Arbutus Art Therapy

Be kind to yourself, and give yourself the spaciousness you need.

Here is one example of how I have put this into practice this month.

I have tried over the last few years, taking part of Inktober.

Each time I have participated, I try to do the drawings in order and post. However, I don't typically do more than 2-4 b/c making sure to post consistently caused me anxiety.

This year, I decided to approach Inktober differently, in a way that doesn't trigger my anxiety response.

I created 31 small pieces of paper, each with the number and word from the official Inktober list of prompts. I then went through the pieces of paper and found prompts that I was drawn to. Some days I have done one, some days I did several, and a few days I did none. Now, at October 23rd, I have five drawings left if I choose to complete the drawings within the month.

What shifts might you make that could settle your anxiety response?

A wee bee on a sunny summer evening 😍

My office on this hazy West Coast day. ❤️

❤

Join Patricia & I for the final online art therapy open studio!
Tomorrow:
3:30-4:30 - Pacific
6:30 - 7:30 - Eastern
Pay what you can: $0-25
To sign up, go to:
paintedkeyarttherapy.com
We'll be making strength cards.
This activity encourages self-reflection and resourcing.

Open Studio #5 is tomorrow 😁
3:30-4:30(PST) 6:30-7:30(EST)
Pay what you can $0-25
All are welcome!
No art experience required
To sign up head over to paintedkeyarttherapy.com
See you tomorrow! 😄

***NEW WORKSHOP DATES!***

Patricia Cameron, DKATI, RP(Qualifying) of Painted Key Art Therapy and Katherine Searle, DKATI, (Cand.) of Arbutus Art Therapy, are offering four stand-alone online workshops for family caregivers.

Dates: Every Friday between January 20th and February 10th, 2023
Time: 9:30-11am (Pacific) ,12:30-2pm (Eastern)
Location: Zoom
Cost: $60/workshop

Patricia and Katherine both have a special connection to caregiving and this will be our second time holding a group for family caregivers. We invite you to put yourself first for an hour and a half each week to recharge and connect with others who are also in family caregiving roles. The format of these workshops will include: an opening check-in, a discussion of the theme, art making and then the option of sharing our art and process.
No art experience is necessary, any art materials welcome, a list of household materials will be provided. Spaces are limited.

Contact [email protected] or visit paintedkeyarttherapy.com to register or find out more!

Open Studio #4 is coming up!

Date: Monday Dec 5th

Time: 3:30-4:30PST 6:30-7EST

Cost: Pay what you can: $0-25.

As this is a space for self-exploration- exploring a theme, as it relates to yourself, using art mediums, there is no requirement to be an artist.

We begin with a short check-in with everyone choosing a metaphor for how they are feeling at that moment.

We will spend around 20/30minutes (depending on the number of participants) making art.

At the end each person is provided an opportunity to have their art witnessed, and to briefly speak about their art. That said, there is no expectation for each person to show or speak to their art - if you're not feeling comfortable showing your art, we respect that. ❤️

How to sign-up: head over to paintedkeyarttherapy.com 😊

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Artwork I made during the last two open studios I am co-facilitating with my friend

Theme: Elements
So coffee was clearly my muse haha, breaking down coffee into it's basic elements. This day I wanted to have fun with the theme, rather than making intuitive art.

Theme: Emptying Your Cup
Starting with no preconceived idea and using only the materials that were in arms reach while co-facilitating.
My process: I started out with a rhizome - a line interconnected with no beginning and no end. I started filling in the spaces between the lines with chalk pastel. I then saw the shape of a balloon emerge, followed by several more. I used white for a light border, coloured all the balloons using a different colour for each section of the balloons. Black was used to outline the balloons and for the strings. Then filled the rest of the paper within the border with a darker blue, covering the original rhizome line.

For me this piece expresses my need to let things go that don't need to be held on to. Much the same way as we allow our hearts to be touched by what our clients bring, and then let it move through us, as it is not ours to hold.

Our third open studio will be held tomorrow! To sign-up head over to paintedkeyarttherapy.com

This week our suggested theme is emptying our cup - moving through us the pieces that no longer serve us.

Two paintings.
Acrylics on rag paper.

The first was started in a session where I was painting alongside a client, and then completed in an online open studio today after my client session - used a tea bag for the orange-y brown base colour, and the paint that wasn't used in session.

The second (which reminds me of the salmon run) was started and finished in the same open studio.

The open studio is led by two art therapy interns at KATI - it is held every Saturday for two hours starting at 10am (pacific) / 1pm (eastern), and will be happening until December 10th.

Emily () is one of the facilitators, and Jade is the other (sorry, I don't have her ig info)

There is a suggested donation of $3/session contact. - there is a ticket tailor link that I will add [here] once I get it sent to me 😁

We welcome you to join us for our second of six open studios this coming Monday the 21st.

Join others in this online open group where the focus is on using art materials and being in community with others.

Art I created in a client session. My client led and I followed.

