Grief can be about the loss of a person and in the times of the pandemic about loss of reality, loss of experience, loss of proximity and closeness.

​Reading Resources: 

Grief Club by Melody Beattie

Life Lessons: Two Experts on Death and Dying Teach us about Life and Living
  by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler

Turn My Mourning into Dancing by Henri Nouwen

Rituals around Mourning: 

Ritual 1: The Letter

Write a letter of grief- express your anger and frustration at the situation and maybe the person or persons who passed for leaving or other ways that the person hurt you. Follow that with any amense that you have. Follow that with expressing sadness. Decide if you need to keep, send, or destroy your letter. 

Ritual 2: Letting Go

Grief includes a spectrum of reactions. Reactions include anger, sadness, denial, powerless and its opposite strong desire to control. The building of these states of mind sometimes is overwhelming feeling that requires release. This release can be in our minds, our art, or in a rituals. Select a nature object that can represent the desire to control. Release that object in the forest throwing it or letting it float down stream. Watch it going away from you. Do it again without causing harm. 

Are there latent parts of yourself with potential to grow?

Come express yourself in this Mosaic of Self Workshop.

This 4-hour therapeutic workshop uses Jungian archetypes and Parts Work and Joan Kellogg’s The Great Round to identify the various aspects of self including those often-hidden parts.  The mosaic project uses shape and color to visualize the collaborative interaction of all those aspects of self.

Contact one of the organizers to register.

Erin Brindle, ATR-BC, LPC, newcreations.dc@gmail.com
Angela Sarafin, LMFT, info@angelsarafin.com

The Details: 
Saturday, March 7, 2020, 10am-2pm,
Brookland, Washington DC 

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Borrowing from Japanese and Turkish traditions, we will create beautiful design of silk scarves or designs on high quality paper. 
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Bring yourselves. All materials provided. 

Date: Saturday, November 16
Time:  10am-12:30pm
​Location: Brookland
Cost:$40/participant 

Come at 9:45 to start with an optional 15 minutes of yogic stretching and breathing. Bring your own yoga mat.

Followed by a welcome and demonstration of the dye and paint processes. 

Warm Beverages and pastries provided. 

Thank you for your RSVP by Saturday, November 1.

Melissa Walker, ATR-BC, is a registered art therapist offering Art Therapy to American Military Veterans at the Intrepid Center for Excellence at Fort Belvoir, VA. The article interviews the veterans and Walker on the beautiful renewal of life through Mask Masking. 

​Lilla Orhstrom and I are excited to facilitate The Vision Casting Workshop Series for 2019. We are excited to offer a creative space to foster your vision in a safe environment and community.

Please take time to consider:
What I would like to leave behind in 2018?
What are some of my goals for 2019?


In the journey of vision casting, Building a Compass is a first step to knowing where you are going is to ask the following questions.

Where am I now?Who am I?
Seasons of life that require different resources
Where am going?
How am I going to get there?
What are my external (support groups/people, work, connection to nature) and internal supports (spiritual practices and beliefs, self-care)


Lifeview Reflection (30 minutes)


Why are we here?
What is the meaning or purpose of life?
What is the relationship between the individual and others?
Where do family, country, and the rest of the world fit in?
What is good, and what is evil?
Is there a higher power, God, or something transcendent, and if so, what impact does this have on your life?
What is the role of joy, sorrow, justice, injustice, love, peace, and strife in life?


Review of Work and Life VIew: 

Were there similarities or clashes between your work-view and life-view? 

Art therapy workshops are offered as a meditation, community building, and a modality of expression for one's own vision and ideas. 

​These workshops are offered on Tuesdays, 6-9pm, at Brookland Pastoral Center. Artists and new artists welcome and can come as a one time experience or in a series. 


Paint pouring with watercolor to relinquish control with Alcohol Ink on Speciality Paper     Tuesday, October 2

Stained Glass look with Watercolor                                                                                                  Tuesday, October 9

Clay Pottery on the Wheel                                                                                                                 Tuesday, October 16

Collage Cards                                                                                                                                      Tuesday, October 23

Mask Making with plaster or pulp paper pre-made mask                                                          Tuesday, October 30

Copper and Wire Jewelry                                                                                                              Tuesday, November 13

In this 9-week group for artists, participants will be encouraged to explore emotions and states of mind through creative art and journaling.  Objectives include:
·      Increase self-awareness, awareness of others, and the environment.
.      Express emotions and states of mind including past/present/future; hope/despair; and lost/found.
·      Develop a supportive creative, social group as members create art alongside one another.

Location:
Brookland Pastoral Center

Dates

Tuesday, January 16-
March 13, 2018, 7-8:30pm.
9 Weeks

 
As a counselor, art therapist, and artist, I value the power of creativity to parallel life changes and encourage curiosity. In solitude, we find some of the questions seeking to live out the answers on a journey of creativity.  

Creative expression and exploration are an informative endeavor towards self-growth. Finding inspiration in new materials and modalities can create the opportunity to be curious, resilient and empowered.  

Purchase wholesale materials at an additional cost of $30 or provide your own art materials.


To Register for this group,  contact:

Erin Brindle, ATR-BC, LPC
Newcreations.dc@gmail.com

Cost: $50/session
Blue Cross Insurance accepted.

Person-Picking-an-Apple-from-a-Tree (PPAT), a classic art therapy task, allows the artist to problem solve and identify personal strengths.