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. Making art at your kitchen table is easy. Studies show that just 45 minutes of making art can significantly reduce the stress hormone cortisol.

Our workshop participants report a 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 for self-care, to express themselves, to tell their story through art, to find joy.

“In our 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.” —Founder, Wendie Appel

Art has been scientifically shown to reduce anxiety, promote calm, and even extend life expectancy, with just one art experience per month potentially adding 10 years to your life (as noted in Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross). Unlike talk therapy, art therapy taps into a different part of the brain, allowing emotions to be expressed through color, shape, and form, fostering healing and igniting curiosity. The creative process is deeply therapeutic, supporting cognition, discovery, and play, and its benefits are accessible to everyone—no artistic training required. It’s about the journey, not the result.

What’s your Tiny Art Story?

A few of our offerings:

Mandala workshop

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  from first-time participants in the Mandala Workshop

Testimonials on the Mandala Workshop

Neurographic Art Workshop

90-120 minutes 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

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.