At the end of the session I named that I would continue with this piece later in the day. This was the end result.

Art I made in the first of 6 open studios I am co-facilitating with

Today's suggested theme was pathways. Looking forward, reflecting back, or looking at the here and now.

I created the beginning of two round self-intuition cards - words will be added when they appear.

Round clothing tags
Magazine images
Glue
Oil pastel

Another group to share!! So very excited to be offering this group again with my friend Patricia.

This group is for folks who give a lot of themselves to family members who require medical care. A space separate from the caregiving they do on a regular basis. Time for themselves.

This group will be over eight sessions, Fridays from 9:30-11am (Pacific)/12:30-2pm Eastern).

For further information you can reach us here on instagram or on facebook. To arrange a consultation to assess if this group might be for you, please email Patricia at paintedkeyarttherapy.com
❤️

I am co-facilitating an online art therapy open studio.

No requirement to self-identify as an artist, and you can use any materials you have on hand.

Materials could include:
Pencils, pens, markers, paint;
Clay, plasticine, playdoh;
Random found objects;
Yarn, fabrics, embroidery thread;
Materials found in nature.

The intention is to focus on the process rather than the end product. You may choose to work with a prompt or directive provided, or to create spontaneous art.

At the end of the hour we will give everyone the opportunity to have their art witnessed. Depending on number of participants, time, and other potential factors, this sharing of art could look like going around in a virtual circle, or everyone holding their art up at the same time, it will depend on the day.

If you would like to sign up for one or more sessions, please head over to paintedkeyarttherapy.com

Just a few of the benefits of art therapy.

Now that I have graduated an I am a Professional Art Therapist, I figured it was time I introduce myself. 😊

I grew up on one of the small islands between Victoria and Vancouver, I have two sisters, parents who have been married for over 50 years, and a wonderful husband who is my rock and my balance.

I took many years off between high school and university, attending UFV in Abbotsford, where I graduated with BFA - visual arts and psychology.

As an artist my mediums are analog photography and print-making; two mediums that focus as much on the process as the final result.

I attended the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute in Nelson B.C. The way I work as an artist I found to be congruent with the therapeutic process of art therapy.

I am a humanistic art therapist. I hold the client-therapist relationship in high regard, as we both hurt and heal within relationship. I also hold the belief that everyone has the ability to create the change(s) they want to see in themselves, when provided time and space. Therefore it follows that I work in a client-led capacity. I also strive to hold sessions in a trauma-informed, strengths-based, and existential manner. I'm also *very* awkward (re-frame: authentic? 🤣).

I will be sloooooowly setting up my private practice, while at the same time working out of working as an intern while I gain more experience outside of school, and hours so that I can change my title from Professional Art Therapist to Registered Art Therapist. 😎

So here is to new beginnings as I venture into this next exciting chapter.

Playing around on the Dada app, Canva, and then filters and edits here on IG. This is the result. With the start of my career, this is my message for myself. ❤

My heart is full with a warm glow following my final class at KATI.

I am so proud of, and have so much love and respect for all of the fantastic humans I will be graduating with.

Katrina, Yuhsuan, Jenny, Xia, Heidi, Chelsea, Jennifer, Jude, Ginger, Sara, Lauren, and Kim, I am so excited to see what you will all be getting up to. And stoked to have you all as colleagues moving forward ❤

Creating an altered book.

Today during our final session (for now) at Painted Key Open Studio, we held the theme 'Planting Seeds'. For this I did a quick drawing of my final steps toward finishing my grad studies. What started out as arrows organically shifted into a sprout with several offshoots.

As I get closer to completing my training, I wanted to have a more professional logo. So I created this today. There may be future renditions, or tweaks here or there....but this feels good for right now.

Combining two forms of creativity I really enjoy, collage and button-making.

This Saturday will be the fourth open studio with Patricia from !

This week we will be looking at the change in seasons as we move from the hibernation of Winter, into the new beginnings of Spring.

Date: March 19th

Time: 10-11:30am - PST
1-2:30pm - EST

Cost: a sliding scale from $0-20.
To sign up go to: paintedkeyarttherapy.com

Art supplies: gather, and have with you any traditions supplies such as pens & pencils, paint, collage, clay, or non-traditional artmaking supplies such as - found objects, 'junk drawer' items, nature items, and anything else you can imagine!

Hope to see you there!

Join Patricia and I tomorrow for our third Painted Key Open Studio! 10-11:30am PST (1-2:30pm EST)

All are welcome.
* children under 13 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or older sibling.

To register, please go to paintedkeyarttherapy.com.

For this directive, we recommend having ready magazines or old books, even junk mail may have words or images that stand out.

Also, if you have photographs you would like to incorporate into your art, have those with you as well.

You will need scissors or an exacto knife, glue, or mod podge, and potentially thicker cardstock - but that's up to you.

See you there!
🎨

Arbutus Art Therapy updated their business hours.