Manzanita Mozaics, LLC

01/07/2019

08/15/2018

Feel fortunate to be presenting with Topaz Weis at this event in October.

ROW NYC700 8th Avenue • New York, NY$229/single • $259/double212-869-3600Code: Expressive Therapies SummitDiscount Deadline • September 10

07/03/2018

Power of expressive arts

07/02/2018

In acknowledging the reality of death, our own transience, as perhaps no other creature can, we are awakened to the preciousness of life. –Mary Reynolds Thompson
It seems remarkable that one year has passed since the death of my stepmom. Nothing brings me face to face with the reality of death faster than remembering the moments when I have taken care of someone as they were dying. One moment you are laughing and playing cards, the next moment, you are feeding, bathing, and dressing this person who was laughing and playing cards with you because they do not have the capacity to do it for themselves. When I reflect on this, I am awakened to the fact that we have no idea how long we have on this planet, and this highlights the preciousness of life. Every single moment is precious, and yet we can become bogged down with the fussiness of life—what someone said to whom and who do they think they are to say such things in the first place. I know because it was these preoccupations with the fussiness of life by both my stepmom and me that kept us estranged for the seven years prior to her receiving the diagnosis of ALS. It is true that we were able to make amends, and I cared for her at the end of her life. But part of my grief upon her death was realizing that my stubbornness kept me from enjoying her in all of her quirkiness during those seven years of estrangement. At this one year anniversary of her death, it is important for me to remember the preciousness of her life, the preciousness of each of our lives, and to extend love and care to all of the precious lives that bless me with their presence.

05/18/2018

Process over Product
"Great art . . . needs technical expertise as well as unchecked creativity, passion, and expression. Great art seems to be created through a person. Somehow one’s ego, self-consciousness, and expectations must be released before the piece is completed. . . .
When my oldest daughter was three, she would sit and paint for long periods of time in my studio as I painted. I was thrilled with her work . . . and I told her so. I praised her extravagantly, hoping to encourage her. I would say, “Oh, you really are a great artist!” and things of that sort. As soon as I would begin this personal praise, . . . her work would become sloppy or careless or she’d just get up and leave. Clearly my praise was having an unintended and very undesirable effect on her. I was making her self-conscious and distracting her from her discoveries. She began to turn to me for praise and approval, and the possibility of self-doubt was introduced. . . . It didn’t take long to redirect her focus back to her work, once I stopped praising her and addressed my comments to what was on the page. Understanding and discovery are their own rewards.
Being unself-conscious and being willing to lose oneself in the work is vital for a child and an artist. . . . How can we free [ourselves] to learn and have the experience of creating art? As a parent and art teacher, I find that the more [we] can focus on the immediate artwork at hand, the more satisfying the experience becomes. By not emphasizing a product, and by focusing on process instead, the work becomes more successful as well. The more [we are] able to reach a state of awareness in which [our] self-consciousness disappears into the desire to participate and see what [we] are trying to express, the more the art can reach [us].
-Barbara Coleman

05/04/2018

Encourage creative expression that resides in all of us.

04/17/2018

IEATA Conference is a wonderful place to engage in creative expression. Consider submitting a proposal or attending!

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The arts are greatly needed in today's global culture!!