The Sacred Space: Intuitive Painting Workshop

As both an artist and therapist I know the importance of sacred spaces. Both my studio and my consultation room are spaces that are worthy of respect, devotion and reverence. The process of painting and therapy for me is a time to develop personal intimacy and depth, to find myself and learn about who I am and was created to be.

It was when I first experienced painting in a sacred context that I was completely shocked by how much energy I had to express and how good it felt to not know what was going to move through me. I had people in my life who saw this in me and encouraged me to keep painting. I kept painting.

This year, as I continue to develop my offerings as a therapist and artist, I will be hosting intuitive painting workshops. These workshops will be a way to introduce participants to creating a sacred space, to find freedom and to begin the process of learning who they are through the use of our hearts, minds, hand and materials.

Here is some of what you can expect when you participate in one of these workshops:

•  We gather in a sacred circle, candle lit, and begin the morning with a few minutes of quiet time. You will be guided in each painting session with a short meditation and some body movement to help you begin with ease.

• You will never hear that someone likes or doesn’t like your painting in the experience. This is my cardinal rule. No one will come up to you in the middle of your painting and begin a conversation or tell you how much they like what you are doing or how good it is. Nothing shuts down safe space more than hearing positive or negative judgment concerning your painting process.

• No two people paint alike. Some people will paint images, some will paint color and texture, and some will paint words… I invite in a range of painting experiences from healing/therapeutic process paintings to spontaneous creative expressions without “meaning”.

• You will have anonymity in that we agree at the beginning of the day not to identify anyone individually when sharing experiences of the workshop once it’s finished.

• The materials are very non-technical. We use liquid acrylic paints, paper plates as pallets, and industrial paper as our canvas. Crude and simple, these materials will help you feel free to experiment and explore. No white canvas “Oh my god! How do I start?” moments.

• Inspired poetry and background music help fuel your creative fire and focus your spontaneous play.

• You are off the hook for making a painting! Process is queen. You can have an incredibly fulfilling workshop experience without liking your painting.

• You have dedicated painting time to paint with or without individual conversations with me. Some people flourish on their own, in silence, while others need time and/or a conversation with me to help them get unstuck or expand in some way.

There are so many ways to paint, write, dance. But over the years I have learned that sacred space is essential to all my work as an artist and therapist. If you'd like to explore yourself in a different way, I invite you to give one of these workshops a try. It might just be what your creative spirit has been waiting for.

Fill out the form below to receive information about when and where these workshops will take place. 

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