A New Creative Adventure is About to Begin!

In just one week, this year’s 6 Degrees of Creativity online art offerings begin!

We are super looking forward to beginning this new creative adventure:

Dye Another Day: An Exercise in Using Nature and Art for Self Care | Sheila Lorenzo

Sheila Lorenzo introduces us to the exciting process of using plants and natural finds for paper dying fun.  A great technique to help us slow down, trust the process, and become creatively connected to nature for our own well-being.

Imagination Unearthed! Hidden Creativity Scavenger Hunt Challenge | Gretchen Miller

In this virtual scavenger hunt I’ll be offering, participants are challenged to discover the unseen creativity around us as a fun opportunity to take time out and see what surrounds us through this creative lens.

Reduce, Reuse, Reaffirm | Rachel Mims

Rachel Mims show us a variety of creative ways to re-purpose and recycle household items for creating mail art and offers participants the opportunity to exchange what they’ve made with one another!

Soulful Silhouettes | Heather Randazzo

Heather Randazzo thoughtfully combines the creative process with mind & body connection through this yoga and meditation inspired offering.

It’s wonderful to see the creative energy in this line up ready for launching soon!  We look forward to seeing what these offerings will inspire among the community of participants throughout the rest of this year!

Visit this page to learn more about each workshop and how to join us-  The creative goodness begins July 1! 🙂

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Announcing: 6 Degrees of Creativity 2015 Workshops Are Coming!

6 Degrees of Creativity’s online workshop offerings unite concepts of social networking, connecting, collaboration, art making, and creativity into a community of artists exploring transformation and creative goodness. It is a self guided 6 month virtual experience running from July – December 2015 that includes a collection of inspiring offerings, designed by a group of instructors from the art therapy community.

The basic foundation of 6 Degrees of Creativity empowers the idea that we are all closely connected in some way and believe in the potential to make a difference through the power of art and creativity in our own lives, relationships, communities, and world. 6 Degrees of Creativity instructors, who are all active and engaged in their own art-making practice, will offer creative expression to explore and empower these themes.

Participants will be able to choose what offerings they will engage in from the content they receive and this year’s 6 Degrees of Creativity offering will include a private online Facebook community to share, discuss ideas, post workshop art, and deepen connection around workshop themes.

Get ready for a new wave of creative goodness!

Workshop offerings will be announced very soon, but until then get to know this year’s Instructors:

Sheila Lorenzo– Art therapist, artist, art educator, photographer and a lover of nature. Currently a doctoral candidate at FSU and employed full time working with clients who are chronically mentally ill in a forensic setting.

“I am a believer in dabbling in the visual arts and playing with the materials for self-expression and mindful contemplation.  Coming from a traditional visual arts background I know just how intimidating the visual arts can be.  I also know how important it is to cut-loose and get down to basics for the sake of self-nurturance and developing career resiliency.  For personal exploration and nurturance, I turn to expression through mandalas.  For a faster art “fix” I turn to mixed media in visual journaling and ATC cards; using whatever is near to make the expression concrete.  My most recent creative endeavor is my commitment to daily creations for participation in #creativedeed365.”

Where to find Sheila’s art and creative work:

• Mandala Exchange- Collaborative blog amongst 3 mandala loving contributors.
• Symbolic Projections
• Instagram

Gretchen Miller is a Registered Board Certified Art Therapist who practices in Cleveland, Ohio specializing in youth, women, and families impacted by trauma, homelessness, domestic violence, and grief & loss.   She is the Community Organizer for the Art Therapy Alliance, helping to promote art therapy, the work of art therapists, and build community through the use of social media.  In 2011 she also created 6 Degrees of Creativity, uniting concepts of social networking, connection, and collaboration into an online community of artists exploring creative goodness.  In her own creative practice Gretchen enjoys finding inspiration, creating positive energy, fostering self-care, and discovering transformation through working with mixed media, painting, collage, altered art, handmade books, and organizing art exchanges. Her blog Creativity in Motion frequently highlights her art, interests, and creative activity.

Rachel Mims is a mixed media artist and art therapist living in Waco, Texas. She has been making art all of her life, but her art took on new meaning while she was on active duty in the U.S. Army. In 2009, while stationed in Suwon, South Korea, Rachel had hip surgery. Her recovery did not go as planned and she used art to help her through this difficult time. This experienced led Rachel to have a desire to utilize art to help other military members and veterans. Rachel loves art journaling and creating and exchanging mail art. She is currently serving as the Veteran’s Counselor for Texas State Technical College and provides art therapy and mental health counseling services to student veterans and dependents.

• Rachel’s Blog
• You can also connect with Rachel as mimsrachel on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram

Heather Randazzo is a Board Certified and Registered Art Therapist, and a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the Chicagoland area. She is a Mixed Media Artist, Art Therapist, Supervisor and Educator dedicated to having a positive impact on community. Heather serves on Executive Boards including the Illinois Art Therapy Association Board as Director and Treasurer. She enjoys providing a space to create through her studio classes and creative workshops at Suncrest Studios in Bolingbrook, Illinois and in collaboration with a variety of practitioners. As a general out-patient therapist for more than fifteen years, Heather enjoys helping adults, couples and families, children and teens.

