Tag: Arts and Healing

In order to participate, click the RSVP button above or please email programs@smithcenter.org.

with Renee Sandell, PhD

Join Renee Sandell for a hands-on, interactive art “workout,” designed to strengthen your sense of unity as a virtue for freedom. We will use her Balanced Way of Seeing® method to explore multiple layers of meaning in Norman Rockwell’s 1961 painting “Golden Rule,” created as part of his Four Freedoms series. We will consider this work and its timely relevance to our lives. Reflecting on past and present moments in our history, we can rediscover sources of our own unity and freedom.

  • Experience a hands-on, interactive art “workout” on Zoom
  • No previous art experience necessary
  • Simple supplies: White paper and a black Sharpie marker
  • Emailed post event: Unity Resource PDF

Suggested Donation: $20

Our programs are open to the community, and tailored to meet the needs of people affected by cancer. Classes and workshops are free or low cost on a pay-as-you-can basis, ensuring that our programs are accessible to everyone.

About Renee Sandell

Renee Sandell

Renee Sandell’s art, teaching, and research focus on Visual Fitness 4 All: Engaging Creativity and Insight® for EVERYONE. Renee is founder/director of the expeditionary, museum-based SummerVision DC Program, which she designed and has delivered for the National Art Education Association (NAEA) for 10 years since 2010. Previously Professor of Art Education at George Mason University (2004-2014) and at Maryland Institute College of Art (1990-2003), she is co-author of two books on gender issues and has published numerous articles, book chapters and art curricula. Winner of the 2019 Lowenfeld Award, Sandell was recognized as 2015-2016 Distinguished Lecturer in Art Education at Miami University and 2013 NAEA National Art Educator. Renee has received numerous awards for her leadership and scholarship on her Form+Theme+Context (FTC)® and her Marking & Mapping®, an accessible form of visual meaning-making. Sandell’s Visual Fitness 4 All® for Engaging Creativity and Insight® workshops are designed to nurture envisioning skills for individuals within professional development programs, organizations, health spas, businesses, and other venues. She has been offering Art & Virtues workshops since early in the Pandemic. Renee’s Smithsonian Associates studio courses include: “Curating a Life: Art as Memoir,” Seeing More: Art, Virtues, and Our Lives, and Visual Journaling: Creativity Workshop.

Learn more about Renee’s teaching at www.visualfitness4all.com Renee’s artwork includes artistic installations of multi-media markings on paper, board, and silk, to explore the human condition in time, space, and place. To learn more about Renee’s artwork, visit her website www.reneesandellart.com

Visual Fitness 4 ALL

10AM-12PM SESSION – This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Noelle Imparato

This workshop provides a safe and powerful learning container using community building and a “mindfulness painting” practice to foster healing, spiritual awakening, and personal transformation.

You are invited to work from the heart and express your drama in forms and colors. As you paint, you process your emotions and liberate yourself from the psychological and physical disease they may cause. This is a workshop for processing feelings through painting and group sharing. It is not a good space for finishing existing projects and using other mediums.

By intentionally focusing on the emotional process rather than the artistic product, participants are able to unleash their creative powers and produce striking works, while by sharing their creative process they gain the insight and wisdom often hidden in works created in a state of letting go.

For more information about Painting for Life and what you can expect during a session, please explore this manual:

PFL MANUAL

Participants are encouraged to drop-in for any session and attend as many sessions as they would like.

Session Schedule:

The Painting For Life workshop on Zoom consists of a 1-hour painting session framed by a 30 minute opening circle (which can often be 45 minutes) and a 30 minute closing circle.

Opening Circle – In the opening circle we build a safe and powerful We-Space
community characterized by “presencing,” sharing with honesty and integrity, deep listening, and resonating in harmony with each other. Noelle will start this opening circle by giving a quick prompting and end it with a 3-minute meditation before sending people off to paint for exactly 1 hour.

1-hour Painting Session – Participants paint at home, using cheap materials such as paper, tempera paints, watercolors, acrylics, or pastels, Crayolas, and even color pens. When the hour is over, people take a picture of their painting and text it to Noelle before coming back to the Zoom room.

Closing Circle – Noelle then shares each painting on the screen as people explore their process while the group may offer feedback and further insights get sparked. We end this closing circle with a group hugs as we shout “May all beings be happy!” thus fusing personal and collective healing together.

