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Gayla S.

"Maria's classes are fun and very relaxing! She makes it easy to get creative, and makes sure everyone enjoys the experience. I've learned a lot from her and will take more of her classes in the future."

Tanna D.

"I love taking Maria's therapeutic art classes. She gives just the right amount of instructions to help you get started and then lets everybody enjoy the process of creating. It's nice to walk away with something that is completely different from everybody else's in the class afterwards too."

Donna I.

"I have enjoyed being a part of many of Maria's therapeutic art classes. I recently went through some health issues and my anxiety level was through the roof. The classes helped me to relax, regroup and focus on creating beautiful artwork. As a side benefit, the classes offer a social setting where folks can share stories and life experiences. A beautiful way to unwind and come away with lovely art projects!"

Texture N Shimmer Mission

My mission is to use therapeutic art to help you relax, replenish, and heal by letting go of anxiety and stress. As we enter deeply into our creative space, this can happen naturally.

What happens in a session?

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When I enter into a therapeutic art coaching relationship with you, my goals are as follows: to allow you emotional space to express feelings, feel accepted, loved and inspired to create a personal plan for emotional wellness through art. The successful formula for regulating difficult emotions is breathwork +art + affirmations. There is open space for dialogue on everyday events and how we perceive them. For example, we can talk about something that happened and reframe it more positively, thus allowing its grasp on us to loosen. As we make art projects we talk about how we are just going with the flow and adjusting our expectations.  Most of all, we come to terms with the fact that our project is not perfect, but that we enjoyed the process. This mirrors how we deal with the everyday ups and downs in life and soothes some of the anxiety and stress. It’s also important to introduce many different types of art materials and projects over time to open our minds to new possibilities. We use household materials such as rice, straws, tape, qtips, toothbrushes, even food, as well as art mediums such as watercolors, acrylics, gouache, resin, alcohol inks, pens and pencils.

 

 

Letting go of perfection, intuitive focus, therapeutic benefits

Welcome to My Site

Hi! My name is Maria Gillette. My transcript from grad school will say I'm an ESL Instructor, but in my mind, my "authentic" career is in art. I officially dove into my passion in 2018. I learned resin art, mixed media and alcohol ink art. It came in handy later on for a different reason. You see, for most of my adult life, I've dealt with anxiety, largely whenever  traveling. I even cancelled some trips because of it. I tried medications, counseling, coaching, books, courses, you name it.  When a big deployment challenged my family in 2022, I needed an outlet for my emotions and anxiety. I That's when I learned therapeutic art. I have been facilitating groups since October '22! Now I'm happy to offer those near and far an opportunity to be in community and create with the shared purpose of wellness and freedom from anxiety. I believe I can help you learn to give yourself emotional support. I will teach you the tools. I believe in what I do, but I also know therapeutic art is not a substitute for therapy. It is helpful in conjunction with or after completion of therapy. Think of it as a skill you carry with you whenever you need it. So, please join me on the journey of self-love and well-being. 

How it works

For 1:1 sessions, you can choose your day and time by clicking Book Online. 

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For on-demand video programs,  click Program List.

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For group bookings, please contact me for details.

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For the other services,  click on Book Online to see what dates are scheduled.

Class Schedule

Book a Session

Artwork Gallery

Here is a collection of artworks created during our classes. Enjoy!

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Therapeutic art is self-directed and forward- motivated. It is not psychoanalysis. It provides a means of self-expression, communication, decision making, creativity, and stress reduction. Art becomes a meditative practice wherein one finds the flow, a state of concentration so focused that it amounts to absolute absorption and inactivity. It's also called being in the zone by focusing on only the task at hand this state may help an individual reduce self-consciousness and anxiety. Achieving flow is often a challenge to the brain and flow states are an area of study in neuroscience. Many people who find traditional meditation difficult are able to achieve this state through the practice of an art-related activity. Art is a learned skill to cope with stress and anxiety.

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1:1 Therapeutic Art Coaching:  For 1 hour each session, coach and client take a journey inward. Meditation, mindfulness, and breathing exercises help clear out negative thoughts, beliefs and perceptions that are not serving us. Through guided art sessions, we tap into more positive thoughts, realistic perspectives on different areas of life, and inner self-knowledge to foster healing, peace and joy. The art done during sessions is process-based and non-judgmental. We make art for the fun and joy of it, and the art teaches us about ourselves. The types of art we do can have therapeutic objectives, be mindful and relaxing, or be intuitive, in other words, self-guided.

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Higher Self Therapeutic Art Group: 

This group meets once a week for 2 hours per session all year round. The objective is to get to the core of our true inner selves to relieve and dissipate anxiety and promote healthier emotion management. In our sessions we discuss topics related to mental wellness as well as make art that soothes and heals. The topics we discuss lead us to spiritual growth and understanding. In the art-making process, we practice breaking through old, preconceived ideas of how we see ourselves and forge new self-concepts rooted in self-discovery and responsible choice.

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Group Events- For companies, healthcare organizations and wellness centers:

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Therapeutic Art Workshop:

 Using breathwork through either meditation or movement, we center ourselves on a self-care theme such as self-worth, forgiveness, self-compassion, and more. We make non-judgmental abstract art for relaxation. Finally, we journal self-support statements and add them to the art. Workshop is 2 hours long.

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Neurographic Art Workshop:

Neurographic art is a mindful art practice used to map new neural connections through drawing. When we associate a positive thought to a new neuropathway, we can reinforce it. Then we can visually connect that to a positive change which we want to reinforce. Through repetition, we can increase the efficiency of the positive feelings and manifest something healthier and with increased well-being as the result. Through the process, we change our beliefs and meaning we associated with events to better-feeling outcomes. Workshop is 2 hours long. 

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Intuitive Painting Workshop:

Get out of your mind’s way and through the process, take the energy from inside of you and express it symbolically in the form of abstract shapes and marks. After a brief warm-up of the body and breath, we use acrylic paints and fun tools to create contrast, interest and movement on canvas as we play fun music. No art experience necessary. Workshop is 2.5-3 hours long

 

Yoga Nidra classes:

 Achieve deep relaxation through meditation equal to 3 hours of sleep. Classes are 1 hour long.

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TaiChi Qi Gong classes:

Qigong uses simple poses and breathing patterns to promote a healthy flow and reduce stagnation of energy. Proper flow of qi can help the body engage its own healing processes, improve bone and cardiovascular health, improve balance, and reduce high blood pressure, depression and anxiety symptoms. Classes are 1 hour long

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Creative Resilient Teens Program: We empower teenagers to reframe negative thoughts through mindfulness, journaling, and art.

We practice, through activities, to identify triggers and negative thought types, reframe through breathing techniques, and release stress through non-verbal artistic expression.  Each art activity is linked to the core concept of the session. The goal of this course is to teach you techniques to build your resilience, your ability to prepare for, recover from and adapt in the face of stress, challenge or adversity. Our goal together is to feel confident “taking charge” of how we respond and how we care for ourselves. We use art as a process to discover truths about ourselves and situations that are stressors and triggers. We build self-awareness, self-acceptance, and community, a safe place where your opinions are valid as well as your feelings. Sessions are 1.5 hours long.

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