Check out examples of Heather’s art and creative work at:

• Fine Art America
• Suncrest Studios on Facebook

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Workshop reveals and how to register will be posted soon!  Stay connected to this blog or 6 Degrees of Creativity on Facebook to be alerted of this announcement!

Get Connected to the Instructors of 6 Degrees of Creativity 2!

Over at 6 Degrees of Creativity 2’s online community, workshops are beginning to wind down and will be finished at the end of this month.  It’s been a great (and fast!) six months full of art-making, creative ideas, and meaningful connection in this virtual space.

Many thanks to all the community members who participated in this round!  And many, many thanks especially to the Instructors of 6 Degrees of Creativity 2 who offered a great line-up of workshops, encouragement, and inspiration: Hannah, Sara, Magdalena, Kelly, and Fiona.

Get connected to their creative energy, work, and more online here:

• Hannah Klaus Hunter
• Sara Roizen
• Magdalena Karlick
• Kelly Darke
• Fiona Fitzpatrick

6 Degrees of Creativity 2 Workshop Reveal!

Announcing: The workshop line up for 6 Degrees of Creativity 2!

The next round of 6 Degrees of Creativity will start July 1, 2012 until December 31, 2012.  On sale April 1-June 30, 2012 here. | All 6 workshops are only $49.00 (USD):

Stitch Therapy:  Fiber Art Painting
This workshop explores using fiber art as a method for personal awareness and healing. Let me show you my process and techniques for creating a fiber art painting using new and recycled materials to create order from chaos and put together scraps and bits of everyday life. This workshop will explore themes of repairing & layering – slowing down, enjoying to relax and engaging in a meditative process to feel the materials and hear them as you pierce the fabric with a needle and pull thread through. Through this process you will be invited to take time, listen, and feel. Instructor: Kelly Darke.

The Altered Image: Hands-On Photo Manipulation                                                    This fun and inspiring workshop will show you how to change the surface of a photo by hand, rather than with technology.  Steal yourself away from your computer and come home to your art table! Through a guided process you will learn how to use simple art materials to alter a photo by changing the content of the image. This technique has lots of potential and can be applied to photos that are used within paintings, drawings and visual journals. It’s a great process for personal reflection, as well as for use in therapeutic settings.  Instructor: Fiona Fitzpatrick. 

Still Point in a Changing World: Creating a Mindful Studio Practice                      Many of us long for regular studio time…but find our lives too frantic to create it. Words like compassion, kindness, gratitude and awe can sound theoretical at best. This workshop will focus on creating a daily art-making practice:

• Connect and commit to your true artist self
• Identify your personal strengths and strategies
• Create a flexible working plan

Through a combination of themes and prompts, we’ll embark on a 21-day commitment, cultivate a feeling of positive and playful engagement and create an art-making practice within the safe community of 6 Degrees of Creativity. Instructor: Hannah Klaus Hunter. 

Journey Shoes                                                                                                                   We have walked in many shoes, witnessed others on many paths, and have wished for paths to form for ourselves, loved ones, and social and global issues.  This project encourages exploration of a journey or two of choice, either imagined or experienced. Through altering one’s own shoes, or used shoes from a Salvation Army-type store, participants will weave, cut, paint, plaster, and glue symbols and expressions of these journeys onto and with these shoes. Instructor: Magdalena Karlick.  

Creative Goodness with Gluebooks                                                                             This workshop invites participants to learn about the creative goodness of gluebooks! Gluebooks combine art journaling and collage: all you need is a book/journal, some glue, and stuff to glue. Participants will be introduced to simple, yet unique ways that gluebooks can be created with repurposed materials. This workshop also includes an exchange organized by Gretchen of gluebook pages created by participants of the 6 Degrees of Creativity community, a paper stash swap, collage sheets to download/print for gluing inspiration, and fun ways to develop, collect, and use your paper stash! Instructor: Gretchen Miller.  

Feeling Your Art: Exploring Texture and Process                                                   When was the last time you gave yourself complete permission to simply play with art materials and get lost in the exploration process? Textural art naturally entices viewers and artists alike and invites interaction and spontaneity. In this workshop you will be introduced to a variety of techniques for creating texture in your art using acrylic mediums, modeling pastes, gels, and palette knives. You will create textural ‘playgrounds’ for your paint to travel through with the layering of textures, colors, found objects, and any other materials that inspire you. The experimentation process with texture will be framed by suggested ideas and directives that are designed to delight and inspire the eternal child within you. In this workshop, the process and play drive the work of art. Instructor: Sara Roizen.

Learn more about the Instructors here.

Registration Information.

Questions?   E-mail 6 Degrees of Creativity Organizer Gretchen Miller at 6degreesofcreativity@arttherapyalliance.org

6 Degrees of Creativity 2 Announced! Meet the Instructors!

Woo hoo!  Get ready for another round of 6 Degrees of Creativity!