Suggested Donation: $15/session

About Noelle Imparato

Armed with a PhD and her lifelong experience, Noelle Imparato created Painting For Life, a process art painting workshop envisioned as a tool for healing, awakening, and personal transformation. After 20 years of running it from her home studio in Los Angeles, France, Spain, and Baltimore, she moved to Zoom due to the pandemic. It allowed her community to grow more international with participants from Canada, Europe, and India. Noelle’s life experience includes training and working in architecture and film, a Ph.D. in mythological studies with an emphasis in depth psychology, a 30-year mindfulness meditation practice, and a multitude of retreats especially at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur CA. She is currently writing “Painting For Life,” a 2-volume book about her personal experience with the healing power of art, and the method she
developed with her workshop.

This session will be in-person. 

with guest artist Deborah Coffey

Outside the Lines: Then, Now, and When – A mixed media, Mood Board workshop

Our earliest memories reflect our innate qualities and values. In this creative arts workshop, we reconnect with our personal qualities, tracking them, like a red thread that moves from our early childhood to ‘Now’ and a desired future – that ‘When’ that we look forward to. A mood board is a place to collect and arrange images, objects and words that capture feeling and what matters in a healing journey. More precious objects, and objects that we want to remain fluid,
can be pinned to the board rather than glued.

We’ll be using the creativity supplies available at Smith Center.  We invite you to bring a childhood photo that resonates with you, as well as any natural materials (e.g., seeds, sticks, leaves) you’d like to include.

Suggested donation: $25

Our programs are open to the community, and tailored to meet the needs of people affected by cancer. Classes and workshops are free or low cost on a pay-as-you-can basis, ensuring that our programs are accessible to everyone.

About Deborah Coffey

Deborah Coffey, BFA MFA, is an artist, certified art educator and mindfulness and Mindful Self-Compassion instructor. She has taught art and mindfulness courses domestically and internationally for many years while also exhibiting her artwork. Deborah especially enjoys facilitating programs for adults and teens that combine mindfulness and art.

10AM-12PM SESSION – This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Noelle Imparato

This workshop provides a safe and powerful learning container using community building and a “mindfulness painting” practice to foster healing, spiritual awakening, and personal transformation.

You are invited to work from the heart and express your drama in forms and colors. As you paint, you process your emotions and liberate yourself from the psychological and physical disease they may cause. This is a workshop for processing feelings through painting and group sharing. It is not a good space for finishing existing projects and using other mediums.

By intentionally focusing on the emotional process rather than the artistic product, participants are able to unleash their creative powers and produce striking works, while by sharing their creative process they gain the insight and wisdom often hidden in works created in a state of letting go.

For more information about Painting for Life and what you can expect during a session, please explore this manual:

PFL MANUAL

Participants are encouraged to drop-in for any session and attend as many sessions as they would like.

Session Schedule:

The Painting For Life workshop on Zoom consists of a 1-hour painting session framed by a 30 minute opening circle (which can often be 45 minutes) and a 30 minute closing circle.

Opening Circle – In the opening circle we build a safe and powerful We-Space
community characterized by “presencing,” sharing with honesty and integrity, deep listening, and resonating in harmony with each other. Noelle will start this opening circle by giving a quick prompting and end it with a 3-minute meditation before sending people off to paint for exactly 1 hour.

1-hour Painting Session – Participants paint at home, using cheap materials such as paper, tempera paints, watercolors, acrylics, or pastels, Crayolas, and even color pens. When the hour is over, people take a picture of their painting and text it to Noelle before coming back to the Zoom room.

Closing Circle – Noelle then shares each painting on the screen as people explore their process while the group may offer feedback and further insights get sparked. We end this closing circle with a group hugs as we shout “May all beings be happy!” thus fusing personal and collective healing together.

Suggested Donation: $15/session

About Noelle Imparato

Armed with a PhD and her lifelong experience, Noelle Imparato created Painting For Life, a process art painting workshop envisioned as a tool for healing, awakening, and personal transformation. After 20 years of running it from her home studio in Los Angeles, France, Spain, and Baltimore, she moved to Zoom due to the pandemic. It allowed her community to grow more international with participants from Canada, Europe, and India. Noelle’s life experience includes training and working in architecture and film, a Ph.D. in mythological studies with an emphasis in depth psychology, a 30-year mindfulness meditation practice, and a multitude of retreats especially at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur CA. She is currently writing “Painting For Life,” a 2-volume book about her personal experience with the healing power of art, and the method she
developed with her workshop.

10AM-12PM SESSION – This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Noelle Imparato

This workshop provides a safe and powerful learning container using community building and a “mindfulness painting” practice to foster healing, spiritual awakening, and personal transformation.

