Looking forward to my first workshop at Abitza Wellness Cafe, a bright and cosy cafe opposite Upwey station. Along with super-fresh and healthy food, Abitza offers a wellness library, a range of handmade jewelry and an extensive essential oils collection. There's also a nice outdoor courtyard.'Calm, Reflect, Create' is one of the many workshops, courses and community meets on offer at Abitza wellness cafe.

After becoming interested in working in the area of PTSD, Caroline has taken a role at ANVAM, and organisation with supports veterans and their families by providing arts programs designed to help with issues of identity, disability and re-integration into civilian life. The role of Arts Program Coordinator involves developing and executing programs, as well as assisting with administration and exhibitions.

Image: OFFICER CADET 2015, Quilted fabric by Lucy Carroll​

Grounding in Objects invites you to explore your relationship with objects for wellness. There will be opportunities for mindful reflection, arts-based responses and group interaction. Please bring along an object that holds personal meaning. The group is co-facilitated by qualified art therapists committed to supporting personal discovery and self-expression. All adults welcome, no skill required.

Facilitators are Qualified ArtsTherapists: Tricia Ang, Sue Guzick and Negin Sadeghian

Use the VIA character strength cards participants created a mandala from their reflections about strengths.

'I found this relaxing.....the flowers represent perseverance...flowers survive despite all types of weather in nature'

- participant comment from Session 7 of 'Artful'

Tailored to the needs of each group, the workshops use art processes for relaxation/fun, reflection on individual strengths and team building through a shared experience. On and off-site options available. Get in touch to find out more about what Vivid can do for your next corporate event!

Use the VIA character strength cards participants explored art materials while reflecting on their strengths. Later they went 'shopping' external resources - inspiration, fun and nurturing. They completed a finished piece which combined their strengths and their resources.

'Really enjoyed the mixture of freedom and structure....all the exercises ere enjoyable and relevant/relaxing'

- Participant comment from the workshop.

90 local women of all ages attended the 'Women's Network Breakfast' held in Glen Waverley last weekend. The art therapy workshop started off the day, with all attendees given the chance to explore materials in a mindful way. Some feedback from one of the organisers:

'Thanks so much for your excellent presentation. Everyone really enjoyed it, appreciated your detailed explanation of mindfulness and really felt relaxed experiencing the Mindfulness Art activity. It was a fantastic way to begin the day'.

This session was about the positive emotions that result from savouring our experiences.

We used our senses to savour the experience of a cut flower through touch, smell, vision and hearing. The regular practice of savouring can increase our sense of satisfaction and happiness with our lives.

'I found that I savoured the repetition of the circle patterns.... it’s what made me calm'

- From Session 4 of 'Artful' course

- what do you savour in your life?

Today’s activity was about tapping into the body to access our inner world of thoughts, beliefs and emotions. Focusing on sensory traces in the body, we can come to know where there is anxiety or discomfort inside us and also where there is positivity and strength.

'I found the activity very freeing...exactly what I needed'

- from 'Expand the positive emotion' activity

Participants had the chance to explore materials in a mindful way, take a trip through the body using guided meditation and change their perspective by exploring the thoughts and feelings evoked by a natural object. Contact me by phone or message for more information.

Session 1 of 'Artful' is all about noticing the mind and body and practicing conscious non-judgement. The activities encourage exploration and focus on the moment to access inner calm.

'I liked that I could change things in the picture...I could make my story different through adding different elements to my picture.

- From Artful Session 1, 'Trace-doodle' exercise

This 8 week course commences next week with an exploration of soft pastels and water-colour pencils. We'll use colour to explore balance, and look at images as a starting point to reach a state of calm engagement.

For bookings go to the 'Upcoming classes' page

A new study suggests that small acts of creativity in everyday life increase our overall sense of well-being. Results of this newly published study showed that people who were engaged in more creative activities than usual on one day reported increased positive emotion and flourishing the next day. Check out the full article on ‘Mindful’ for more details:

http://www.mindful.org/something-creative-can-boost-well/​

On Monday night I attending the bi-monthly DARE Diversity art group critique night. Some of us brought along artworks to share and we discussed upcoming exhibitions for the group, as well as inspiring websites and techniques we have discovered in our arts practice....what a great night! this image shows the artistic journey and development of one of our long time members who has recently taken a new direction...'I paint from the heart about the things that inspire me and that I find beautiful' . for more information about DARE send me a message or check out my facebook page for posts.

Today we explored the concept of meaning and purpose in life though reflecting on a Japanese proverb about finding meaning. According to positive psychology, having meaning and purpose in life is one of the ways to find happiness. Meaning is knowing what your highest strengths are - and deploying those in the service of something you believe is larger than you are.

This week’s activity was about creating a sense of ‘flow’ through using printing and stencilling techniques with paint. Flow is the mental state in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed, focused and energized by the process of the activity. In essence, ‘flow’ is characterized by complete absorption in what one does. Practicing activities that create a ‘flow’ state has been linked to increasing satisfaction and happiness in life. ​

In this session we used collage to explore the ideas of being 'grounded' in the present and yet 'inspired' or optimistic about the future. Using a guided meditation based on the yoga pose 'Tadasana' or 'Mountain pose' we reflected through the art on what provides a strong base in life, thus allowing us to reach beyond our current selves and explore new horizons.

Today’s activity was about tapping into the body to access our inner world of thoughts, beliefs and emotions. Focusing on sensory traces in the body, we can come to know where there is anxiety or discomfort inside us and also where there is positivity and strength. We can use this focus on the positive and strong parts of our being to counteract anxiety and fears, hopefully allowing a positive shift in our perception.

The focus of the first session is to use the art materials to notice what our mind is doing – likes and dislikes, thoughts, feelings and memories or associations. We take the time to notice our reactions to the different materials and explore the notions of opposites and balance. All the while our focus is to be in the moment and use the art to take us to a place of calm contemplation.​

I'm doing a creative well-being challenge at the moment....this is an image about immersing yourself in the memory of a positive experience....for me it is the memory of going dancing...I found it my mood and outlook improved after doing this piece.

Lorna Jane are promoting Mindfulness this month at The Glen.

Check out Vivid Art Therapy's display in store from

Saturday 21st January 2017.

Image is of my auspicious symbols - focusing on what is important to me in life at the moment.

This arts based series invites you to explore “Grounding” towards more meaningful living using creative processes. All adults welcome, no art skills required. We welcome you to join us and take away strategies to enrich your 2017.

Additional information: sue@buttonarttherapy.com.au

Workshops scheduled for an open day at Healthy Energy in March 2017. Details to follow

Vivid will run art and mindfulnes courses at Healthy Energy Holistic Health Centrein Glen Waverely. Check out the website at www.healthyenergy.com.au

Through the course we've explored using the body to notice our thoughts, emotions and beliefs. We tried out a range of art materials and applications. Here are some comments from participants:

'Really thoroughly enjoyed this course...will recommend to my friends'

'A good balance of suggesting ideas and leaving activities open'

the bestrt was the regular exposure to art in my week and discovering new techniques and mediums I have never tried before.'

Our six weeks commenced with an exploration of soft pastels and watercolour pencils. Some particpants reported that they hadn't used art materials in many years and enjoyed touching and blending the colours with their fingers. We used colour to explore balance and images as a starting point to reach a state of calm engagement.