Wednesday morning creative workshops for well-being!

Beginning in September 2023 I will be facilitating creative well-being workshops.

Wednesday mornings 10 – 12

Myross Wood House, Leap, Co Cork

Starting September 6^th.

A series of creative workshops using art materials, creative writing, playful interventions and found objects both in the studio, and outside in nature in the beautiful grounds and Myross woodland.

The course is designed to take us on a journey of self-discovery to reconnect with ourselves, and what we truly want.  The workshops provide tools for fuller enjoyment of life, and it is recommended to keep a journal for the duration of the course.

Each week will have a focus, and workshops will begin with an art directive, which I will introduce and explain.  These will include:

Mandala, your personal mandala starting point, where am I now in relation to where I want to be.

Finding balance.

Creative writing and story telling – where have I been, history, memoir, what may be holding me back.

Shadow work, masks puppets, print.  What lies behind or what is not seen or seen in reverse.

Making of a personal amulet, talisman, to remember and protect.

I will supply basic art materials, but please bring your favourites if you have them.

Some sessions will be held outside in nature; reconnecting, gathering – making a new story out of what I discover.

The course is experiential and hopefully surprising in a good way.  Participants need to be open to process as there is an emphasis on sharing, collaboration and fun.

It will be a small group and we will agree on the guidelines so everyone is encouraged and supported to express themselves.

No previous art experience necessary, all welcome!

Contact Marika for further details

Marika O’sullivan IShom BAVA MAAT

marikaenam@gmail.com    

Starting 20th January in Ballydehob, a new Thrive course.

THRIVE is an art therapy based course consisting of 7 workshops over 7 weeks which will focus on creative connection in the community. The workshops will mainly held in my studio and also in An Sanctoir, the beautiful nature reserve and centre.  Small group so early booking advised.

No previous experience necessary – the course will help you find and re-awaken your creative spark with art practices that combine different disciplines and media.
You will rediscover how natural it is to create, and how words, sounds, music and nature can fill you with inspiration. We will use mindful techniques to focus on our inner selves and then with creative writing and story telling, will dialogue with the materials and artwork to gain meaningful insights into the context of our life.
During the course you will experience how art can help you transform blockages, stressful emotions or anxiety into opportunities for change.
Please contact Marika for more information.
tel. 086 150 8280
marikaenam@gmail.com

Bluebell from The Lost Words by You Are Wolf

I had to share this wonderful song with illustrations by Jacki Morris.  The album was made to compliment a wonderful book by nature writer Robert Mac Farlane, who discovered when looking at a recent collins children’s dictionary that words were missing.  These words included acorn, adder, bluebell and bramble, conker, dandelion, heather and wren.  MacFarlane decided to write a book of ‘spells’ with beautiful imagery by Morris to re-enchant children to the wonders and beauty of the creatures and plants that somehow have been omitted from the dictionary.

A series of art therapy workshops starting in June and held in West Cork which are designed for self knowledge using creative and art techniques and enable us to Thrive in these challenging times.

For information please contact me on 086 150 8280

Private sessions are also available.

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The workshops are for everyone, but will be run for teenagers and young people in the afternoon/evenings and for adults in the mornings.

I just watched this video of a Ted talk about play therapy with traumatised children.  Although I am not a trained play therapist, I use toys and the essence of play in my art therapy practice with all children, adolescents, and adults.  I see play as the key to allowing ourselves to relax and be in touch with our true natures, through building trusting safe relationships leading to improved resilience and ability to lead a healthy happy life.   As Paris says in the Ted talk, before we can play we have to feel safe and secure  – a basic need according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

See Paris’s Ted Talk: Trauma & Play Therapy: Holding Hard Stories

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.