What are you working on in your art journal this month? About the Author Kara Ashley-Gilmore believes in the use of our innate creativity for our wellness and healing. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Registered & Board Certified Art Therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and a mixed-media artist at Mountain Creative Arts Counseling, PLLC, in Hendersonville, NC. She…
Category: Self-Care
Breathing Through Hard Emotions with Water-Soluble Media
Breathing Through Hard Emotions with Water-Soluble Media: Notice where you feel the emotion in your body. Draw the emotion using lines and scribbles. Notice what’s shifted in your body. Use a wet paint brush to soften the lines of your drawing as you slowly exhale. Notice where feels even the tiniest bit more open. Feel the openness as you continue…
Imagination
“Our imagination is the most important faculty we possess. It can be our greatest resource or our most formidable adversary. It is through our imagination that we discern possibilities and options. Yet imagination is no mere blank slate on which we simply inscribe our will. Rather, imagination is the deepest voice of the soul and can be heard clearly only…
Types of Paper
Building an at-home art therapy kit? Looking for a new sketchbook? There’s a variety of options out there. Here’s a guide for choosing the best paper for the types of mediums you’re interested in working with. About the Author Kara Ashley-Gilmore believes in the use of our innate creativity for our wellness and healing. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental…
Slow Down
May we all find ways to slow down and re-discover our path. About the Author Kara Ashley-Gilmore believes in the use of our innate creativity for our wellness and healing. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Registered & Board Certified Art Therapist, Provisional Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and a mixed-media artist at Mountain Creative Arts Counseling, in Hendersonville, NC.…
Embodied Art
I think it would be interesting to study whether there’s a connection between different personality types and the art materials we are drawn towards in different emotional states. When do you move towards comfort, and when do you want a challenge? Can we give ourselves permission to use the material we are craving versus the material we’ve grown accustomed to?…
Hobbies not Hustles
I recognize that there’s a larger systemic issue at play here. These side hustles keep the lights on and food on the table. But imagine if we felt the freedom to play with our art without wondering whether it will sell, or if our audience will like it. What risks would we be willing to take? What ideas would we…
For Pleasure
…just for the pleasure of it. About the Author Kara Ashley-Gilmore believes in the use of our innate creativity for our wellness and healing. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Registered Art Therapist, Provisional Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and a mixed-media artist at Mountain Creative Arts Counseling, in Hendersonville, NC. She provides individual and group psychotherapy with individuals who…
Fifty-Four Percent
According to the National Endowment for the Arts’s 2017 “Survey of Public Participation in the Arts,” 54% of adults 18+ created or performed art that year. That’s 133 million adults! Let’s normalize adults making art just for fun! About the Author Kara Ashley-Gilmore believes in the use of our innate creativity for our wellness and healing. She is a Licensed…