6 Degrees of Creativity is inspired by the “Six Degrees of Separation” concept that each of us, no matter where we live in the world are only about six relationships away from one another, as well as embraces the power of social networking, the arts, and interactive creativity to make a difference through art-making, creative goodness, and community.

6 Degrees of Creativityis an on-line art offering and community that includes 6 different workshops, offered by a group of 6 inspiring instructors from the art therapy community to explore hands-on art making concepts, techniques, and creative ideas related to transformation, collaboration, and using art for good.Because 6 Degrees of Creativity will be offered in a virtual space, this offering can be done at your own pace. You can participate from anywhere in the world, anytime, and on your schedule, whether it is on your laptop, tablet, desktop, or even on the go via your mobile device!

Workshop content will include PDFs, video tutorials, written instruction, photos, art sharing, and on-line chats that will be available within the 6 Degrees of Creativity community. 6  Degrees of Creativity’s social networking component will further enhance the sharing of creative goodness among participants, offering opportunities for discussion & idea exchanging, as well as deepen connection.

The next round of 6 Degreess of Creativity will start July 1, 2012 until December 31, 2012.  6 Degrees of Creativity 2 goes on sale April 1 until June 30, 2012 at the low price of $49.00 USD.  Save the date and spread the word!

It’s exciting to announce these 6 Degrees of Creativity 2 Instructors:

Kelly Darke attended Parsons School of Design after high school where she completed the first year core classes before deciding to move back to Michigan and attend Wayne State University where she graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts with concentrations in painting and metals. Kelly later returned to Wayne State University to complete a masters degree in Art Education for Art Therapy as well receiving a K-12 art education certificate. Kelly now works as an art therapist in Westland, Michigan as well as a professional artist, combining her passion for fine art and art therapy into her current work. Kelly also works in collaboration with her brother / artist Colin Darke on group projects that have most recently been shown at LaFontsee Gallery during Art Prize 2010, as well as regularly showing her work in galleries. For more about Kelly’s work, please visit her website and blog.

Hannah Klaus Hunter, art therapist for the UC Davis Children’s Hospital, holds a B.A. in Studio Art from the University of Iowa, an M.F.A. from California College of the Arts and a Post-Master’s Certificate in Art Therapy from UC Berkeley. She specializes in children and young adults impacted by chronic illness, grief and loss, drawing inspiration and regeneration from her studio practice in watercolor, quilting and collage. Hannah shares her reflections on art making in and out of the studio on her blog here.

Fiona Fitzpatrick has worked as a registered Art Psychotherapist for the past 12 years in Sydney, Australia. She is passionate about the power of art therapy to help people explore and work through issues of concern.  Her particular interest is in working with cancer patients and their families.  Alongside her clinical work, Fiona also teaches popular one day courses in both Art Therapy and Visual Journaling through Sydney University.  She has used image making and writing within a journal format for many years.   Fiona is really looking forward to bringing a sense of fun, encouragement and possibility to the 6 Degrees of Creativity community.

Magdalena Karlick graduated from New York University with a BA in Community Learning and Development and received her Masters in Art Therapy at Southwestern College. Magdalena is an Art Therapist in Santa Fe, New Mexico working with families, children, and teens, many of whom are court ordered. At Southwestern College Magdalena has multiple roles; she is the assistant to Southwestern’s Art Therapy Director, an adjunct faculty member teaching Current Trends in Art Therapy, and created and moderates SWC’s online Art Gallery blog.  Magdalena is also co-creator of Spaces & Places: Where We Create, an art therapy community photo documentary project.  An active and dynamic visual artist as well, Magdalena creates works ranging from deeply layered multi-media paintings, jewelry, to sand tray figurines. She really enjoys black ink pen the best though, using an unconscious journey with her hand, pen and paper, always leading to interesting messages shown through animals and imaginal landscapes.

Gretchen Miller is a Registered Board Certified Art Therapist and who practices in Cleveland, Ohio specializing in youth, women, and families impacted by trauma, domestic violence, and grief & loss. Gretchen is a community organizer for The Art Therapy Alliance and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Art Therapy Without Borders. In her own art and creative process, Gretchen enjoys finding inspiration, creating energy, and discovering transformation through working with mixed media, painting, collage, altered art, creating handmade books, organizing art exchanges, and collaborations. Her blog Creativity in Motion frequently highlights her art , interests, and creative activity.

Sara Roizen is an artist and art therapist living and working in New York City. She holds a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Masters in Art Therapy and Creativity Development from Pratt Institute. Most recently, Sara has focused her art therapy work with adults living with HIV/AIDS, substance use, and mental health issues. Sara’s personal artwork draws inspiration from the natural world and the organic process of art-making. Her current mediums of choice are acrylics, watercolor, ink, modeling pastes, and found objects. Sara shares her insights on art therapy, personal art making, mental health, mindfulness, and spirituality on her blog www.ArtTherapySpot.com and some of her current art work can be seen at www.sararoizen.com.

The six workshops included in 6 Degrees of Creativity 2 will be announced here on March 12, so stayed tuned/subscribe to this blog to be alerted to more details and creative goodness coming soon!

Questions?  E-mail 6degreesofcreativity@arttherapyalliance.org