You are invited to work from the heart and express your drama in forms and colors. As you paint, you process your emotions and liberate yourself from the psychological and physical disease they may cause. This is a workshop for processing feelings through painting and group sharing. It is not a good space for finishing existing projects and using other mediums.

By intentionally focusing on the emotional process rather than the artistic product, participants are able to unleash their creative powers and produce striking works, while by sharing their creative process they gain the insight and wisdom often hidden in works created in a state of letting go.

For more information about Painting for Life and what you can expect during a session, please explore this manual:

PFL MANUAL

Participants are encouraged to drop-in for any session and attend as many sessions as they would like.

Session Schedule:

The Painting For Life workshop on Zoom consists of a 1-hour painting session framed by a 30 minute opening circle (which can often be 45 minutes) and a 30 minute closing circle.

Opening Circle – In the opening circle we build a safe and powerful We-Space
community characterized by “presencing,” sharing with honesty and integrity, deep listening, and resonating in harmony with each other. Noelle will start this opening circle by giving a quick prompting and end it with a 3-minute meditation before sending people off to paint for exactly 1 hour.

1-hour Painting Session – Participants paint at home, using cheap materials such as paper, tempera paints, watercolors, acrylics, or pastels, Crayolas, and even color pens. When the hour is over, people take a picture of their painting and text it to Noelle before coming back to the Zoom room.

Closing Circle – Noelle then shares each painting on the screen as people explore their process while the group may offer feedback and further insights get sparked. We end this closing circle with a group hugs as we shout “May all beings be happy!” thus fusing personal and collective healing together.

Suggested Donation: $15/session

About Noelle Imparato

Armed with a PhD and her lifelong experience, Noelle Imparato created Painting For Life, a process art painting workshop envisioned as a tool for healing, awakening, and personal transformation. After 20 years of running it from her home studio in Los Angeles, France, Spain, and Baltimore, she moved to Zoom due to the pandemic. It allowed her community to grow more international with participants from Canada, Europe, and India. Noelle’s life experience includes training and working in architecture and film, a Ph.D. in mythological studies with an emphasis in depth psychology, a 30-year mindfulness meditation practice, and a multitude of retreats especially at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur CA. She is currently writing “Painting For Life,” a 2-volume book about her personal experience with the healing power of art, and the method she
developed with her workshop.

10AM-12PM SESSION – This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Noelle Imparato

This workshop provides a safe and powerful learning container using community building and a “mindfulness painting” practice to foster healing, spiritual awakening, and personal transformation.

You are invited to work from the heart and express your drama in forms and colors. As you paint, you process your emotions and liberate yourself from the psychological and physical disease they may cause. This is a workshop for processing feelings through painting and group sharing. It is not a good space for finishing existing projects and using other mediums.

By intentionally focusing on the emotional process rather than the artistic product, participants are able to unleash their creative powers and produce striking works, while by sharing their creative process they gain the insight and wisdom often hidden in works created in a state of letting go.

For more information about Painting for Life and what you can expect during a session, please explore this manual:

PFL MANUAL

Participants are encouraged to drop-in for any session and attend as many sessions as they would like.

Session Schedule:

The Painting For Life workshop on Zoom consists of a 1-hour painting session framed by a 30 minute opening circle (which can often be 45 minutes) and a 30 minute closing circle.

Opening Circle – In the opening circle we build a safe and powerful We-Space
community characterized by “presencing,” sharing with honesty and integrity, deep listening, and resonating in harmony with each other. Noelle will start this opening circle by giving a quick prompting and end it with a 3-minute meditation before sending people off to paint for exactly 1 hour.

1-hour Painting Session – Participants paint at home, using cheap materials such as paper, tempera paints, watercolors, acrylics, or pastels, Crayolas, and even color pens. When the hour is over, people take a picture of their painting and text it to Noelle before coming back to the Zoom room.

Closing Circle – Noelle then shares each painting on the screen as people explore their process while the group may offer feedback and further insights get sparked. We end this closing circle with a group hugs as we shout “May all beings be happy!” thus fusing personal and collective healing together.

Suggested Donation: $15/session

About Noelle Imparato

Armed with a PhD and her lifelong experience, Noelle Imparato created Painting For Life, a process art painting workshop envisioned as a tool for healing, awakening, and personal transformation. After 20 years of running it from her home studio in Los Angeles, France, Spain, and Baltimore, she moved to Zoom due to the pandemic. It allowed her community to grow more international with participants from Canada, Europe, and India. Noelle’s life experience includes training and working in architecture and film, a Ph.D. in mythological studies with an emphasis in depth psychology, a 30-year mindfulness meditation practice, and a multitude of retreats especially at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur CA. She is currently writing “Painting For Life,” a 2-volume book about her personal experience with the healing power of art, and the method she
developed with her workshop.

