Maryland Nonprofits feature Kits to Heart and Art for Wellness Groups

It is a pleasure to see Maryland Nonprofits highlight Kits to Heart and its mission. I am very excited that they noted the Art for Cancer Wellness groups that we have been doing for nearly a year now, and I am happy to be a part of this organization. This Spring I am facilitating two patient groups - one focusing on mandalas and the other focusing on SoulCollage - both of which have completed their first groups for this workshop cycle. I truly enjoy working with these participants and am glad to see what they are gaining from exploring things differently through artwork.

"In 2022, Kits to Heart also launched its innovative virtual art therapy program, Art for Cancer Wellness, which offers free, virtual art workshops for patients, caregivers, survivors, and healthcare workers. Participants are guided to explore a theme designed to explore feelings, increase self-expression, foster hope and strengths, identify coping skills, and engage in mindfulness and grounding.

Kits to Heart also provides​ free, virtual Art Hive sessions open to anyone in our community. These drop-in sessions are guided by one of its ​art therapists, with the focus of the session on community art-making in a shared, safe space.

Since kicking off the program with a four-week trial ​program in 2022, Kits to Heart has served more than 130 participants from 25 ​states. By the end of 2022, they had provided 90 free virtual workshops—that is more than 125 hours!"

https://www.marylandnonprofits.org/member-spotlight-kits-to-heart

The Art of the Unplug by Gratitude Addict Lauren Zalewski

Thank you so much, Lauren Zalewski, for sharing your journey in using art in a mindful way to find greater joy and wellness!  It warms my heart to see you discover how art works for you in some of the most unexpected ways!  Thank you also for sharing with so many other people who can benefit from engaging in many art forms for themselves for their own well-being.

#art #mindfulness #artforwellness

Read her post and blog post from the link below!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My latest piece on how my unexpected week-long vacation turned into a STAYcation and the profound GRATITUDE-boosting and mindful week I had when I decided to UNPLUG!

Thank you Lacy Mucklow, MA, ATR-BC, LPAT-S, LCPAT, ATCS for blessing me and my group with incredibly healing advice on using art for mindfulness and emotional wellness! Your words have resonated deeply with me and so many others!

Enjoy!

“THE ART OF THE UNPLUG” – FINDING GRATITUDE ON MY WEEK LONG “STAYCATION!”

An excerpt from her post (thanks for the mention!):

Ironically, the week prior to this vacation, I interviewed a famous art therapist and author on my live broadcast, “Gratefully Living the Chronic Life.”  Lacy Mucklow is a New York Times bestselling author and has put out numerous adult coloring books, one of them entitled, “Be Grateful and Color.”  She was an incredible guest who shared with us for the hour about how we can use art for healing.  Her underlying message was that art is personal, there is no right or wrong way to do it, and it is an incredibly mindful and healing tool we can all use in our lives.  She talked about overcoming our fear of doing something “wrong” and not holding back.  Her message really resonated with me and made me want to paint even more.

Read the entire story here:

https://www.gratitudeaddict.com/the-art-of-the-unplug-finding-gratitude-on-my-week-long-staycation/