Hello Creative Friend,

 As I get further into my gardening project I feel excited about the habitat we will help create for more birds, insects, and small creatures like the rabbits that burrow in the yard. I love listening to the birdsongs and the variety of sounds they make. This week when Kathleen shared some thoughts of her travels (below) I started listening to my surroundings more. Sound as a modality is one that we do not always focus on, but it is pervasive in our environment and tuning in helps us expand our awareness. 

From Kathleen: 

I have the very good fortune to be traveling in Europe during this time. The influence of the natural world, a deeply felt sense of history, fresh perspectives that arrive with new cultural experiences, more spacious days and new routines all invite me to allow creative imaginings to bubble up and take form. I notice that immersion in languages that I don't speak offers me an opportunity that is akin to a decentering, imaginal, dreamlike state, and is similar to what happens in an intermodal arts process. I am less bound to the literal, as I am, for the most part, not understanding the meaning of what is being spoken around me. Instead, I am bathed in a vocal soundscape that frees me in a way that is difficult to describe. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be considering the 'what's next' of our business within the container of travel. I am sifting through possibilities, and allowing the 'nuggets' to crystallize and become clear. - Kathleen, Ikaria, Greece

This week in Open Studio I found myself drawing the musical sounds. As I listened, I drew. 

My image spoke these words: 

...I notice as the rhythm shifts I change colors and new marks appear. I see a portal, an ocean through, surrounded by repetition

Tiny seeds, a stone path, archways, golden light tassles like corn silk. 

I wonder where the ocean waves will take me, how to follow the rocky path and where it leads. I wonder how rhythms carry me across oceans and into new terrain. I wonder how seeds are sown in rocky soil. What do they encounter as they travel on the wind?

I remember that corn silks are magical threads that connect each kernel to the wind blown pollen it needs to grow. Each kernel has its own silk thread that catches pollen for it and precisely delivers exactly what it needs to ripen into its own sweetly plump little self. Maybe each thread of colorful hope sends sweetness to exactly who needs it, at the time the soul thirsts for it most. A natural order we are all a part of. 

As I type this I hope that a kernel of hope finds its way to you and that you will listen closely to the soundscape around you and within. I invite you to take a "sound walk". Tune out your visual sense, softening your focus as you walk (or sit) and listen intently to all of the sounds. After you take some time to focus on the sounds in your environment, make marks on the page to express them, then write the story of your image. What emerges might be just what you need in the moment. I imagine it will be nourishing. 

If you would like to share, you can do that in our private Facebook group.

In other news, we have a few events coming and we'd love for you to join us!

Tomorrow is our next Expressive Arts Discovery from 7:00-8:30pm ET. This workshop will be live online, and is a wonderful time to take a creative pause, connect within and gather with other creatives in a safe and supportive community. All Expressive Arts Discovery workshops have now been scheduled through the end of the summer!

Our next SoulCollage® workshop; SoulCollage® and the Summer Solstice led by Diane Lampitt, will be on Friday, June 6th following In Person Open Studio. As the days grow longer and the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, the Summer Solstice invites us into a powerful moment of stillness and possibility. In this workshop, we'll pause and reflect on what no longer serves us and plant seeds of renewal and new life that are best aligned with our inner truth. Enjoy just one or give yourself the gift of a full day of creative expression!

To see a schedule of all upcoming events, courses and workshops visit our calendar of events here.

Therapy Services

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 Teeter Knapp

MA, NCC, LMHC, REACE®

Kathleen Horne

MA, LMHC(S), REACE®, REAT®

www.expressiveartsflorida.com