Art as Therapy for Individuals

For anyone who needs a break from their anxious, stressed, overburdened, worry-filled life

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.

– Georgia O’Keefe, painter (1887-1986)

Just 45 minutes can change your state of mind Life is challenging, often frustrating, with obstacles that can sometimes feel overwhelming. Many people feel locked up in their schedules and routines, with not enough time to participate in self-care. Getting to the gym takes effort. Making art at your kitchen table is easy. Just 45 minutes of making art can significantly reduce the stress hormone cortisol.

My workshops are 45 minutes to 2 hours in length. Participants report an immediate state of relaxation and leave feeling restored, joyful, and calm. Many experience personal growth and closure over a difficult situation, transition, or obstacle.

Art as therapy is for all: from children to teens, college students to frazzled parents, individuals in all professions — from caregivers to CEOs on the brink of burnout. Those suffering from an illness, trauma, or experiencing stressful life changes can benefit from the creative nonverbal expression that art therapy allows. Everyone has a universal need to find their center, to express themselves, to tell their story through art, to find joy.

In my workshops, I see the transformative effect of art on individuals who are working through a variety of challenges: stress, overwhelm, anxiety, depression, significant life changes, loss, grief, addiction recovery, and more.

Art has been scientifically shown to have a positive effect on well-being, reducing anxiety and promoting a calm state of mind. Studies show that one or more art experience a month can extend your life by 10 years! Art has the unique ability to measurably change the body, brain, and behavior which translates into specific practices that advance health and well-being (from: Your Brain on Art, Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross).

Many find art therapy easier than talking about what they are going through and feeling. The creative process is healing. But unlike talk therapy, you can express your emotions through color, shape, and form. Art therapy uses a different part of the brain than talk therapy. Through the act of discovery, you ignite your childlike need to play, create, learn. You don’t have to be a trained artist to benefit from this simple pleasure. The connection between hand and brain supports cognition and ignites curiosity.

The creative practice is about the process, the exploration, the discovery — not the result.

What’s your Tiny Art Story?

Let’s explore — a few workshops that require no experience offered by Tiny Art Stories

Mandala workshop

Between 90-120 minutes in length

Mandala workshops are relaxing, fun and easy, intuitive, and allow for a meditative quality of the mind and a calming effect on the body.

Participants are encourage to let their thoughts float by like clouds and make no preconceptions of outcome, but to allow for the freedom to create whatever feels spontaneous while enjoying the rhythm and flow of the design. Mandala work promotes serenity and reflection while reducing stress and anxiety.

Mandalas are often helpful for those struggling with emotional or physical problems or a difficult personal situation. Mandala work is often associated with wholeness, growth, or the emergence of something new.

Pictures of creations from first-time participants in the mandala workshop

Testimonials on the mandala workshop

Neurographic art workshop

Two hours in length

A calming and meditative exercise for those with anxiety and depression, grief and loss, or large life transitions.

In this workshop, participants will focus on a particular problem that is causing upset. This is written on the back side of the page, and you are encourage to allow this thought to float around as you work through the exercise. Free-flowing lines are drawn from one side of the page to the other. All intersecting points are rounded off, symbolizing the smoothing of difficulties in your life. A variety of media will then be used to color some or all of the shapes created within the graphic. As a final step you will outline some or all of the shapes with a range of line thicknesses. The results are stunning, always unique, and revealing a reflection of your inner-self.

Select pictures of Neurographic art

Testimonials on the neurographic art workshop

Zentangles and slow drawing

45-minute workshop for beginners.

This simple-to-learn artform will immerse you in the world of Zentangles and introduce you to the unexpected results that come from simple patterns and linework. With a little instruction and some examples, youwill dive in and get creative, discover, relax and focus. You will likely find yourself lost in time, achieving a “flow” state where there is just you and the art. The results are beautiful, unexpected, and unique to you.

Pictures of creations from first-time participants in the Zentangles and Slow Drawing workshops

Testimonials on the Zentangles and Slow Art Workshops

Micro Journaling

Two-hour workshop for beginners.

In the micro-journaling workshop, you will layer sentences, phrases, and words that capture how you are feeling over a wash of color that depicts your emotions. What is produced is a map of what you are experiencing, what you are moving through, and leaving behind. Participants utilize slow drawing techniques such as outlining the landscape of the paint (which represents your inner landscape), stippling, and small sections of pattern work. These interruptions of slow drawing allow for time to thoughtfully process your feelings before moving on to the next entry, which may feature a line of a poem, a song verse, or words of wisdom. Participants experience growth, a sense of closure, and an emergence of a new mindset.

Pictures of creations from Micro Journaling

Testimonials on the Micro Journaling Workshops

Interested? Reach out today

Give yourself the gift of creating art that brings freedom rooted in sensory delight. Not ready to sign up today, but want to be kept on the mailing list to find out when the next one is? Fill out the form below.