10AM-12PM SESSION – This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Noelle Imparato

This workshop provides a safe and powerful learning container using community building and a “mindfulness painting” practice to foster healing, spiritual awakening, and personal transformation.

You are invited to work from the heart and express your drama in forms and colors. As you paint, you process your emotions and liberate yourself from the psychological and physical disease they may cause. This is a workshop for processing feelings through painting and group sharing. It is not a good space for finishing existing projects and using other mediums.

By intentionally focusing on the emotional process rather than the artistic product, participants are able to unleash their creative powers and produce striking works, while by sharing their creative process they gain the insight and wisdom often hidden in works created in a state of letting go.

For more information about Painting for Life and what you can expect during a session, please explore this manual:

PFL MANUAL

Participants are encouraged to drop-in for any session and attend as many sessions as they would like.

Session Schedule:

The Painting For Life workshop on Zoom consists of a 1-hour painting session framed by a 30 minute opening circle (which can often be 45 minutes) and a 30 minute closing circle.

Opening Circle – In the opening circle we build a safe and powerful We-Space
community characterized by “presencing,” sharing with honesty and integrity, deep listening, and resonating in harmony with each other. Noelle will start this opening circle by giving a quick prompting and end it with a 3-minute meditation before sending people off to paint for exactly 1 hour.

1-hour Painting Session – Participants paint at home, using cheap materials such as paper, tempera paints, watercolors, acrylics, or pastels, Crayolas, and even color pens. When the hour is over, people take a picture of their painting and text it to Noelle before coming back to the Zoom room.

Closing Circle – Noelle then shares each painting on the screen as people explore their process while the group may offer feedback and further insights get sparked. We end this closing circle with a group hugs as we shout “May all beings be happy!” thus fusing personal and collective healing together.

Suggested Donation: $15/session

About Noelle Imparato

Armed with a PhD and her lifelong experience, Noelle Imparato created Painting For Life, a process art painting workshop envisioned as a tool for healing, awakening, and personal transformation. After 20 years of running it from her home studio in Los Angeles, France, Spain, and Baltimore, she moved to Zoom due to the pandemic. It allowed her community to grow more international with participants from Canada, Europe, and India. Noelle’s life experience includes training and working in architecture and film, a Ph.D. in mythological studies with an emphasis in depth psychology, a 30-year mindfulness meditation practice, and a multitude of retreats especially at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur CA. She is currently writing “Painting For Life,” a 2-volume book about her personal experience with the healing power of art, and the method she
developed with her workshop.

In order to participate and to receive to Zoom invitation, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.

with guest artist Liz Carren

In this workshop, we will delve into the themes of flow, transformations, and letting things go. Through artistic exercises, discussions, and reflections, we aim to cultivate relaxation and promote healing.

Supplies:

If you have ANY art supplies at home they will probably work! What we basically need is:

  • Some fluid paint (my choice is, and I suggest, watercolors)
  • A couple markers – One big and small (I suggest for Large- something like a big magic marker or sharpie and For Small – I like the Micron pens – something around 05 …or an extra fine point sharpie PERMANENT marker)
  • A white Gel pen is nice
  • Paper to paint on (an inexpensive watercolor pad but all you need is a few sheets)
  • A brush(s) for painting with– one small, one medium and one large – or just one big and one medium
  • Jars for water if using watercolors (I just save small jars form the kitchen)
  • Something to mix some paint on- plastic lids from your kitchen or a paint pallet if you have one)
  • A handful of paper towels
  • And of course, a PLACE /Spot for you do your art in!

Suggested donation: $20

Our programs are open to the community, and tailored to meet the needs of people affected by cancer. Classes and workshops are free or low cost on a pay-as-you-can basis, ensuring that our programs are accessible to everyone.

About Liz Carren

Welcome – Discover my world where art meets healing, sustainability, and creativity. My focus is The Intersection and interaction of Art, Medicine, and Healing. The mind is a potent tool. 
Positive thinking is essential for healing, and the transformative power of art and creativity can incorporate it all! Outlets for release and self-understanding are crucial at critical life points, as well as the everyday. That’s where the arts can come to the rescue!

