Meet Susan Paul Johnson a 2019 graduate of our Certificate Training Program. We are excited to feature her as our monthly Alumni Spotlight! We think you will be inspired by her work as an Expressive Arts Facilitator and Creating Mandalas Teacher! |
Susan comes to Expressive Arts Facilitation following a career as a business professor, and leverages her previous experience in facilitating group experiences both in workshops and in organizational planning sessions. Susan has a depth of training and experience in
using mandalas as visual art exploration and response, especially with labyrinth walking. Susan has been able to translate her personal explorations of mandalas and labyrinths into facilitating experiences in spiritual and expressive arts. She works extensively with spiritual communities and also with interested individuals and focused populations (women’s groups, congregations, mental health groups and seniors). She works as a facilitator with Creating Mandalas. She completed the EAFI Certificate Training Program in 2019. This connects her work with mandalas and other visual art with modalities such as movement, rhythm, journaling and drama. She is also a Veriditas Labyrinth Facilitator and a Soul Collage Facilitator. Susan is a member of and involved with IEATA. She served on the 2019, 2022 and 2023
Conference Committees, is co-chair of the 2025 Conference, and currently serves on the Board of Directors as Treasurer.
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Susan, what drew you to the field of Expressive Arts, or motivated you to get Expressive Arts training? |
My journey into Expressive Arts was multifold - much like our artwork, it was all about the process not the end result. My first “formal” foray
into Expressive arts was at an Advent retreat where we walked a labyrinth and then drew a mandala. I was hooked! I didn’t know it as expressive arts then, but the combination of moving meditation and artistic response was so powerful I was naturally drawn to explore more. Between 2008 and 2012 I was heavily immersed in mandala
work for my own personal growth, while still maintaining a career as a business professor, raising three daughters, and doing non-profit and volunteer work, especially through my church community. In 2012, I completed my mandala training with Susanne Fincher of CreatingMandalas.com, and began working with her team. I was
investigating art therapy and similar options for future growth and career paths, and Expressive Arts came to my attention - I’m not even sure of the first time it entered my vocabulary. EXA, particularly the IEATA REACE, afforded me the best opportunity to piggyback on my prior skills in education and consulting as an Expressive Arts facilitator. I have always been particularly drawn to integrating different ideas and fields of study, so integrating different modalities came
naturally. Eventually I had a conversation with Kathleen about the EAFI program, and it just felt like I had made my way home. Ultimately, I realized I had been doing expressive arts in many ways in my life - our mandala program integrated movement and music along with creating mandalas; church programs often centered around exploring
story through music, art, games and food; home rituals involved multi-sensory ways of exploration and celebration. The EAFI program was the perfect way for me to expand my knowledge and understanding of Expressive Arts as its own field as well as engage in personal exploration. |
Natural Materials Mandala As you began to immerse yourself in this work, were there any unexpected gifts or surprises? |
There are always surprises! My favorite is being able to nudge people to the AHA moments, taking them one step deeper than they might have gone on their own. At the same time, I am often amazed that keeping things simple is the most effective. I often take a step back in my planning and try to strip out the complicating or overworked elements. Participants will come to the work and bring as much of themselves as possible if we let
them. The final unexpected gift is the community that I have found in the Expressive Arts. From the EAFI community of graduates and students (I serve as a graduate mentor in the program), to my own participants, to the worldwide IEATA community, I am blessed with incredibly creative and inspiring colleagues. |
"Bloom of Inspiration" Mandala
How are you currently implementing expressive arts in your personal and/or professional life?
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My entire focus in my part-time work is related
to Expressive Arts in some manner. I lead weekly groups and monthly workshops, occasional retreats, and am often approached by spiritual communities and/or aging facilities to lead an activity. With EAFI, I am a graduate mentor and occasional co-teacher, particularly in the course on the Business of Expressive Arts. I am a facilitator with Creating Mandalas where we as a group lead mandala trainings, have a certificate program, and have twice monthly mandala investigations centered
around a yearly theme. Our theme for 2025 is worldwide celebrations. With IEATA I serve as Treasurer and co-chair of the 2025 Conference. I have worked on every conference committee since 2019 and love the creativity that people bring to the conference. Teaching in Taiwan (Group Exploring Mandalas) |
What are your goals in this work, or how do you envision your involvement with EXA unfolding in the future? |
My goals are to reach people, individually and
in groups, in order to inspire them to express themselves in a multitude of ways. The part that is currently missing from my work is consistent social outreach - some of that was stymied by the pandemic. There was a time when I was part of a weekly art group with an unhoused population that were in a temporary treatment center for health reasons. I plan to get back to consistent work with underserved populations - everyone deserves an opportunity to express themselves! How has EXA enriched or expanded your career path (if applicable)? |
I changed my
career path drastically from one in business to Expressive arts. Teaching and facilitating was always my bailiwick, but this training opened me up to work with so many more types of people and to do many more things. |
What is your current personal practice and how does it enrich your life? |
I have long
had a practice of journaling and creating mandalas. I also keep a daily gratitude journal. Like anyone, it can be consistent and then wavers at times, but when I am engaged in it I know that I am more connected. My personal practice helps me keep tabs on myself mentally and physically, and grounds me in my body and soul. In addition to regular practices I try to do other things on a semi-regular basis, like labyrinth walks and soul collage. I love to explore with watercolor,
chalk pastels, sound (especially drumming), and movement like 5 Rhythms. |
Mandala with 2" Circle Inspiration What do you wish you could tell the world about Expressive Arts? It works - and its really simple if you open yourself up to it. It might sound fancy, and to some inaccessible, but we can make it easy for people to engage in ways that are low-barrier to them. I also wish that more professional people would take just a few minutes in their days to experience a connection with their expressive and creative self - I think that we would all benefit. What are you currently offering, and what are the ways that people can work with you? My favorite offering is my Deep Dive mandala group - we meet on Thursdays from 2pm-4pm and it is a wonderful group of people interested in exploring a multitude of topics using mandalas as our art form. We also explore other forms at times - like neurographics and soul collage. This group will enroll again in January - reach out via email to connect if you are interested. Through Creating Mandalas, our Monthly Mandala program meets twice monthly, and I help facilitate on the fourth Tuesday evening program. |
Anything else you would like to say? |
I would like to express deep gratitude to Kathleen and Tamara for their guidance and wisdom. It has truly been life changing to be part of the EAFI certificate program and community! |
Professional links - Learn more about Susan |
Watch for our Alumni Spotlight on the 15th of each month. We feature graduates of our Certificate Training Program - Expressive Arts Facilitators, Therapists, and Educators. We hope this series will inspire you, help spread the work of our alumni, and demonstrate the scope of
practice of the expressive arts field. To see past Alumni Spotlight features & our Alumni Directory visit the link below. www.expressiveartsflorida.com/art-professional-links For more information about our Certificate Training Program, Professional Development, and Workshops - both online and in-person,
visit us at www.expressiveartsflorida.com Tamara Teeter Knapp MA, NCC, LMHC, REACE® Kathleen Horne MA, LMHC(S), REACE®, REAT® |
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