AP Eco-Art. Connecting Circles of Care.

CATA/ACAT Journal Cover Art. Gratitude Eco-Art and Reflections. 2025.

Canadian Journal of art therapy 2025, Vol. 38, no. 1, 3–10 https://doi.org/10.1080/26907240.2025.2515684

Excited to share that my eco-art mandala was selected as cover art for an issue of the Canadian Art Therapy Journal in 2025

“Titled ‘Connecting Circles of Care’ - this reflective eco-art piece was created a few days after the CATA conference in September through the lens of gratitude. Tapping into my felt-sense, I reflected upon our gathering in community to co-learn, create and share stories and wisdom from a place of allyship, inclusion and care. This photograph documents the elements I designed-with in my process and captures my practice as a moment in time.”

— Retrieved from the Canadian Journal of art therapy 2025, Vol. 38, no. 1, 3–10 • artist bio.

“My meditative ecological-art practice (that includes hundreds of nature creations) has encouraged me to be more responsive and less reactive to experiences of loss and trauma through gentle gestures of connection to self and others. In my daily practice I share, witness and reflect upon grief, hardship, gratitude and/or complex celebrations, as in this piece.”

— Retrieved from the Canadian Journal of art therapy 2025, Vol. 38, no. 1, 3–10 • artist bio.

✿ Mandala History * it is incredibly important to honour and reference the cultural origins of the images and approaches we use.

Woven throughout this post are banner images, created with the hope that someday I’ll be able to fully showcase—through a photographic display—the hundreds of nature-inspired pieces I’ve had the privilege to create, each one part of a powerful journey of hope, growth, and discovery.

“My multi-sensory process allows me to honour the sources of care I feel in my holding environment, both individually and with my art therapy peers, students and clients. Honouring nature and indigenous ways of being, through knowledge of mindful harvesting, and active witnessing of time-based change and transformations impact my spirit in visual hands-on research. ”

— Retrieved from the Canadian Journal of art therapy 2025, Vol. 38, no. 1, 3–10 • artist bio.

“Engaging my older clients through nature and eco-art group processes in long-term care, has enabled many to become active participants in meaning-based creativity (physical, cognitive and language barriers notwithstanding). Through familiar and tangible grounding materials that nurture their interests, their choice, their capabilities, body memories and reminiscence; all engage sensory processes that bypass deficits and help to retrieve strengths. I aim to support caring co-regulation, while centering nature with respect as complex subject, object and source.”

— Retrieved from the Canadian Journal of art therapy 2025, Vol. 38, no. 1, 3–10 • artist bio.

“My eco-art creation also reflects the joy of collaboration with art therapist, Susan Beniston. Our shared alignments have been given an opportunity to grow within the frameworks of discovery and relational learning through facilitating the Nuit Blanche Art Installation in 2022, OATA’s Nature of Wellbeing Art Therapy Retreat in 2023, TATI eco-art workshops and most recent our workshop-presentation, Nuit Blanche Inspirations: Inclusive Spaces for Change, Embodied Public Practice at the CATA Conference: Navigating Together, Creating Inclusive Spaces: Celebrating Change Through Art Therapy in 2024.”

— Retrieved from the Canadian Journal of art therapy 2025, Vol. 38, no. 1, 3–10 • artist bio.

“This special issue opens with and is grounded by a meditative, multimedia eco-art therapy piece, Connecting Circles of Care (Penny, 2025). Aligned with the theme of this issue, Penny’s artist statement and artwork embody how attuned, relational, mindful, and land-based approaches foster inclusive and transformative change in art therapy. In her practice, Penny witnesses and shares experiences of “grief, hardship, gratitude and/or complex celebrations.” Throughout the conference, she gifted small postcard photographs and nature-based mandala artworks to those who moved and inspired her. Beniston and Penny’s workshop, illustrated in Figure 5, further documents creative approaches to col- lective healing.”

— Retrieved from Canadian Journal of art therapy 2025, Vol. 38, no. 1, 3–10 • Editorial

♡ I am landing in such a place of gratitude that my eco-art was shared in the journal, and the gentle nudge from Susan to be involved in the conference, to attend and present at a time when my life was incredibly intense and emotionally draining. A friend recently stated that for her “2024 was MAJOR?!”… I agree. Full stop (2023 through 2025 was MAJOR! ). However, always amazing moments and connections along the way!! And to share my eco-art like this with the Canadian art therapy community and now here… truly amazing!

♡ Sharing and “gifting back” brings me great joy, and it’s my hope that the creative nature prompts on my website—some of which are sampled below—serve that very purpose, if they encourage exploration and mindful moments for you!