Hello Creative Friend,

In our expressive arts facilitation skills class this week we checked in with gratitude. The question we asked was: what are we grateful for about expressive arts? The answers in the group were inspiring. A multitude of things were expressed.

We're grateful for connection. We’re grateful for the ability to share, be witnessed, and feel seen and heard in the fullness of who we are. 

We’re grateful for the many ways that expressive arts helps us express ourselves. We’re grateful for the deeper understanding and personal development we're able to have through our expressive art practices. 

We’re grateful for the way expressive arts serves as a container for our lives. We’re grateful for how expressive arts helps us to evolve into the best version of ourselves. We’re grateful for the inclusivity of the field so that there is a place for everyone at the table - there are as many ways to practice as there are different people who are practicing expressive arts. 

There were so many things mentioned that we all could resonate with as we expressed our gratitude. 

We are also grateful for the opportunities to gather together online and in-person. A week ago we did Sand, Soul and Metaphor training with Eliana Gil. We are grateful for the collaboration, for shared learning, for ongoing development personally and professionally. In Expressive Arts Discovery and Expressive Writing, we have the privilege of being in small groups of courageous creators who collectively share their art as medicine for the soul. In online open studio, we are able to create a sacred space for deeply personal exploration in community. A beautiful constellation of people attend who can hold space for one another and themselves in a very meaningful way 

This work has always provided us with the opportunity to be with others in the most profound ways. We’re grateful for our community- for you and your presence in our community- and we’re grateful for the ways that express arts brings us back home to ourselves so that we can experience the depth of gratitude, empathy, compassion, and love that we have. It is particularly important when the world is filled with challenges, difficulty, and conflict to use expressive arts to return home to ourselves, to who we are before we interact or manage or produce.  Even the capacity to feel grateful is an outcome of our practice. 

This leaf appeared on my morning walk. 

I am grateful for the awe moments, for trust in letting go, for the details I can trace in intimate moments with Nature.

I found this short interview with Brene Brown who shares how gratitude is connected to joy. One way to practice gratitude is using your creativity. This week, we invite you to consider the theme of gratitude and how it takes shape in your own life. You might like to create an image, move your body in a "gratitude dance", write a list or a poem of all the things you feel grateful for or what it feels like inside.

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

Our Black Friday sale begins at the end of the week! Grab a self-study for yourself or as a gift for someone else and get a little boost of inspiration in your practice. 

Registration is open for  Expressive Arts for Body Mind Spirit -  January 13-16. And Creative Presence: Expressive Arts for Individuals is happening Feb. 6 and 20. Our next in-person expressive arts training intensive - Expressive Arts as a Wisdom Path: A Journey of Creative Transformation  is April 14-17, 2026.  

 Let us know if you would like to learn more. 

We also have a brand new in-person SoulCollage® workshop coming up in December! SoulCollage® and the Labyrinth: Celebrating the Winter Solstice will be on Friday, December 12th after In Person Open Studio. Come celebrate the Winter Solstice with us through deep stillness, reflection and renewal.

Register for our annual Intention Setting - in person in Sarasota- happening Friday Dec. 19, 10-12:30 a.m. 

Watch for details soon about our new Heart of the Elder series with Kathleen starting in January.  Scroll down to see our upcoming events, trainings, workshops and more! Or visit our calendar of events here.

With gratitude for your presence, 

Tamara,  Kathleen, and the Expressive Arts Florida Institute Team

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