Taking Risks in Art Making Without Losing Yourself "Yes, I felt very small. The typewriter seemed larger than a piano, I was less than a molecule. What could I do? I drank more." -  Albert Sánchez Piñol, Pandora in the Congo  Creating from an honest place - making art about real emotions, stories, memories, truths can be incredibly freeing. It can also be risky, and scary. How can we step into our truth and make art without feeling too exposed? Or losing stability? Or having a shame or self-critic attack? What can keep us grounded and centered while diving into ...

Happy 2020! There is something remarkable about a new decade. I'm feeling the shift more than I expected. The transition to 2020 is potent and I am enthusiastic about the year(s) ahead.  Art is the anchor for me in the ups and downs and having a creative practice helps to mark the passage. Here is a simple collage exercise that I've been doing since my 20's, but have streamlined over the last few months. It helps me express myself, be introspective and playful, AND it can be completed in a very short period of time which stimulates the reward center of the brain :). Doing ...

I am committed to the creative process. This involves making art, helping others make art and seeing projects to fruition. I feel most alive when I'm in the art space and helping people have meaningful creative experiences. Some art pieces or projects come to fruition and some get left behind. Regardless of the outcome, the act of engaging in a project can be inspiring and extremely rewarding. On the flip side, making art can also be discouraging and at times heartbreaking. Many people come to art because they have a passion, and they want to bring their fire out into the world in an expressive way. This passion may be fueled from love, ...

“What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit.” John Updike I often wake up in the middle of the night with inspirations in various forms. If I’m writing something, ideas might flow in. When I have spent a day editing film, moving images flash through my brain. And, since I’m a teacher of expressive arts work, a vision of a creative experience might arrive. This is what happened when I came up with my creative mini-retreats. My train of thought was as follows - we are isolating ourselves through online communication and over-stimulus. There are ...

I am an art therapist - to be specific my titles are ‘expressive arts therapist’ and ‘somatic movement therapist’. My work is out of the box, and when I tell people what I do it usually requires a fair amount of explanation. In many ways, this is really amazing - I love my work. I firmly believe in, and have evidence to illustrate the power of artistic expression to heal. And, it is not a simple path to follow - over the last 20(!) years, I have built my business from the ground up. I have hit up against not ...

"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world, and a desire to enjoy the world...This makes it difficult to enjoy the day."- E.B. White Despite it all, the inner and outer drama of life - it is important to find time to let go and allow a sense of fun and aliveness into our days. My experience has shown that stepping away from challenges mentally (and sometimes physically) can give us a mini-vacation. This can help interrupt the fearful thinking and remember what is positive and precious in our lives. Yet, this is easier said then done! And, 'fun' is different for everyone. ...

“As a therapist, I get to help people change their stories.” -Lori Gottlieb, Therapist, Author There has been a lot of publicity about therapy these days. People are speaking about their therapy experiences on podcasts and radio shows, writing books about it, and being real about therapy on social media. You might consider this to be a golden age of therapy, as the information that is being presented is very positive. Basically, the gist is, 'therapy works’. Being in therapy can significantly improve one's life, and often helps to save lives. This is a strong contrast to the stigma surrounding mental health that has discouraged people from going to ...

I was recently highlighted as one of the recovery profiles in The Sobriety Collective blog. Laura Silverman is the creator of this fun and useful recovery hub for people either "self-identifying as in recovery from substance use disorder and/or mental health concerns or sober-curious." This profile gives a window into my addiction/recovery story and shares some of my top creative recovery tools. Find my blog profile HERE.

I recently lost a dear artist friend, Marlene Aron. Marlene passed away suddenly, a few days before her last art retrospective in San Francisco. Her death had a strong impact on so many people because Marlene led a life that sent out ripples of inspiration. I did not see Marlene often. We didn't keep in active touch but she was a constant in my life. I always knew Marlene was creating art and involved in her creative communities. I would see notices of the Van Gogh lectures that Marlene gave at local libraries, and her art openings exhibiting her environmental installations and/or art canvases made of ...

25 Professionals Share the Best Ways to Support Someone Who is Grieving I was recently approached by Sympathy Messages who have a really useful website that helps people write sympathy cards, and send messages to people who have experienced grief or loss. She asked 25 professionals who work with grief to share their thoughts. I wrote a section for her about my perspective on grief through the lens of creativity. Click here to read the full blog:  https://www.sympathymessageideas.com/expert-grief-support/ Here is a portion of my blurb: "I would not say that I’m an expert on grief, but I do know grief ...