Expressive Arts Workshops and Classes
Now being offered at Mystic Alchemy in Rockland, ME.
New groups and workshops for Fall 2025
Women’s Expressive Arts Therapy GroupWomen’s Expressive Arts Therapy Group
For women (and female identifying adults) who want to use the expressive arts
to support their personal journey. This is a therapy group not a workshop and therefore anyone interested in participating will meet with me for a free brief consultation before registering for the group to ensure a good fit for all. The group format is as follows: Half hour discussion on a topic; one hour of creative process (visual art making, writing, movement etc) followed by sharing and witnessing the creative process.
This is a closed group with 4-8 women.
If you are interested in learning more - for yourself or to make a referral- please call me
at 207-706-6485 or email me at BarbaraDavisLCSW@gmail.com
Monday afternoons at Mystic Alchemy, Park Street in Rockland
Starts September 15* and runs for 8 weeks
*Dates are still being confirmed*
Nature Based Expressive Arts and Journaling
Through Five Towns Adult Ed. Wed eves 6-7:30. Starting Oct 8th for 6 weeks
Registration will be through Five Towns once their new course website is online.
Touch Drawing for Self and Soul
Sunday afternoons 1-3 pm for 4 weeks during the fall of 2025*
Learn the process of Touch Drawing and how to combine Touch Drawing with collage and journaling to support personal growth and soul work. Open to folks who are intersted in exploring ways to use the arts to support their personal and spiritual development. No Touch Drawing or other art experience necessary. However folks with knowledge of Touch Drawing are welcome as Touch Drawing is a practice - like yoga and mediation - that develops over time as we learn how to best use it for ourselves.
Time and place TBD
What is Touch Drawing?
Touch Drawing is a simple process accessible to all, artist and non-artist alike. Participants are first guided through a brief meditation and visual imagery to help them settle into and access their felt sense. We begin by rolling wet paint out on a board and placing a piece of paper on top. We draw with our hands on the dry side of the paper and watch forms and images appear. There is no advanced planning about what to draw, no copying of images or attempting to draw something specific. Rather, the hands move in response to our internal sensations, feelings and impulses opening a channel to our creativity and bypassing our ego and critical thinking. We create several drawings in each session, as if documenting our moment to moment experience with lines, shapes and images. The process tends to bring about a state of calm and wonder as unexpected images begin to appear. Participants will be encouraged to engage in free or spontaneous writing to aid in the integration process. In later classes participants will learn how to mount their drawings, and have the option of going back into certain images with drawing materials should they choose to do so. Optional personal sharing in small groups will be encouraged as well. For more information visit the Touch Drawing Tab on this website
For more information and registration for all workshops,
please email me @ BarbaraDavisLCSW@gmail.com
Finding Beauty in What's Broken
TBD - late fall 2025
This workshop is a metaphor for finding beauty in what is broken and finding the seeds of new life in the dark of winter. This is an experiential mixed media class focused on impermanence and finding joy and beauty in unexpected places. Participants will be invited to metaphorically "let go" of something through breaking and repairing a ceramic object,opening up to new possibilities through intention setting and the creative process.
All art supplies will be provided.
For more information and registration for all workshops,
please email me @ BarbaraDavisLCSW@gmail.com
Are you interested in monthly expressive arts meet-up? Something fun and relaxing that offers you support as you explore your inner world and reduce stress? This group is perfect for professionals wanting to connect and unwind; folks who want to make space for creativity and anyone wanting
to set aside some time for themeselves. It is not a therapy group!
If so, please email me at BarbaraDavisLCSW@gmail.com.
This group will meet online and if there is enough interest could convert to hybrid - both in person in the midcoast and online.
If you have any difficulties registering for a workshop,
please do not hesitate to reach out to me by email! BarbaraDavisLCSW@gmail.com
Comments from previous participants:
Being able to put feelings onto paper by either writing or painting, makes the process of examining and understanding them more “real.” It is enjoyable to be an artist of emotion. I am amazed at how my feelings evolved during the class.”
“Even if you think you are "unartistic," it's amazing how much personal insight you can gain by working in a creative medium that is unfamiliar, even scary,...and how much fun you can find it to be!”
“The Expressive Arts class got my playful, creative sap flowing more freely. I had wonderful body memories of creating at summer camp, in grade school, and at home with my sisters. It also strengthened my self listening and gentleness.”
“All those wonderful colors in an art store are so captivating - paints and pens and pastels. But you're someone who wasn't "good" in art, so you look, but don't touch, and certainly don't buy. Here's your chance to play with all those bright goodies - all the colors in the rainbow -- and see what you have to say about yourself without words.”
“I love my time with Barbara. Through her sensitivity and art training and I find a part of me emerging that I wasn't aware of ---I can cover so much up in my daily, "noisy" life and some things need to be set free.”
What is Expressive Arts Facilitation?
Expressive Arts is a relatively new field and while it shares some principles of art therapy, it is separate and distinct from art therapy. Most importantly if you are attending an Expressive Arts Workshop or Class we are not “doing therapy.” The “leader” functions as a facilitator, not a teacher and not a therapist.
While engaging in the Expressive Arts does help reduce anxiety, improve mood and form connections, in a workshop such as these, there is no diagnosis or defined problem to work on. The “goal” in an Expressive Arts Workshop is to help participants access their own creative spirit to explore their inner world and their innate ability to grow and heal in a safe and supportive environment. Most people find the experience pleasurable, inspiring and calming. The facilitator offers creative prompts or leading questions for participants to explore through expressive mediums such as paint, collage, movement, drawing, writing or sound.
While the facilitator guides the process with prompts, suggestions and the offer of materials; the facilitator does not interpret the participants' work. Each participant is able to gain their own insights based on their own process and associations and is free to choose whether or not to share their insights with the facilitator and group.
While there might be some basic instruction in the use of art materials so participants feel comfortable using the materials, Expressive Arts Workshops are not art classes and art making techniques such as figure drawing or landscape painting are not taught.
The good news is that you do not need to be an artist or have experience with art making materials to participate and benefit from the experience! All art materials will be provided. Pre-registration is required for all workshops.
What is Touch Drawing?
“Touch Drawing is a simple yet profound process. Paper is placed over wet paint. The pressure of fingertips on the page forms images on the underside. The hands are extensions of the soul, moving in response to the sensations of the moment. Channels of expression open, enabling feelings to flow. A series of drawings is created, each a stepping stone deeper into the self.
This act of creation unleashes vibrant healing forces that guide the psyche toward wholeness. Even an unconfident artist can experience the fulfillment of seeing their interior life come alive on paper. Touch Drawing is used by artists, therapists, social workers, health care practitioners, educators and intuitives. Touch Drawing is a practice of creative, psychological and spiritual integration.”
Deborah Koff-Chapman, Founder Center for Touch Drawing
Please note that if you are a current or former psychotherapy patient and you are interested in the expressive arts please contact me directly