Welcome to my blog page! I love writing about the healing power of the creative process. Here you will find a collection of all of my writing from all the way back to 2005! Enjoy!
One of the first things you will hear me talk about when you come to one of my classes, workshops or retreats is that here in these circles we are focusing on and placing greater value on the process of creation instead of primarily valuing the finished product. ...
This is Tim and I wanted share some thoughts about our upcoming Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training Program and one of our core philosophies: love! “I’m going back in!” She said defiantly as she took a deep breath, pursed her lip, and wiped away the tear...
Whenever Tim and I take another group of students through our Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training process we inevitably hear from folks how they’ve never experienced anything quite like the sense of healing and love and liberation that happens for them in our...
As Tim and I go through the process of interviewing folks for our upcoming teacher training program, we often get the question of how do I know if this Wild Heart Expressive Arts Teacher Training is right for me? This is a HUGE question on a certain level because it...
It finally arrived! I had been waiting all morning, checking my phone, tracking the number of stops until it got here and then, “cuh-thunk”, the satisfying thud of a heavy box unceremoniously dropped on our front porch. I pulled the box inside and grabbed a knife to...
When I was 8 years old and in the third grade we were given the assignment to write our autobiography. I don’t remember much about what I wrote. In my memory, I don't see words, only the thin, lined composition notebook with the black and white speckled cover and my...
Greetings to my beloved wild heart community, I just returned from spending a magical week in the desert with an amazing group of wild hearted painters at my most recent Painting From The Wild Heart retreat. And I must say, that as grateful as I am that I...
Some Wishes And Prayers For You During This Season Of Darkness And Light Holidays are always such a mixed bag for folks. Especially this one where we’re supposed to be all merry and cheery. And if you ARE genuinely feeling merry and cheery I party with you...
In my early days as a psychotherapist whenever I would begin with a new client I would often get the question, “How long is this going to take?” Meaning, how much time will it take before I am healed and this problem I am bringing to you is permanently solved....
When Gemini appears on the scene you can be guaranteed an endlessly entertaining torrent of scintillating conversation about anything and everything under the sun. Gemini’s primary superpower is an unquenchable curiosity that searches far and wide for the most...
In these times of radical change and upheaval I’ve heard a number of people question the relevancy of this inner creativity work or making art at all. It can seem like this focus on healing and internal awareness and exploration using art is no longer necessary when...
Whenever I begin one of my workshops, classes or retreats I always get a big laugh when I say : “You are all here because you think of yourself as someone committed to pursuing deep psychological and spiritual healing. You sincerely believe that you want to become...
Greetings to my beloved wild heart community, My signature online intuitive painting class Painting With Fire begins in a couple of weeks. And many people have happily signed up in eager preparation for a 6 week deep dive into their sacred creative being...
No matter what it might look like from the outside, everyone is learning the hard way. So give yourself a break. If you’re struggling or floundering or feeling stuck and confused and can’t see a way forward out of whatever is challenging in your life right now,...
In the Wild Heart Expressive Arts approach to intuitive painting and art-making we are in a continual dance of trying to navigate our relationship to the judging mind also known as the inner critic. I’m defining the inner critic as the part of our psyche that is...
As many of you know who have been in my world for awhile, prior to the pandemic, I lived my life pretty much on creativity retreats. I offered Wild Heart Painting workshops in some of the most beautiful natural places in the western United States...
Some tips for when you find yourself at a creative standstill. Don't expect yourself to be creative. Or original. Or goddess forbid an ARTIST! Don't even call what you do creativity. Or art. Simply pick up a brush if you paint. Open a notebook if you write. Put on...
Many of us are still wrangling with a bullshit layer of some old UNHELPFUL story that comes out of an ancient family wound. And this wound is related to the way that we took on the pain of those around us who couldn’t be supported to see their OWN beauty and gifts and...
I often think of the intuitive painting process as a spiritual adventure. It reminds me of this lovely quote from the poet John Donahue: “Behind your image, below your words, above your thoughts, the silence of another world waits.” I really see creativity and...
I am totally dedicated to helping folks find their way back to creative flow. Which means I’m endlessly curious to discover what gets in the way and BLOCKS creative flow. One of the most nefarious and unfortunately popular of the creativity blockers is...
My signature online intuitive painting class Painting With Fire begins in a week. And many people have happily signed up in eager preparation for a 6 week deep dive into their sacred creative being through the intuitive painting process. But there are still quite a...
My signature online intuitive painting class Painting With Fire begins in a week. And many people have happily signed up in eager preparation for a 6 week deep dive into their sacred creative being through the intuitive painting process. But there are still quite a...
My signature online intuitive painting class Painting With Fire begins in a week. And many people have happily signed up in eager preparation for a 6 week deep dive into their sacred creative being through the intuitive painting process. But there are still quite a...
There’s a lot of different ways that people unconsciously shut down their creative flow. But one of the more popular methods is by believing that you can only create when you are in a particular frame of mind. Sometimes it’s a belief that you need to feel inspired, or...
What I sell is the unknown. I make it safe for people to explore the invisible, to not know what they are doing or why they are doing it and trusting that it's OK to do it anyway. I give people permission to do away with stories. With explanations. With understanding....
I’m pretty sure it will come as a surprise to NO one to hear that I spend a lot of my time thinking about creativity. I’m endlessly curious about what it is, how it works, what gets in the way of its full expression and what helps to keep us in creative flow. So today...
When people come to work with me one of the first things I tell them is that this intuitive painting process is an exercise in Radical Self Acceptance. And everyone who hears that invitation nods their heads in agreement. I mean, who WOULDN’T give a huge thumbs...