Parker http://www.maliniparker.com
Meghan Genge http://www.meghangenge.com

25 January:
Melissa Harris http://www.melissaharris.com
Michelle Turbide http://michelleturbidestudios.com

26 January:
Petrea Hansen-Adamidis http://www.arttherapist.ca/blog
Rachael Rice http://rachaelrice.com

27 January:
Robin Hallett http://www.robinhallett.com
Shelley Klammer http://www.expressiveartworkshops.com

28 January:
Suki Ciappara Ka’Pinao http://sukihealingarts.com
Tara Leaver http://taraleaver.com

Enjoy the blog-hop, good luck on the give-aways, and I hope to see you in Spectrum in a few months!

A Happy 2016 Gift To Your Creative Self!

To celebrate this first full week of 2016, I am excited to announce that my e-workshop Creative Covenants is now available through this blog!

What are your Creative Covenants? | creativity in motion

This free workshop download includes a PDF & video offering and is available here:

Enjoy! Wishing you all an artful 2016!

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Check out these freebie downloads from past Creativity in Motion posts that are still available here:

Creative Goodness with Gluebooks eBook

The Art of Emotional Resilience

Art Journaling’s Visual Voice in Trauma Intervention

Paper House Making with Youth Exposed to Domestic Violence

Creative Shifting

“When the seasons shift, even the subtle beginning, the scent of a promised change, I feel something stir inside me. Hopefulness? Gratitude? Openness? Whatever it is, it’s welcome.” ~K. Armstrong

For me, shifting is about moving and changing and the shift in seasons that is upon us particularly reminds me of this. Fall tends to be an active time of year for my work, which also reminds me about the importance of my own self-care and finding creative solace amongst my busy surroundings. Just like the leaves that will be changing and falling soon, some things I have begin to let go of. Other things I hold onto with fierce dedication and determination. I think shifting includes the delicate art of balancing this concept of letting go vs. holding on and the possibilities this ultimately brings. Our art can serve as a safe place to explore these new directions, adjustments, and changing of the tide.

I’ve mostly spent the last few weeks in training & getting orientated with joining Akron Children’s Hospital Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient team within the hospital’s Division of Pediatric Psychiatry/Psychology to facilitate art therapy with adolescents, starting the fall semester with students at Ursuline College’s Counseling & Art Therapy Program, and prepping for these upcoming events I am super excited about:

September 19– 1st Annual Human Trafficking Prevention and Awareness Teen Summit hosted by the Renee Jones Empowerment Center in the Gordon Square Arts District in Cleveland. Learn more here! As part of this Summit, there will be an art center dedicated to creative expression to help teens attending share their hopes and empower their dreams.

September 21– As part of the ADAMHS Board Annual Roads to Recovery Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, I’ll be offering the workshop, Art Journaling’s Visual Voice in Trauma Intervention. This hands-on workshop will explore the use of art journaling as a safe, contained space for processing emotional expression, promoting self care, and sharing ones personal narrative and intentions. Content will include themes and the benefits of art journaling as a visual voice and means of trauma intervention with survivors. Participants will engage in creating their own mini art journal with mixed media to identify and support their own professional self-care practices and intentions related to working with trauma & loss issues.

September 26– During the 2015 Buckeye Art Therapy Association Symposium in Columbus, Ohio I’ll be presenting the afternoon workshop, Strengthening Emotional Resilience through Art Journaling. This workshop of art-making and creative expression will focus on creating a simple, small, mobile art journal that can serve as a tangible reminder of emotional resilience, support and the importance of self-care for the work we do in service & care of others. Registration online is still open!

October 3– As part of the New Jersey Art Therapy Association‘s Annual Meeting I’ll be offering the Keynote Address and an art making workshop focused on the conference’s theme: “The Art of Self Care for Professional and Therapeutic Resilience“. Registration is open here.

October 23– I am honored to be included as a Speaker for the 2nd year of TEDx Ursuline College, being held at The Maltz Museum in Beachwood, Ohio. My talk will focus on the intersection of social media to foster creativity, connection, and community within the art therapy community and beyond! Learn how to purchase tickets here.

Open through November (!)- Holistic Creative Circle- Spectrum 2015: There’s still time left to join in on this year’s Spectrum, hosted by Hali Karla Arts! This online offering is a multi-media experience guided by 25 artists, healers and visionaries. Spectrum is for anyone interested in enhancing intuition, strengthening courage, celebrating wholeness & diversity, widening perspective, developing deeper relationships, and who wants to offer her own gifts to the world, guided by personal awareness and creative living. I am so excited and grateful to be part of this year’s Spectrum Teaching Collective to offer a new workshop, Creative Covenants. Learn more about Spectrum and all its offerings here.

Group Strategies & Interventions with Traumatized Children and Adolescents eCourse: Looking for CEUs? My continuing education course offered through The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children focuses on the benefit, strategies, interventions, and considerations important to facilitating group work with traumatized children and adolescents. Course content introduces participants to themes, sensory based activities,therapeutic books, games, and creative interventions to implement in the group setting with traumatized youth. 6 CEUs available. Registration is on-going and the course is self-guided, so you can complete it at your own pace over several months. For more information and to register, visit this link.

Happy creative shifting to you and yours as summer begins to wind down and fall gradually starts to show all its beautiful colors & glory! 🙂

Creative Covenants

Best wishes for a great 2018!

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