Art is vital in my work and I present it in different forms depending on who I’m with and the specific setting. I may use art for pure expression, self-awareness and reflection, community support, as a form of therapy, or as a spiritual practice. For several years I’ve been exploring the idea of ‘art ritual’.…

 Searching for the ‘Real You’ “…false You’s – the imitative You, the too-clever You, the Avoiding You – and (how to) settle into that (sometimes, at first, disappointing) beast, Real You. Real You is all you have, and all other paths are false. And in the best case, Real You is so happy to finally…

I was fortunate to be invited to teach and train professionals in Seoul, South Korea this spring. I spent two weeks in the heart of Seoul getting to know the culture and the dedicated people who live and work there. My host was Jung Myung Lee, the director of Tamalpa South Korea, a branch of Tamalpa Institute in Marin County,…

My  love letter to ART: Art is my deepest love, a love that never fades or abandons. Art is always there for me. Art makes me feel alive, sexy, and deeply nourished.When I engage in art making I fall in love again and again. I fall in love with the people I create with, my collaborators, my film subjects, my…

“I don’t think about myself as a woman when I set out to make art. I do, however, want to see myself, and the issues I care about reflected in my artwork.”  – Soad Kader, Woman of Color Visual Artist How is it to live as a woman today? And to be a woman artist…

“Sometimes you hear a voice through the door calling you, as a fish out of water hears the waves…Come back. Come back. This turning toward what you deeply love saves you.” – Rumi   Today I am in a vividly beautiful natural environment at my main venue for teaching in Marin County, California. I am…

Sometimes being an arts therapist doesn’t feel very cool. The label of therapist can make me feel uninteresting and irrelevant. It can feel like wearing a conservative outfit, being invisible and blending into the background. Sometimes in social settings I have seen people get nervous around me when I identify as a ‘therapist’. I’m guessing…

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” – Philip Pulman, writer The stories that inspire me the most are non-fictional stories, stories that are about real life and real people. These kind of true stories are the most compelling to me when they incorporate emotion, vulnerability, unexpected twists…

  “Art is the bridge when walls of fear keep us insulated and reactive. A society loses meaning, purpose and direction without it” – performance artist Karen Finlay It is a very complicated time. The predominant emotions I encounter around me are grief, anger, hopelessness and bewilderment. I often experience uncertainty in regards to supporting people in response to the politics we…

The Creative Source: An Artistic Life Shaped by Recovery by Adriana Marchione Published through In Recovery Magazine, Winter 2016, (link no longer active) I am an artist and a person in recovery; this statement illustrates how I define myself and shape my world. When I got sober in 1993, I found it absolutely necessary to…