|
|
Dear Creative Friend, Â This week is all about play. Â Mindful Art Play Days, guided by Tamara, is a live hour each weekday, with recordings and a discussion group. Â And Online Open Studio is a
generous 3-hour interlude on Tuesday afternoon. Gather your supplies and join us in a way that works for you. Â With so much chaos and conflict all around us, we may wonder why is play is important?'. Â That's a great question. Maybe its time to take our cue from children, or from the child we used to be, when play was the way we made sense of the
world.  I hve been re-reading a favorite classic book - Trust the Process, by Shaun McNiff,  Shambhala, 2011). In play, McNiff says, we have to "be where we are as completely as possible".  "The medicines and spirits of play are like those of meditation, and the benefits are proportionate to the degree to which we are able to lose ourselves in play". (p. 116-117). Imaginative, creative play is deep. It is life-sustaining. It requires what McNiff calls "sustained
encounters with uncertainty"(p. 23). Â It requires us to be with what is, and to trust that we will discover a pathway, without knowing the outcome in advance. Â I (Kathleen) relate to the idea of 'sustained encounters with uncertainty', both in my art and
in my life. Willingly entering and embracing uncertainty in my art-making helps me to encounter places of uncertainty in my life, and to stay with them until I discover a path. Rather than blocking out the discomfort of uncertainty or prematurely figuring out an answer, the magic seems to arrive when I am willing to live consciously in the uncertainty until a resolution
emerges organically. Â I have art-in-process works on my wall and on my art table. They mystify and intrigue me. I sit and stare at them sometimes. I pick up my journal and ask them questions, and write down the answers. I wonder about them, and sometimes I feel frustrated. I turn them upside down, and look at them from different perspectives and orientations. I wish I
understood them. I leave them, and come back later - an hour, a day, or a week. There is so much I don't know. Â I have to keep remembering to ask myself what I do know. I do my best to trust this 'sustained encounter with uncertainty'. At some point, there is movement again, there is illumination, creative resolution, solution. It might arrive painstakingly slowly, or it might arrive in a surge of creative illumination. But arrive it does. And it's all part of the creative
play. Â 3 paintings-in-progress. Each one is currently an 'encounter with uncertainty'. Â Can I approach the questions in my life in
the same way? The difficult decisions? The health challenges? The discernment of my next career shift? My art practice reminds me that I can.  It helps me trust that place of not knowing as part of the path to knowing. Its helps me to notice what I do know, so that I can build on that.   McNiff says "I get out of myself when I play and I enter an
imaginative realm that is a distinctly different state of being."(p.117) Playing in the uncertainty is discovery. It invites something new to arrive, from the freshness of the imagination.  Ask yourself: - What does my art practice teach
me about my life?
- How can engage the spirit of play when I am uncertain about something?
- How well do I trust my ability to 'be with' the questions or mysteries in my life?
Respond in your journal, your sketchbook, or in movement, sound, or rhythm!  I encourage you to sign up for Mindful Art Play Days, and let Tamara guide you this week. Tamara is passionate about deep play and mindful art-making, and she has put together a format that provides just the right amount of guidance and just the right amount of freedom. You can watch later if you can't attend live,
and there is a private discussion group as well.  We also have Online Open Studio on Tuesday, and a few new workshops coming up! Take a look below at the "Save the Date" section for all upcoming classes & events! |
Would you like to share your personal practice images? Our private Facebook group  is a sanctuary
for witnessing one another. It is not a place to share or promote your professional work; it is a place to share the images the arise from your deepest creative wisdom.  We hope you will join us there. (If you are a new member, please be sure to answer the questions and agree to the rules. That helps us to hold a safe and welcoming space.) We hope to see you in the circle soon. With gratitude, Kathleen, Tamara, and the Expressive Arts Florida Team |
|
| Mindful Art Play Days (starts tomorrow!) Monday - Friday July 22nd-26th 10:00-11:00am Live Online via Facebook Use mindful art, gentle movement & creative writing to explore 5 different themes each
day this week for only $10!! |
All Self-Study Courses contain detailed, yet approachable instructions, videos, and meditations facilitated by Kathleen & Tamara. The imagery and guidance from this work can assist
you, whether dipping your toes into expressive arts or seeking a deeper connection.  *All courses come with lifetime access so you can refer back to them at any time! *No previous art experience is necessary! |
Featured Self-Study Course  |
Embracing the Wisdom of Nature Connect with
yourself and nature in this self-study course! The wisdom and lessons of the natural world are everywhere, and we are a part of that world. Our creativity brings us into alignment with that natural wisdom. In this self-study workshop, you will engage with the natural world, through contemplative inquiry, art-making, movement, writing, and reflection.
No prior art or expressive arts experience is
necessary.
 |
AUGUST WORKSHOPS & EVENTS NEW workshops below!! |
 Our Certificate Training Program in Intermodal Expressive Arts is IEATA (International Expressive Arts Therapy) compliant and provides you with the 200 training hours necessary to pursue professional registration in expressive arts. It
is a hybrid model and admissions are on a rolling basis. Â Now accepting applications for a September start date! For the first time ever we are opening up this Level 2 course to new
students! In order to take this course as a new student, you will need to complete EAFI 100 Creative Wisdom, apply and be
accepted into the program before the start date.  EAFI 220: Expressive Arts in the World September 10-13, 2024 Live Online  Want to apply but have some questions? Let us know. We'd love to connect with you!  |
Not sure if you are ready to enroll in the entire program? Check out our introductory training program, Creative Wisdom!
This is an 8-week introductory training into the field of expressive arts and the pre-requisite for our Certificate Training Program. Click here to learn more!
|
|
|
|
|
Tamara is accepting new clients in Florida seeking therapy services and support using expressive arts to heal and grow. Using her years of creative practice and a compassionate approach, she is able to help clients access their inner strengths and
create the change they most want in their lives. To inquire about services, you can go HERE,
call/text 941-444-9585 or email tknappcounseling@gmail.com  ~Tamara and Kathleen  Tamara Teeter Knapp MA, Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern,
REACE®  Kathleen
Horne MA, LMHC(S), REACE®, REAT®  www.expressiveartsflorida.com  |
|
|
|
|
