As Mom celebrates another year, that we were not expecting to have together, I thought “let’s share this story with my creative community, and maybe encourage or inspire others to explore ways to create legacy art with their loved ones if they are able.”

…“For me, everything starts with a sketch. There’s always a story to tell and you never quite know how it’s going to end. I love the immediacy of graphite, charcoal and pastel. I love the handiness of watercolours, and the power of ink and acrylic media. All those pigments have history and chemistry. They make music for the eyes.”

The TATI and OATA community members gathered together for the first hybrid art hive at the beautiful new TATI location with the theme: Mending, Weaving and Repair.

Sharing eco-art and earth sculptures created in community on Monday September 30th for Truth and Reconciliation Day. Moments spent in reflection on this important day and in response to the natural materials.

Sharing in this post powerful poetry and artwork by Luke Gustafson created this year during his training at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute.

Sharing an engaging community project co-facilitated by Art Therapist Aldona Morrison. at Headwaters Health Care Centre in Orangeville for the month of November to honour National Grief and Bereavement Day and Children's Grief Awareness Day.

…”Armatures are literally the backbone of what I gravitate to as a creator. Whether it’s static or animated, three inches or three metres, every creation starts with an armature. Some artists doodle on paper. I doodle with wire.”

This post shares the origin story of the ‘Supportive Hands’ painting - an art therapy project with my wonderful LTC team in 2013 that later inspired and planted the seeds for the larger resident-focused community LTC Supportive Hands Mandala in 2015, and many other smaller ‘supportive hands’ projects in the years to follow.

The hand is our signature, our symbol and our legacy. It is easily accessible to use as creative inspiration and for personal mark-making. In this post I am sharing snapshots of nine of these supportive-hands projects that I have facilitated over the years in various long-term care and retirement settings.

For the longest time now I’ve have been so fortunate. When I least expect it, but always need it, a heart appears. Any time of day, any place. There it is.

Thanks to my personal growth journey, I was led to the knowledge and tools that I share with others in my professional life. Early on my path, I did not identify as a creative person, however, overtime I have come to realize that not only am I a highly creative individual, we all are! Life is a courageous act of creating, choosing, and becoming in each and every moment. HeartArt was unexpectedly birthed during this process.

…”I am and have always been a poet. I was a poet before I even knew I was. Poetry has enveloped me and invited me to see, explore and make meaning of the world. It has moved me closer to myself”.

…”After twenty five plus years working as a creative globally, my daughter and I chose to set down roots in Nova Scotia …..A place that you can still try out whatever you dream up. I started a film and art school in Mahone Bay with the directive of creating an environment where creativity could thrive”.

“As an eco-conscious art therapist, I always want to be mindful of the impact I have on the Earth as an artist – and I’m sure you do too! I’d like to introduce you to two potential ways of respectfully processing your old pieces of artwork without contributing to the destruction of the natural world”. - Taylor

Independent Art Project for Nuit Blanche 2022.
Susan chose the idea of drawing breath in artful ways, because it is fully accessible to anyone who chooses to engage. This project is experiential; designed to be fully inclusive, intergenerational, and cross-cultural. Open to ALL ages/all abilities. Anyone who wants to participate has the opportunity.

It can be incredibly meaningful to take a pause to capture our state of being, and at times imperative to remind ourselves of who we are in a particular moment - connecting and reflecting upon the succint yet powerful words of “I Am”!!

Sharing with permission artwork and introduction to the poetic inquiry by Dr. Fyre Jean Graveline who was our keynote speaker at the 2021 Canadian Art Therapy Association’s Conference in November ‘Emergence’, and my response art to her powerful keynote presentation ‘When I Heard the Recent Horrific News’

“I created a Resource Handbook for my Major Project at TATI because it was a niche of research that inspired me, as I’m passionate about supporting the success of others in my profession”. - Ally

“This resource book is reflexive, and invites a curiosity in the reader: hopefully some of what you read here will encourage you to create your own invitations and explore new ways of being creative”. - Taylor

Sharing a listing of Stories, Story Tellers , Creators and Contributors to the AP Connections Blog.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I started a brief gratitude project using images. I have continued this gratitude practice daily, through writing and mindfulness in nature. I decided that it would be helpful to introduce a self-compassion and self-love practice into my daily life because I had noticed a significant change in my outlook while practicing gratitude.

Painting my daily experiences among the trees created meaning and purpose when life felt confusing, overwhelming, and uncertain. They supported me and helped light the way when the path forward was unclear - Tania

“This series of zines are created from our positions as racialized practitioners in the creative arts therapies. It comes from a process of putting together words and images that are meaningful to us, in conversations, poetry and collages. It is rooted in our experiences of accessing therapy or mental health support”.

Sharing in this post heart creations and response art shared by a variety of artists that are beautifully expressed using different approaches, materials and creative intentions.

Found and Formed Heart Art! There are so many ways to engage creatively and mindfully with the heart image around the theme of love and gratitude.

Just an invitation to connect with the heart image this month. The heart shape is such a simple yet powerful image and universal symbol. Themes such as gratitude, love, loss or sadness can be contemplated, explored and meditated upon … through ‘noticing’ heart forms in your home… out in nature… through creating heart related artwork, writing, assemblage or found art and personal narratives…

Before the world turned upside down with the Pandemic, Jenny and I had celebrated a wonderful collaboration of over 10 years, designing and facilitating a creative community gathering for sensory engagement for older adults struggling with cognitive decline. We wove various types of stimulating experiences and activities within the weekly group format at our long-term care setting.

…”One serendipitous day in June 2013, I stumbled across a creative method that would change my life. Aimlessly scrolling through the latest submissions in a Facebook photo a day group, an image of one member’s in-progress black pen drawing caught my eye. More than merely a simple doodle, something about the beauty and complexity of its design appealed to me, and I knew I had to investigate this intriguing artform for myself”.

Shara continues to design and facilitate meaningful community projects for McNally Hospice and shares her most recent community art therapy legacy piece titled: ‘Message in a Bottle’ on display at the Grimbsy Public Art Gallery this month.

As Summer blends into Autumn I thought a post sharing some beautiful summer skies would make those memories linger, and encourage a pause as we celebrate nature and the glorious change of seasons.