Artwork can inspire and create hope. A path for treatment can address the fears of the unknown, loneliness, isolation, and the need for hope on a deeper level; incorporating arts and mindfulness into the treatment plans can be a missing link to health and happiness again.  In 2019,  I embarked on a journey that would forever change my life’s trajectory. What started as a persistent stomachache was soon diagnosed as Stage 3 cancer, shaking my foundation of existence. Amidst the turmoil and uncertainty, art emerged as a beacon of light, guiding me through the darkest of times.

Driven by this transformative experience, my focus has shifted towards harnessing the power of art to heal and inspire. Through drawing sessions, I found solace, release, a channeling my fears, tensions, and a clarity laid upon a canvas, paper or iPad. What began as a means of coping evolved into a profound journey of self-discovery and renewal.

10AM-12PM SESSION – This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.

You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.

with Noelle Imparato

This workshop provides a safe and powerful learning container using community building and a “mindfulness painting” practice to foster healing, spiritual awakening, and personal transformation.

You are invited to work from the heart and express your drama in forms and colors. As you paint, you process your emotions and liberate yourself from the psychological and physical disease they may cause. This is a workshop for processing feelings through painting and group sharing. It is not a good space for finishing existing projects and using other mediums.

By intentionally focusing on the emotional process rather than the artistic product, participants are able to unleash their creative powers and produce striking works, while by sharing their creative process they gain the insight and wisdom often hidden in works created in a state of letting go.

For more information about Painting for Life and what you can expect during a session, please explore this manual:

PFL MANUAL

Participants are encouraged to drop-in for any session and attend as many sessions as they would like.

Session Schedule:

The Painting For Life workshop on Zoom consists of a 1-hour painting session framed by a 30 minute opening circle (which can often be 45 minutes) and a 30 minute closing circle.

Opening Circle – In the opening circle we build a safe and powerful We-Space
community characterized by “presencing,” sharing with honesty and integrity, deep listening, and resonating in harmony with each other. Noelle will start this opening circle by giving a quick prompting and end it with a 3-minute meditation before sending people off to paint for exactly 1 hour.

1-hour Painting Session – Participants paint at home, using cheap materials such as paper, tempera paints, watercolors, acrylics, or pastels, Crayolas, and even color pens. When the hour is over, people take a picture of their painting and text it to Noelle before coming back to the Zoom room.

Closing Circle – Noelle then shares each painting on the screen as people explore their process while the group may offer feedback and further insights get sparked. We end this closing circle with a group hugs as we shout “May all beings be happy!” thus fusing personal and collective healing together.

Suggested Donation: $15/session

About Noelle Imparato

Armed with a PhD and her lifelong experience, Noelle Imparato created Painting For Life, a process art painting workshop envisioned as a tool for healing, awakening, and personal transformation. After 20 years of running it from her home studio in Los Angeles, France, Spain, and Baltimore, she moved to Zoom due to the pandemic. It allowed her community to grow more international with participants from Canada, Europe, and India. Noelle’s life experience includes training and working in architecture and film, a Ph.D. in mythological studies with an emphasis in depth psychology, a 30-year mindfulness meditation practice, and a multitude of retreats especially at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur CA. She is currently writing “Painting For Life,” a 2-volume book about her personal experience with the healing power of art, and the method she
developed with her workshop.

In order to participate and to receive to Zoom invitation, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.

with guest artist Deborah Coffey

Outside the Lines

Mindfulness Through Art combines mindfulness practices and art-making into an exploration that allows for reflection and insightful expression through art. Mindfulness in the present moment gently illuminates what calls for attention. Compassion eases suffering. Art impersonates and records that process in which elements are creatively hidden and revealed. Deborah will guide us through a slow looking exercise where impressions are gathered and
evolve into a poetic narrative for interpretation in the art.

Supply List:

  • Light colored or white
  • Heavy paper or Bristol Board
  • Graphite pencils
  • Colored pencils
  • Crayons
  • Acrylic paint (if you have it)
  • White tempera paint or white watercolor paint
  • Paint brushes
  • Q-tips or paper towels
  • Water
  • Glue stick
  • A small piece of gold foil from a candy wrapper

Suggested donation: $20

Our programs are open to the community, and tailored to meet the needs of people affected by cancer. Classes and workshops are free or low cost on a pay-as-you-can basis, ensuring that our programs are accessible to everyone.

About Deborah Coffey

Deborah Coffey, BFA MFA, is an artist, certified art educator and mindfulness and Mindful Self-Compassion instructor. She has taught art and mindfulness courses domestically and internationally for many years while also exhibiting her artwork. Deborah especially enjoys facilitating programs for adults and teens that combine mindfulness and art.